East Meets East is a collaborative studio album released through EMI Classics in 2003 by violinist Nigel Kennedy and the Kroke band (Jerzy Bawoł on accordion, Tomasz Kukurba on viola and Tomasz Lato on double bass), surrounded by several guest artists of international reputation such as Natacha Atlas, Mo Foster, and the Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra.
[5] The album, published by Oriente Musik and internationally distributed through the classical music label of EMI from June 2003, was produced by John Stanley and Jaz Coleman.
Because of this mixture of different elements and traditions, and the experimental nature of this work, its tone frequently turns from the desperate sadness to the extreme joy.
The vocals, sung in South Slavic languages, are provided by Natacha Atlas, a Belgian singer known for her fusion of Arabic and Western electronic music.
[9] The following two tracks, "Dafino", original title "Dafino vino crveno" (Macedonian: Дафино вино црвено; Red Wine Dafina), and "Jovano Jovanke" (Macedonian: Јовано, Јованке, Bulgarian: Йовано, Йованке, Serbian: Jovano, Jovanke) are two traditional folk songs from the region of Macedonia, both very popular in the Balkans.
[3] It is, along with "Lullaby for Kamila", not only one of the loveliest performances of Kennedy's recorded career, it is also one of the most gently affecting compositions committed to tape in any genre in recent memory.
"[3] The album was highly recommendedand by critic Rick Anderson, who wrote that it is an "eerily lovely collection of new compositions and folk tunes drawing on Polish and other Eastern European traditions.
Teamed up with the Krakow band Kroke [...], Kennedy delivers a set of tunes that are, by turns, dramatic, soothing, emotionally tormented, and romantically yearning.
"[8] Allmusic reviewer, Blair Sanderson, described the album as "an exploration of Eastern European music, presented in a fusion of popular styles without pandering to the classical audience with crossover concessions.
[...] The musicians play well as an ensemble, perhaps most successfully in the vigorous dance style that reaches maximum frenzy in Kukush" giving the album eight stars out of ten.
The success of the album, along with its promotional tour, led Kroke to be nominated for the Europe category at the BBC Awards for World Music in 2004.