Schikker wi Lot, ("as drunk as Lot" in English), is a Yiddish expression meaning "highly intoxicated."
With accordion and voice, Franka Lampe and Fabian Schnedler use soft and loud tones to create a state of intoxication that's impossible to resist. Starting from traditional Yiddish song, theirs is an unusual take on Yiddish vocal repertoire: heartbreaking love songs, rousing celebration songs, poignant vocal improvisations, contemporary Yiddish songs and hits of Yiddish Broadway.
Franka Lampe and Fabian Schnedler are an extraordinary duo whose captivating playing is finely tuned to each other.
Schikker wi Lot has won an enthusiastic following with concerts in Berlin, in London's "Bush Hall," in Vienna at the International Accordion Festival, as guest artists of "Yiddish Summer Weimar," at the binational "Transvocale" festival and more.
 
"Franka Lampe is one of the best accordionists in Germany. Fabian Schnedler is truly outstanding. It's been a long time since I've heard such a fine singer." (Andreas, www.klezmer.de)

"Fabian is a natural. His presence on stage oozes a Sinatra charm but with sincerity and a hint of coyishness. His voice is velvety and versatile leaving the audience melting for more. His accordion accompnist Franka Lampe showed us glimpses of her playing ability with short bursts of speedy klezmer improvisations which roused the crowd and lifted the temperature..." (Nu magazine, London)

ABOUT THE GANOVIM PROGRAM
Ganovim-Lider (Thieves' Songs)
The program, an homage to Shmuel Lehmann (1886-1941), one of the most productive inter-war collectors of Yiddish folklore, tells stories from the thieves' milieu. Lehmann's collected songs from the thieves' mileus in Warsaw, Chelm, Lublin, Lodz and other early 20th century cities and published them in 1928. As its title reveals, "Ganovim-Lider" is no lightweight program, but nevertheless entertaining. It illuminates the darkly humorous, tragic and dramatic depths of daily criminal life, both then and now. Songs of insult and lament, songs about lost love and slavery, songs about failure and jail, songs of accusation, despair and rage.
Franka Lampe and Fabian Schnedler's nonjudgmental portrayal of their characters' extreme circumstances lets the listener appreciate an almost unknown Yiddish song repertoire as shocking as it is unheard.

Photo: Manuel Miethe