The Romani, also known as Roma, are an Indo-Aryan people, traditionally nomadic itinerants living mostly in Europe, as well as diaspora populations in the Americas. The Romani are widely known in English by the exonym Gypsies, which is considered by some Roma people to be pejorative due to its connotations of illegality and irregularity.
Romania is a European country with a multicultural music environment which includes active ethnic music scenes. Romania also has thriving scenes in the fields of pop music, hip hop, heavy metal and rock and roll. During the first decade of the 21st century some Europop groups/artists, such as Tom Boxer, Morandi, Akcent, Edward Maya, Alexandra Stan, Inna and Yarabi, achieved success abroad. Traditional Romanian folk music remains popular, and some folk musicians have come to national fame.
The Romanian word Lăutar denotes a class of musicians. Traditionally, lăutari are members of a professional clan of Romani musicians, also called țigani lăutari. The term is derived from lăută, the Romanian word for lute. Lăutari usually perform in bands, called taraf.
Crammed Discs is an independent record label whose output blends world music, rock, pop, and electronica. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Crammed was founded in 1980 by Marc Hollander of Aksak Maboul and has since released around 375 albums and 275 singles, working with artists from all over the world.
Fanfare Ciocărlia is a twelve-piece Romanian Romani Balkan brass band from the northeastern Romanian village of Zece Prăjini, Iași. The band is made up of Roma musicians, and they are recognised as one of Europe's most popular contemporary Romani bands. Fanfare Ciocărlia are best known for its fast, high-energy music with complex rhythms and high-speed staccato clarinet, saxophone and trumpet solos.
Boban Marković is a Serbian Romani trumpet player and brass ensemble leader from Vladičin Han.
Balkan Beat Box (BBB) is an Israeli musical group founded by Tamir Muskat, Ori Kaplan and now including Tomer Yosef as a core member. The group plays Mediterranean-influenced music that incorporates Jewish, Southeastern Europe and Middle Eastern traditions, Gypsy punk, reggae and electronica. As a musical unit they often collaborate with a host of other musicians both in the studio as well as live.
Stereophonic Musical Listenings That Have Been Origin in Moving Film "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" is the soundtrack to the 2006 mockumentary film Borat, released by "Kuzçek Records" in association with Downtown and Atlantic Records. The soundtrack was released digitally through the iTunes Store on October 24, 2006, and in stores and through other online music stores on Tuesday, October 31, 2006.
Marc Hollander is a Belgian musician, producer and creator of the independent record label, Crammed Discs.
Balkan brass, popularly known by the Serbian name Truba, is a distinctive style of music originating in the Balkan region as a fusion between military music and folk music. In recent years, it has become popular in a techno-synth fusion throughout Europe, and in pop music in the Anglo-American sphere and throughout the world. Songs like Worth It by Fifth Harmony have brought the style to a new audience. In traditional form, it is popular throughout the Balkans, especially in Serbia, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Moldova and Romania, although the turbo-folk variety attracts larger audiences. The energetic and fast beats encourage dance and are egalitarian, often resulting in participation by the entire audience; this unpretentious relationship with audiences, highly charged energy and loud and joyful performances by highly skilled musicians has contributed to its successes. Fans of bands inspired by Balkan bands, such as Gogol Bordelo, often state that it is a type of music better experienced than listened to.
Stefan Hantel, better known by his stage name Shantel, is a German DJ and producer based in Frankfurt. He is known for his work with gypsy brass orchestras, DJing and remixing traditional Balkan music with electronic beats.
Blackmailers Rekord Orkestr is a Russian rhythm and blues band from Vladimir.
Mahala Rai Banda is a gypsy band based in Bucharest (Romania). The band was formed by violinist and composer Aurel Ionita, who originates from a family of Lăutari from the village of Clejani. He is related to several members of Taraf de Haïdouks. The band plays Balkan-influenced music. Instrumentation used by the band includes violins, accordions, and other brass instruments performed by musicians from Zece Prăjini. Their music includes a mixture of traditional popular music and Balkan-influenced club music. Their music is known for its blend of arrangements, traditional elements, and modern approaches.
Colours of Ostrava, or simply Colours, is a multi-genre festival, the biggest international music festival in the Czech Republic and one of the biggest music events in Central Europe, held every summer since 2002 in Ostrava, the third biggest city in the country. Colours features 16 stages including 4 big open-air stages, 6 indoor stages, a theatre stage, a workshop stage, a kids' stage, a cinema and live discussions. It features performers from all major popular music genres as well as avant-garde music and world music.
The Trans-Siberian March Band (TSMB) is a London-based Balkan music band. They play the music of the Balkans, and also Russian, Turkish and Klezmer tunes. Their repertoire ranges from the well-known, such as Goran Bregović’s Mesečina, to the obscure. They also write their own material, described by the band as ‘affectionate pastiche’. They are well-known on the London Balkan Music scene, and also have an international reputation due to touring in Eastern Europe. They also have a following in Japan after an appearance on Japanese television.
Couleur Café Festival is an annual urban contemporary music festival taking place around the end of June or early July in the city of Brussels, Belgium, organised since 1990. Since its inception, the festival had been located at Tour & Taxis, but from its 2017 edition it has moved to the Heysel Plateau near the Atomium. The scope of the three-day festival lies on world music with as main styles funk, hiphop, reggae, dance, dub, soul, Latin, blues and rock divided over four stages. Internationally famous acts as well as less known talent or locally popular musicians are represented.
Djordje Stijepovic is a Serbian-American double bass player, singer and composer. He is best known as bassist for the psychobilly band Tiger Army and for Nickelodeon star Drake Bell. He is also a former member of Lemmy Kilmister's (Motörhead) side project The Head Cat.
