Rromix

THIS WEEKEND!! January 15th and 16th.

The Golden Festival, one of the largest Balkan music events in the New York are will take place this weekend in upper Manhattan with shows of more than 40 bands on three stages. The festival will have something for everyone from Bulgarian and Arabian folk music to Japanese Gypsy punk.

Don’t miss the shows of

Zlatne Uste, hosts of the festival and multiple time special guests to Guca festival in Serbia.
Yuri Yunakov Ensemble, masters of Bulgarian Rromani wedding music, residents of New York’s Bulgarian Bar Mehanata.
Kagero, the Japanese Gypsy punks from Brooklyn who’ll get the crowd jumping within minutes.
Romashka, another New York based band authentic Balkan music.

Come of Friday and Saturday to Good Shepherd School for two nights of Balkan music, dance & border-crossing celebration

Good Shepherd School
620 Isham (near 207th St. and B’way)
Manhattan, New York

Visit Golden Fest main page for more info.

Here are some more of my favorite Bulgarian Chalga of 2009.

Mnogo Sladko – Malina & Galena

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Tupalka – Iliqn

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Moi – Malina i Galena

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2009 has been a productive year for the Bulgarian musicians mixing everything from Hip-Hop to Dance into intoxicating brass band driven pop.  I’ll start this retrospective of the best Bulgarian chalga of the year with one of my favorite Sofi Marinova & Ustata tracks that came out late last fall.  The video is ridiculously funny as well.

Bate Shefe – Sofi Marinova & Ustata

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Shazalakazoo is putting up their first album, one of the best Balkan music releases of the past year.  With influences spanning all of the Balkans and more, this Belgrade duo is creating a great sound by mixing samples from traditional songs, vinyl scratching and electronic beats and effects.  Preview and buy Speaking Balkanian here or on Shazalakazoo soundcloud page.

Majko Majko, the first album of the German Gypsy-Balkan brass band Taxi Sandanski features remakes of some traditional Bulgarian and Serbian songs and will be available to buy on Amazon shortly.

Majko Majko (Download)

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Listen to more of full length songs on Taxi Sandanski myspace.

01 Majko Majko/ Ekremov Čoček (trad. Balkan) 4:49
02 Opa Cupa (Š. Bajramović/ M. Ismailovic) 4:48
03 Orevitsa (trad. Griechenland) 4:04
04 Underground Čoček (trad. Balkan) 5:05
05 Benzinadiko (trad. Gypsy) 5:11
06 Phenela Menge (E. Debicki/ M. Vuosralanta) 3:50
07 Jane Sandanski (trad. Bulgarien/ Mazedonien) 4:03
08 Dimineaţa (S.Hantel/ Ch.Onyele) 4:07
09 Bucovina (F.W. Hendricks) 3:44
10 Fani (G: Varga/ trad. Ungarn) 5:06
11 Na Trapeza/ Pirinsko Horo (trad. Bulgarien) 5:00
12 Gypsy Party (G. Andreev/ Bulgarien) 5:11
13 Čoček No. 9 (trad. Gypsy) 4:05

Here are two songs from DJ Delay, an Australian world music DJ host of the Into the Groovy radio show on Straigtup. Check it out for a good collection of recorded shows from the past three years and more.
Bells are Alive, is a groovy original song sampling horn themes from Balkan brass bands while the second is a nice club twist of the classic Jewish wedding anthem.

Bells Are Alive (download)

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Hava Naglia (download)

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Asphalt Tango Records, one of the principal labels that helped popularize Balkan music in the past few years, is introducing Kottarashky, an electronic musician from Bulgaria, deeply rooted into the Gypsy music tradition of the Balkans. His first album, “Opa Hey!” samples countless authentic recordings of the Balkan village, along with prominent artists like Mitsoura and Fanfare Ciocarlia for an original trip-hop sound reminiscent of the Shukar Collective.

1. Chetiri
2. Opa Hey
3. Tempe
4. Tebe   (listen)
5. Mandra
6. Long Song
7. Lele
8. Blatoto
9. September
10. Myanmar
11. I Want You To Sleep
12. Bell

Check out Asphalt Tango website or Kottarashky page for more audio samples.

A trip through the Balkan club scene, Duch DJ mps PILOT’s Balkan Bash features a great mix of classic gypsy tunes, Bulgarian chalga, Serbian turbo-folk and hard-to-find remixes of well known West European DJs.

Balkan Bash (Download)

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mps PILOT – Benga/Bregovic edit
Rumanetsa & Enchev – Ako kazesh ne
Miss Platnum – give me the food
Severina – Gas gas
Sevced – (unreadable)
Shantel – Dubstar Bulgarski
Typsy Gypsy – pampur (bregovic edit/remake unreleased)
Burhan Öçal & The Trakya All Stars- Karabiber StreamerPilot remix
Forty Thieves Orkestar – last man standing
Shazalakazoo – Hajde
DJ coco beat vs Romek – ?
Dunkelbunt Ft. Cloud tissa – Kebab Connection
Shantel – Disko Partizani / Yamaha.Eletrico Remix
Goran Bregovic-Mesecina (Stefano Miele RMX)
Kiril feat MC Wasp & Rucl: Jungle Shadow
Teodora – sex
Balkan Beat box BBBeat
Goran Bregovic – Gas Gas
M.Shepherd Kappelye-Pass The Kasha~StreamerPilot remix

For his next single, Antwerp based deejay and producer MERDAN TAPLAK teemed up with German Balkan Big Band ÄL JAWALA. Merdan Taplak reworked “borderbounce”, as featured on Äl Jawala’s album “Asphalt Pirate Radio”, and made it into a absolutely floorfilling balkanstomper. Check out the movie of the remix played live at one of the biggest festivals in Belgium, Dour Festival.

Listen to the full remix at myspace.com/djmerdantaplak