After the 2007 release Nu Med, the Balkan Beat Box is coming back strong with their new album Blue Eyed Black Boy released in the US on April 27 on NatGeo Music and Crammed Discs. Produced in Belgrade, Tel Aviv and Vienna, the new release borrows something from virtually all musical styles, from Hip-hop to Reggae, Balkan brass bands to electronic beats or from Israeli and Arabic rhythms to cumbia.
Apart from being fun and interesting in its own, the amalgam of styles is given deeper meaning by powerful lyrics infused with messages of tolerance, anti-war and brotherhood and references to other like minded songs (like Max Romeo’s “I Chase the Devil” in the opening track).

Here are a couple of remixes of BBB’s new tracks.

War Again (RJD2 remix)

Move It (Radioclit Remix)

Produced for the dance floors of Melbourne and Berlin, DJ Delay’s new release “Brass, Wires and Bass” gives an electronic spin to already famous Balkan dance floor bangers. The lineup includes some of the most well established Balkan music artists: [dunkelbunt], Boban Markovic, Gaetano Fabri and Max Pashm among others.

Kebab Connection is one of the best remixes of this Balkan hit. The deep bass is giving a more dancehall feeling to the song.

Od Scra still mostly keeps its authentic acoustic brass band sound but the nicely placed effects and and edits make it a much more effective song for the dancefloor. Really entertaining.

Finally, a really good version of Gaetano Fabri’s Smart Gypsy, this remix builds up the tempo nicely, making for a great party starter.
Smart Gypsy – dj delay remix by dj Gaetano Fabri

You can listen to the whole compilation below or buy it on iTunes.

Great indie rock band with world beat influences, Firewater has formed in Brooklyn in1997. Their 2008 album The Golden Hour tastefully integrates bhangra beats, balkan brass licks and middle eastern percussion into polittically charged indie rock anthems.
Like they put it… music that sounds like it comes from the fucking hart with lyrics that mean something. Enjoy.

Firewater – Borneo

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Firewater – This Is My Life

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Firewater – Hey Clown

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Gogol Bordello’s new album Trans-Continental Hustle is due in a few weeks and to whet your appetite Pala Tute is now available for download on their official site. Here’s a video of an acoustic version of the song.

And their performance with Madonna at the Live Earth concert

More of last year’s best chalga songs. I found these on a Payner Music compilation you can buy here: Pajner Hit Sezoni – Esen 2009. Most of the songs are good so go ahead and listen to the whole CD if you like these…

Za Posledno – Galena

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Dushata V Raia – Elena

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Moite zadryjki – Maria (Mariq)

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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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