Combining elements of punk, gypsy music, and Brechtian cabaret, Gogol Bordello tells the story of New York's immigrant diaspora through debauchery, humor, and surreal costumes. Leader and singer Eugene Hütz's taste in music was spun out of black-market tapes of the The Birthday Party and Einstürzende Neubauten in his native Ukraine. After being evacuated to Western Ukraine in 1986 following the Chornobyl disaster, H
Walking Wounded are a 5 piece band from East London playing a wide variety of original material from Rock to Arabic, Reggae to Balkan, Celtic to Ska and more…
They feature accordion, guitar, harmonica, bass, percussion and harmony vocals.
Don’t be fooled – despite their eclecticism the Wounded retain their distinctive sound that makes them instantly recognizable and the band rock with an energy that many an electric band would envy. The band were one of the winners of the 2004 Glastonbury unsigned bands competition and one of The Guardian’s ‘Best of the rest’ at Glastonbury 2004.
Described as masters of good atmosphere Paprika Balkanicus are becoming one of the hottest newcomers in World music. Their electrifying show of fantastic musicianship and witty stage presence has already won them a substantial following in the UK, Europe and Japan. The guys from Romania, Serbia and Slovenia on violin, guitar, double bass and accordion play a fiery blend of traditional and Gypsy music from the Balkans and Eastern Europe.
DJ Kobayashi musical styles varies from Gypsy/Balkan/Swing/Rock&Roll music, to chill-out/future dub/dub-step and broken beats.
His influences as a DJ started from a very young age following his dad (Reuven Erez). He then knew what he was meant to do and started forming his collection and style.
Today he residencies including DJing at Dimba Presents - a monthly event of folk, Gypsy and Balkan music in London and he plays regulary at Stranger than Paradise/ Balkan Beats London and Twisted Gypsy - a Gypsy/Balkan/Swing nights that take place in different clubs around London.
A dynamic amalgamation of on-stage chemistry, energy and musicality, New York duo, The Gypsy Nomads, also affectionately known as Frenchy and the Punk, channel the spirit of the gypsy sound, lacing it with a cabaret, celtic and neo-medieval flavor rooted in punk, folk and the vineyards of southern France. The Nomads perform with a wide range of bands at an equally wide range of venues all over the US; from outdoor festivals featuring the fantastical and mystickal with stilt walkers, jugglers and fire throwers...
Brown Bird is an American acoustic band. Pulling from the influences of the blues, outlaw country, roots rock, early American folk, Gypsy and Eastern European music, Brown Bird offers harmonized voices, haunting lyrics and diverse rhythm and instrumentation, which surges in waves that often swell into high-spirited, foot-stomping madness. Brown Bird began in 2003, and has since toured extensively, including a European stint supporting RI-based band The Low Anthem. The band went through several line-up changes before settling on it's current form as a duo:
The Rootsman is a musician and DJ based in Bradford, England. His musical career began when he was living in Edinburgh, Scotland and taught himself to play guitar in 1978 at the age of 13 and formed his first punk band. With his group "State Oppression" he made his debut gig in 1981, supporting the Angelic Upstarts. After 3 concerts, he decided that being a guitarist in a band was not for him and he retired from that aspect of the music business.
Ivo Papazov (Bulgarian: Иво Папазов) (born 16 February 1952 in Kardzhali), nicknamed Ibryama (Ибряма), is a Bulgarian clarinetist. He leads the Ivo Papazov Wedding Band in performances of jazz-infused Stambolovo music, and is one of the premier creators of the genre known as "wedding band" music in Bulgaria, along with saxophonist Yuri Yunakov and accordionist Neshko Neshev. He was only nine years old when he first got involved with music.
The band was formed in 2001 by Toma Feterman, who has ancestors of Polish, Rumanian and Jewish Russian origins. A self taught multi-instrumentalist, Toma sings as well as playing the banjo and the trumpet. After initially performing music that covers a wide range from punk to French “chanson”, he decides to gather a group to perform music from Eastern Europe - a way of returning to his roots. At the beginning, the musicians were friends that played traditional songs.
