On this Western market debut release of Taraf de Handouks, the supergroup of Romanian gypsy music in recent years attempts to represent all of the major styles of Romanian music as well as gypsy musics from surrounding areas. The ability to switch between a heart-wrenching ballad and an ultrafast instrumental romp again and again is really one of the specialties of the group, which exploits that specialty to good use here. The violins rage when necessary and provide a light backing when necessa...   [ read more ]

CD $18.03

Having appeared at Johnny Depp's Viper Room for the rumored sum of 100,000 dollars as well as in his film {#The Man Who Cried} and as runway models for Yohji Yamamoto, Taraf de Handouks would seem to be running the risk of corruption, but their music remains firmly planted in the Romanian gypsy band tradition. On this disc they were recorded live in Bucharest, where they were once shunned because of the belief that their nomadic tendencies kept them from being truly Romanian. Joining the ban...   [ read more ]

CD $18.03

There are times you want to laugh at this album. Not because it's awful, but from the ridiculous virtuosity of all the members of the band. And no track here shows the qualities better than the epic "The Stork Crosses the Danube, in the Company of a Raven," which showcases not only blinding fiddle playing, but also the kind of accordion playing that sounds impossible -- but obviously isn't. And there's no studio trickery -- this is all live. The village gypsy music from Romania is heady stuff, whethe...   [ read more ]

CD $17.08