Monday 16 May 2011

This Week's Picks (#41)

This weekend, London will be the battlefield for the Battle of the Balkan Brass.  It will feature Fanfare Ciocarlia and Boban & Marko Markovic Orchestra, fighting to see who is the best Balkan brass band. To get in the mood, here are some great Balkan brass tunes.

"Manea Cu Voca" - Fanfare Ciocarlia


Let's start with the groups about to battle it out. Fanfare Ciocarlia is a gypsy brass band from Northern Romania. This track is from their 1999 release Baro Biao. Fun and energetic, it's easy to see why they are in the running for best Balkan brass band.


"Voz" - Boban Markovic Orkestar (featuring Marko Markovic)


And in the second corner, Boban & Marko Marko Markovic Orkestar. This group is from Serbia and the track is from the album The Promise. It is more subdued than most of their tracks, but just as fun. It's going to be a close battle.  


"Paradehtika" - Goran Bregovic 


Another heavy weight of the Balkan brass bands is Goran Bregovic. Bregovic, however, tends to fuse other styles in with the Balkan brass including tango and popular music. This track is from his album Alkohol, which won last year's Songlines Music Awards for best artist. 

No comments:

Post a Comment