I spent a few days in Romania about 10 years ago visiting a friend in Bucharest (see photo above), then driving across Transylvania (not stopping on account of the vampires...) to Cluj-Napoca and onwards to Hungary. It's a beautiful country from what I have seen and there is plenty of good music to discover.
Historically Romania is divided into 9 historical regions, of which we will explore a few starting in the east with West Moldova. First stop there is the village of Zece Prăjini, home to gypsy brass band Fanfare Ciocărlia. Sons of farmers this 12-piece (24-legged) brass band has single-handedly revived Balkan brass sounds in Romania and the wider region with their frenzied rhythms and infectious party sound. What a great first encounter with the sounds of Romania! Their song Asfalt Tango was their first international hit and features on their 2009 Best of album and also on this set for the NPR Tiny Desk series:
Fiddler Aurel Mandache was born in 1933 in the village of Răcăciuni and died in 2013 while hunting for mushrooms (not sure if he ate the wrong ones, fell off a cliff or died of unrelated causes). He played his fiddle at weddings and events of the local Moldovan population as well as for Hungarian and Gypsy minorities. Here's a tune from his 2003 album Fiddle Dance Music from Moldva, which is no longer available, called Serény Magyaros:
Next we are entering the region of Transylvania, home to Count Dracula or Vlad the Impaler, although I'm reliably informed that most vampires have now migrated to become politicians around the world... As we mop the sweat off our brows from dancing along to Fanfare Ciocărlia, here comes something altogether calmer from singer/songwriter Lizabett Russo, who is originally from Braşov, but is now based in Scotland. She combines gentle folk songs from her native country with contemporary jazz and avant-garde sounds. She sings in both English and Romanian accompanied by gentle instrumentation. Here is a short piece from her 2019 album While I Sit and Watch This Tree, Vol.1 called Valuri si Ganduri (Waves and Thoughts):
Next we are heading to the city of Târgu Mureș where singer/songwriter and actress Ada Milea was born in 1975. Much of her work has been written and performed for theatre productions and her performances certainly have a theatre vibe, albeit of the absurd and comical variety. In fact I recommend that you just type in her name on YouTube and there's a wealth of really funny stuff, even if you don't understand any Romanian. She plays an acoustic guitar, but is often accompanied by her 'band' that play toy instruments, fridge doors and anything else that comes to hand, while looking dead serious. It's difficult to describe, so here are a couple of examples:
Accordionist and Roma manele singer Nicolae Guţă was born in Aninoasa in 1967. Manele is a genre of folk-pop music from Romania. His first mainstream hit was a song called De când te iubesc pe tine (Since I've been loving you), and features on the 2008 The Rough Guide to the Music of Romanian Gypsies:
It is well known that Transylvania has a sizeable Hungarian minority, but what is less known is that historically there was also a large Armenian minority in the region working mostly as traders and entrepreneurs. The latter group largely disappeared by the 20th century or got assimilated into the Hungarian population, but some of their culture has been kept alive. I don't know much about Alex Száva, except that he is of Transylvanian-Armenian heritage and has released an album in 2007 entitled Armenian Folk Songs from Transylvania. On it he plays various instruments himself, such as the accordion, mandolin, udon and flute. Here's a song from the album called The World's Deceitfulness:
That's it for today from Romania, we'll continue our virtual journey next time. In the meantime, as usual, you can track my trip on my Tripline map
Moldova is another country with an unresolved border dispute. A narrow sliver of land in the east of its officially internationally recognised territory, between the river Dniester and the Ukrainian border, is controlled by the de facto country of Transnistria or, as they like to be known, the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic. They have all the bits making them look like a fully fledged country, such as their own elected administration, currency, military, flag and national anthem, yet they are not recognised by any member of the UN, so are dependent on Moldova for access to the outside world and Russia for military and economic aid. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe defines the region as under military occupation by Russia. To be fair to them mind, they did split from Moldova, before Moldova declared its own independence, so as such has never been under Moldovan control. Apparently it is possible to visit the territory, which would be quite a cool thing to do visiting a country that doesn't exist.
Transnistrian Parliament. Photo credit: By Донор - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27580045
In the interest of completeness I have truffled out a musical act from the region, the worldbeat/hip-hop trio DoReDoS, who were formed 2011 in the northern town of Rîbniţa. They actually represented Moldova at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest. This is their 2022 single One in a Million:
The rest of Moldova is culturally and linguistically the twin of Romania. The official language of Moldova is in fact Romanian and there was even talk of the 2 countries uniting at one stage. It is however one of the poorest countries in Europe. We start our journey through Moldova proper in the small commune of Pepeni in the north of the country where folk singer Nicolae Glib was born in 1949. He is the most popular living folk singer in Moldova and has gathered many awards and prestigious titles. His most famous song is Moldovean ca mine nu-i (There's no Moldovan such as myself), which features on a 2019 self-titled compilation album of his work:
The rest of the time in Moldova we are hanging around the capital Chişinău. Nearly a third of the population lives there and it hosts an annual wine festival in October, which sounds fun. Moldova after all is one of the cradles of winemaking with a history dating back to 3000 BCE. We start with something probably more authentic from folk singer and ethno-musicologist Cristina Godoroja. I don't know much about her, but she has just released her debut album in 2023 called Ciobănaş Cu Oile: Songs from Moldova and Romania. All the songs are sung a Capello and this one is called Down the Dniester to the Valley:
Trans-Balkan band Drobinska's link to Moldova is rather tentative. The band is actually based in St. Petersburg in Russia and the members are from Russia, Ukraine and Palestine, but it was founded by Oleg Drobinski, who studied and discovered Balkan wedding music in Chişinău, before travelling other parts of the Balkan peninsula. Here's a track from their 2004 album Cuie de Cirnat called Dumi mi, duni:
Folk-rock band Zdob şiZdub were established in 2011 in Chişinău and have already represented Moldova 3 times at the Eurovision song context. They mix their fun Balkan rhythms with rock and punk elements. Here's a fun video of their 2021 single Trenulețul (The Train):
And that's it already from Moldova. Next, like Zdop siZdub, we're heading into Romania. As usual, you can follow my virtual progress on my Tripline map.
Next stop on our virtual journey through Ukraine is the industrial city of Zaporizhzhia, famous for having the largest nuclear power station in the country and currently under Russian occupation, which is cause for concern.
Photo credit: By Ralf1969 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7343361
This is where Guitarist Estas Tonne was born in 1975. He is of Jewish and German ancestry, but now lives a nomadic lifestyle, moving from place to place all around the world performing at concerts, on the streets and at festivals. He calls himself a modern-day troubadour and is classically trained and plays his own finger-picking style inspired by classical and Roma styles often on a 10-string acoustic guitar. Here is a tune called The Song of the Golden Dragon, which features on his 2023 album Anthology Vol. III, which is currently available for free on Bandcamp:
Next we are heading to the Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014, but internationally still considered a part of Ukraine. Crimea has a long and complicated history, ruled by many different powers and even enjoying periods of independence. The original inhabitants of the peninsula were the Crimean Tatars, a Turkic ethnic group with their own language and mostly adhering to Islam. Throughout the various occupations of the region they were often discriminated against and in 1944 most of them were forcibly removed by Stalin and resettled mostly in Centra Asia. Once the peninsula became an autonomous region of an independent Ukraine, the local government was very much pro-Russian, understandable in the context of the native population having been mostly evicted and replaced by Russian speakers.
In that context the 2 artists that I have chosen to represent Crimean Tatars were actually not born there. We start with the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest winner Jamala, whose real name is Susana Jamaladinova. She was born in 1983 in Kygyzstan to a Crimean Tatar father and an Armenian mother, who were both musical. In 1989 they did move back to Crimea, where Jamala's musical career started at the age of 9 and where she attended the Simferopol Music College. She also trained in opera, but sadly decided to make her career in relatively bland pop. At the supposedly non-political 2016 Eurovision she caused a stir with her song 1944, obviously referring to the year when the Crimean Tatars were forced to leave their homeland by the Soviets. Apparently she is now 'wanted' by Russia, presumably not to represent them at Eurovision. Here's the song that gave her international fame:
Jazz guitarist Enver Izmailov is another Crimean Tatar who was born in exile in Uzbekistan in 1955. He incorporates Crimean Tatar folk elements in his composition, often using typical time signatures. He plays his custom-made 3 necked electrical guitar tapping the neck of the guitar with his fingers. Here is a tune called Yalta, after the famous seaside resort, from his 1999 album Minaret:
Next we are heading to the Podolia region which covers parts of western Ukraine and northern Moldova. The region has historically been a melting pot for various ethnic groups, including Ukrainians, Jews, Moldovans and other Balkans. Hence the traditional music of the region is a blend of all those influences. Brass band Konsonans Retro was formed by members of the Baranovsky family in the town of Kodyma right on the border to Moldova. Their music has more than just a hint of Balkan wedding music and klezmer to it. Here's a tune from their 2011 album A Podolian Affair called Moldavskaya Hora:
That's it from Ukraine, next we are heading for a quick visit into Moldova. Meanwhile, as usual you can follow my virtual ramblings on my Tripline map.
We arrive in Kyiv on our virtual trip, formerly better known with it's Russian pronunciation of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine and where the famous chicken dish originated.
We start with the folk music quartet DakhaBrakha, who have garnered quite a large audience abroad and have somewhat become international ambassadors for Ukraine. They were established in 2004 as a live theatre crew for an avantgarde theatre company the Dakh Contemporary Arts Centre, their name being a play on words of the the name of the centre Dakh meaning roof and Dakha (give) and Brakha (take). They perform Ukrainian songs combined with various other world music influences in what they call 'ethnic chaos', dressed in elaborate costumes. I first came across them at the NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert, and have been hooked on their music ever since. It's so unique and full of joy!
One of the members of DakhaBrakha is also a member of all female dark cabaret troupe Dakh Daughters, also associated with the Dakh theatre. They have moved further away from tradition towards a poetry of anger to the rhythms of drums of war, with lyrics in various languages and often based on texts by classical authors. Here is a song from their 2021 album Make Up called Rosy, based on Shakespeare's Sonnet 35:
Music producer Pavel Lenchenko, aka CEPASA from Kyiv produces electronic music that sits somewhere between downtempo, house and techno music rooted in Ukraine. Synths, drum machine, guitar and his voice create a moody soundscape. Here is an ode to his home city Kyiv with some nice shots of the city from his 2022 album Niby Chaiky:
Fusion project Bleu are a coming together in 2022 of Ukrainian singers Borys Cholewka and Sophie Tabakov with a group of Moroccan musicians playing the likes of oud and darbukka, plus Belgian accordionist Maurice Blanchy. Their repertoire consists of traditional Slavonic songs from the wider region, rearranging them to suit the unusual instrumentation. The result is their 2022 album Tchekala, which was recorded in Belgium. Here is a stirring song from the album called Kozak:
Ukrainian folk ensemble Bozhychi were established in 1999 and are very traditional in outlook. They went on expeditions all around the country including a canoe trip up the rivers to unearth dance tunes and songs from the villages. They now advise the Ukrainian parliament in matters of youth policy and culture. Here are some extracts from a live performance in 2014:
That's it from Kyiv, next we are going to explore the rest of Ukraine, including some of the currently occupied territories. Meanwhile you can follow my virtual journey on my Tripline map.
