Mahala Rai Banda
A Strictly Balkan Event
From Bucharest: Mahala Rai Banda
With North Strand Klezmer Band and Yurodny plus special guests
“The interplay between fiddle, accordion, percussion and brass was dazzling, and the audience were on their feet. Romania has another musical export to be proud of.” – The Guardian
Aurel Ionita: violin, voice Oprica Viorel: trumpet
Sorin Constantin: voice. Clarinet Viorel Gavrita: trumpet
Bosnea Aurel: baritone Marian Enache: accordion
Mihail Enache: taraban Dinu Marian: drums
Sunday 3rd December, Doors: 7.30pm , Tripod, Harcourt Street, Dublin 2
Two great musical traditions prevail on Europe’s eastern-most frontiers, and in Mahala Rai Banda, gypsy-soul meets Balkan brass in a wild and raucous hybrid that will leave you breathless and elated.
Half this band of lovable rogues are originally from the small village of Clejani, hotbed of Rom music, the gypsy culture that stretches from the Carpathian Mountains to the Black Sea, and home to the celebrated gypsy orchestra Taraf De Haidouks. The rest are rigorously trained yet now decommissioned brass players of the Romanian army, of whom there were 30,000 at the height of the Ceaucescu regime.
Deep in the Mahala, the Gypsy quarter of old Bucharest from which they take their name, they’ve been pooling their flambouyant musical resources. Rom clarinet, cymbalom and accordion vie with ex-military trumpet, horn and tuba to create a wildly addictive groove that gives a distinctively urban twist to the region’s rich musical heritage. As Romania stands on the cusp of EU membership, it’s a perfect moment to host our own Balkan fanfare.
Joining the fray are Dublin’s finest exponents of Jewish klezmer, Balkan folk and European gypsy music: the acclaimed North Strand Klezmer Band and Yurodny - a Dublin-based seven piece lead by the ever-productive Nick Roth.
Tickets are available @ €20 (inc. booking fee) through Improvised Music Company ph: 01 670 3885 or through Ticketmaster: 0818 719 300 www.ticketmaster.ie (ticketmaster bookings subject to 12.5% charge, agents €2/ticket)
