Mahala Rai Banda - Romania

Ancient gypsy campfire tunes distilled into the raucous din of Balkan Mafia clubs – this is the sound and setting conjured by racy Romanian roots rockers Mahala Rai Banda.

This 11-piece band kicks serious brass ass with fierce 21st century gypsy funk, rooted in tradition but with hints of dub and soul, Turkish and Arabic assimilated into a roaring dance mix. This unique Eastern groove took shape in the gypsy ghettoes outside Bucharest, when musicians from the southern village of Clejani (home to legendary gypsy orchestra Taraf De Haidouks) jammed with brass players from the Moldavian village of Zeci Prajine (home to Balkan brass blasters Fanfare Ciocarlia). Quickly, this became the hottest wedding band in Bucharest, and fame soon spread as tapes began circulating around Berlin, Brussels, Barcelona and Vienna.

An acclaimed 2005 debut album shot the band from shantytown to the soundtrack of international hit movie Borat. Having initially toured the world as house-band for Gypsy Queens & Kings, Mahala Rai Banda went out alone after its 2009 album Ghetto Blasters, proving that Romanian funk has fangs.

With punchy scat singing, rough-edged rhythms and larger-than-life energy, they make dancers feel as though they’ve gatecrashed the Romanian wedding of the year.

www.myspace.com/mahalaraibanda