Music Review: Princes Amongst Men - Journeys With Gypsy Musicians - Page 2

The book has been translated into a number of European languages, and is distributed by the Asphalt Tango record label in Germany, who specialize in the production and distribution of Gypsy music from Eastern Europe and Russia. So it's not surprising that they have just released a companion CD for the book.

Princes Amongst Men features the music of some of the best known performers from the four countries that Cartwright travelled through, performers that he spent time with and came to know personally.

While bands like Taraf de Haidouks and Fanfare Ciocarlia have achieved some name recognition in Western Europe and North America through touring and appearances in movies, (Taraf de Haidouks appeared alongside Johnny Depp in The Man Who Cried and he has become one of their biggest champions in the West), others on the disc won't be as well known to audiences outside of their own countries.

Individuals like Fetus Mustafov and bands like the Docani Orkestar from Macedonia; Boban Markovic and Ekrem from Serbia; Sofi Marinova and Boril Illiev from Bulgaria; and Romica Fuceanu and Fulgerica from Romania, are names that probably won't be familiar to many people west of the Balkans, but whose music is every bit as redolent with the fire and passion that has made their more well known brethren so beloved by those who know them.

While I'm probably somewhat more familiar with Gypsy music than the majority of people, I would by no means call myself more then an appreciative fan. More then half the names on this disc were unknown to me. In the past I've really only ever had the opportunity to hear Romanian music, and only the occasional performer from the other countries. So this disc was full of pleasant surprises for me. I'd not had the opportunity of hearing the four country's different styles juxtaposed before, so I was interested to note the subtle differences that showed up in the music.

While there was the obvious differences in languages between the four, I began to notice traits that, judging by this disc, could be considered characteristics of the four countries. While I've grown used to the hell bent for leather apporach that both Taruf and Fanfare take to their music, (if you've seen the movie Borat you'll have heard Fanfare's version of "Born To Be Wild" which makes Steppenwolf's original look like it was recorded in slow motion) and the Romanian appreciation for speed and agility in their music in general. While the other countries retained some of that feeling of abandon, there were also elements that changed the tempos and gave them a different feel.

Article Author: Richard Marcus

Richard Marcus is the author of the recently published What Will Happen In Eragon IV? and has had his work published in print and on line all over the world. The not so long-haired Canadian iconoclast writes reviews and opines on the world as he sees …

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