Balkan Beats

balkan brass remixed // gypsy dance

Balkan dance music has been picking up speed in Europe, in part thanks to the Bucovina Club parties, and in New York at Mehanata Bulgarian Bar. It’s caught my ears lately as well, with blaring horns and Balkan beats discofied to crazy hype levels. Here are two floor mashers I’ve been working into my sets lately. The first comes from Mahala Rai Banda. You may recognize this tune from the Borat soundtrack, but this Felix B dub adds some crushing backbone. It’s on Gypsy Beats and Balkan Bangers out on Atlantic Jaxx. The second is a DJ Zoki blend of Serbian Trubaci and Reggaeton, a great digital dig via thebestyudjs.de.vu, featuring a slew of Euro DJ’s dabbling in Balkan sounds.

From the Balkans to the bumpin’ basements.
Mahala Rai Banda – Mahalageasca (Felix B Jazzhouse Dub)
DJ Zoki – Trubaci Cik Cik (Reggaeton Remix)

Music and words contributed by DJ Ghostdad who spins in Boston, hosts Mofo Radio on WZBC, and blogs.
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Posted by Paul Irish on Sunday, January 13th, 2008 under dance, global.

12 Responses to “Balkan Beats”

  1. dirkhaim said on January 14th at 5:51 am :

    If you want to go Balkan, I suggest giving A Hawk and Hacksaw a try. We featured them with some MP3s a short while ago here

    —-
    tinyways

  2. devlin said on January 14th at 11:46 am :

    ryan… cold crush! these are awesome.

  3. Alexei said on January 14th at 4:03 pm :

    Since you mentioned Mahala Raï Banda, you may want to try Fanfare Ciocârlia (a very popular Rroma band from Romania).

  4. Ghostdad said on January 15th at 2:09 am :

    Holler back at Chris (devlin)!

    Love Hawk and a Hacksaw and Beirut is another good look. Fanfare Ciocarlia are classic. All good examples of Roma roots branching out!

  5. Haldan / Boody B said on January 16th at 8:55 pm :

    I used to go to the bulgarian bar all the time when it was on broadway and canal. It used to be the best party in nyc, especially when you were 18 and wanted to be able to smoke weed in the club. The new location is dope too, but its just not the same.

  6. Prasant said on January 17th at 12:59 am :

    Great music!

    About the embedded player, that was a great idea and I started using it after seeing it here. But the new player seems unnecessarily complex.

    I like the way the page loads up older posts as you scroll down.

  7. Hadeem said on January 19th at 8:04 pm :

    I really love this kind of music. It was exactly what I was looking for right now. Any Klezmer music in the future would be appreciated.

  8. Barryc said on January 21st at 3:25 am :

    If you like that you may enjoy Fanfare Ciocărlia…

  9. pite said on January 21st at 7:46 pm :

    i think fanfare is a bit different. i like them both very much.

  10. The Lemur said on January 25th at 5:28 pm :

    No wonder it was released on Atlantic Jaxx! Basement Jaxx’s Hey You featuring Robyn on vocals sound closely related to Felix B’s remix. Actually the entire Crazy Itch Radio album sound quite influenced by similar music styles. Excellent music by the way. Thank you! :)

  11. Nathan said on February 1st at 4:40 pm :

    Gypsy Beats and Balkan Bangers 2 is my new favorite album…great find! I especially recommend “Super Good”

  12. Taliesin Hoyle said on May 11th at 7:44 am :

    You probably know him already. Try Goran Bregovic for a really powerful and enthusiastic take on this sound, without the electronic fiddling. I am looking for other music like the Russian bard Vladimir Vysotsky, and this is close, but not quite. If any of you know hearty, rasping and melodic substitutes, I am all ears. I don’t even know where to begin.

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