Wednesday 21 Jul 2010

20.00, Hackney Empire, 291 Mare Street, London E8 1EJ; Tel. 020 8985 2424
Tickets: £10 / 15 / 20 (from Barbican Box Office)

An unmissable gypsy music double bill featuring the brassy beats of Serbian trumpeter Boban Markovic and the scurrying violins and punchy accordions of Romania’s greatest export Taraf de Haidouks.

Taraf de Haidouks – literally ‘band of outlaws’ – were the first Balkan Gypsy band to clamber over the fresh ruins of the Berlin Wall and win a Western audience. Discovered in their village of Clejani in souther Romania by Belgian impresario Stephane Karo in 1989, this troupe of then-unemployed musicians soon received a BBC Radio 3 Award for World Music – presented by their admirer Johnny Depp. Appearances in films (Latcho Drom, The Man Who Couldn’t Cry) and praise from Yehudi Menuhin and Depp helped consolidate the Taraf’s reputation.

The Boban Markovic Orkestar is widely held to be the greatest of the Balkan gypsy brass bands, and is famed for its contribution to the soundtrack of Emir Kusturica’s Underground. Drawing inspiration from Klezmer, jazz and Latin styles, the Boban Markovic Orkestar also push their music into the future with an infusion of funk – all interpreted with their stunning mixture of exuberance and virtuosity.

Details on www.barbican.org.uk