Kal (meaning "black" in

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

) is a world music

band from

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

(originally from

Valjevo Valjevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Ваљево, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Kolubara District in western Serbia. According to the 2011 census, the administrative area of Valjevo had 90,312 inhabitants, 59,073 of whom were urban dwell ...

, now based in Belgrade). They attracted Serbian and worldwide public interest with their eponymous debut album, released in 2006, presenting a blend of traditional Balkan Roma music with influences of

Tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

, Middle Eastern, Turkish, and even Jamaican influences. Kal was formed in 1996, and they participated in several compilation album with other Roma, Serbian and world music performers. Their first national TV appearance was in a

B92 RTV B92, or simply B92 (stylized as b92, formerly BΞ92 and B 92), is a Serbian news station and broadcaster with national coverage headquartered in Belgrade. Founded in 1989 as radio station, it was a rare outlet for Western news and informati ...

show Timofejev in New Year's Eve 200

, where they presented their unique style. During 2006, Kal toured over a hundred concerts worldwide, including most of the European countries and

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. They participated in

Sziget Festival The Sziget Festival ( hu, Sziget Fesztivál, ; "Sziget" for "Island") is one of the largest music and cultural festivals in Europe. It is held every August in northern Budapest, Hungary, on Óbudai-sziget ("Old Buda Island"), a leafy 108-hect ...

s (in 2001, 2002, and 2004), La notte di San Lorenzo in

Milano Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ha ...

, and 11th European biennale of young artists in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

EXIT Exit(s) may refer to: Architecture and engineering * Door * Portal (architecture), an opening in the walls of a structure * Emergency exit * Overwing exit, a type of emergency exit on an airplane * Exit ramp, a feature of a road interchange ...

in Novi Sad in 2004 and 2005, and featured in 2006

World Music Expo WOMEX (short for Worldwide Music Expo) is an international world music support and development project based in Berlin, whose main event is an exposition held annually in different locations throughout Europe. It integrates a trade fair, showca ...

WOMEX WOMEX (short for Worldwide Music Expo) is an international world music support and development project based in Berlin, whose main event is an exposition held annually in different locations throughout Europe. It integrates a trade fair, showca ...

. In April 2006, the album reached the first position of World Music Charts Europe and ended up 3rd in the annual list. The band, particularly the frontman Dragan Ristić, are also politically and socially engaged, fighting the prejudices and Anti-Roma sentiment. Dragan and his brother Dušan founded the Amala Summer School in Serbia, a workshop of Romani language, history, culture heritage, and political power.

Lineup

* Dragan Ristić – Vocals, Guitar, *Aleksandra Veljković-Vocals * Milorad Šalajko Jevremovć – Vocals, Violin * Rade Arsenović – Accordion * Marko Ćurčić – Bass Guitar * Dušan Gnjidić – Drums

Discography

Compilations

* Violeta & Kal: Budva '97 (1997,

Komuna Belgrade Komuna (full legal name: ''Komuna-International mešovito preduzeće za unutrašnju i spoljnu trgovinu d.o.o. Beograd'') is a Serbian record label and media production company. Established in 1985, its headquarters are in Belgrade, Serbia with a b ...

) * Balkan Ambience (1998, Marko's music, Bulgaria) * World Rhythms (1998, United One Records, Germany) * A zenne unnepe (2000, France Cultural Institute) * Romano Suno (2003, B92 Records) * Serbia Sounds Global 3 (2003, B92 Records)

Albums

* ''Kal'' (2006) (

/reissued internationally

Asphalt Tango ''Asphalt Tango'' ( ro, Asfalt Tango) is a 1996 Romanian comedy film directed by Nae Caranfil. Cast * Charlotte Rampling - Marion * Mircea Diaconu - Andrei * Florin Călinescu Florin Călinescu (; born 29 April 1956, Timișoara, Timiș Count ...

) * ''Radio Romanista'' (2009) (

) * ''Romology'' (2013) ARC music (UK)City Records,Multimedia records Serbia),Lou rocked boys (Poland)

References

* * *

External links

*
Kal at Amala Summer School web site

on

, the international record label Serbian Romani musical groups World music groups Musical groups established in 1996 Gypsy punk groups Romani-language bands {{Romani-stub