Mahala Rai Banda is a

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnic groups * Romani people, or Roma, an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin ** Romani language, an Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani communities ** Romanichal, Romani subgroup in the United Kingdom * Romanians (Romanian ...

band based in Bucharest (

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

). The band was formed by violinist and composer Aurel Ionita, who originates from a family of

lăutari The Romanian language, Romanian word lăutar (; plural: ''lăutari'') denotes a class of musicians. The term was adopted by members of a professional clan of Romani musicians in the late 18th century. The term is derived from ''lăută'', the ...

from the village of Clejani. He is related to several members of Taraf de Haïdouks. The band plays Balkan-influenced music. Instrumentation used by the band includes violins, accordions, and brass instruments played by musicians from Zece Prăjini. Their music includes a mixture of traditional popular music and Balkan-influenced club music ( Balkan Beats). Their music is known for its blend of arrangements, traditional elements, and modern approaches.

The Debut Album

Mahala Rai Banda's self-titled debut album was recorded in 2004 in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

. Additional production and mixing were carried out by

Shantel Stefan Hantel, better known by his stage name Shantel (born 2 March 1968), is a German DJ and producer based in Frankfurt. He is known for his work with Romani brass orchestras, DJing and remixing traditional Balkan music with electronic bea ...

and Marcus Darius in Frankfurt, Germany. The mix was done in collaboration with Ionita Aurel (the band's leader) and Stéphane Karo. The album was released on

Crammed Discs Crammed Discs is an independent record label whose output blends world music, rock, pop, and electronica. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Crammed was founded in 1980 by Marc Hollander of Aksak Maboul and has since released around 400 albums and 300 ...

in early 2005.

The Second Album

Mahala Rai Banda's second album “Ghetto Blasters” was recorded in 2009 in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

. The album was produced, recorded and mixed by Henry Ernst and Marc Elsner. The album was released on Asphalt Tango Records, in October 2009. The album climbed to 2nd place in the World Music Charts Europe charts, and was voted amongst the top ten "Best Albums Of The Year 2009" by

Songlines (magazine) ''Songlines'' is a British magazine launched in 1999 that covers music from traditional and popular to contemporary and fusion, featuring artists from around the globe. ''Songlines'' is published 10 times a year and contains album reviews, artis ...

Achievements

Ever since the release of their debut album, Mahala Raï Banda has performed over 200 concerts in 26 countries, and appeared at major festivals and clubs and concert halls. Their song "Mahalageasca" (both in its original version and

's remix) has appeared in the British-American feature film ''

Borat ''Borat'' (also known as ''Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan'') is a 2006 mockumentary directed by Larry Charles, which stars Sacha Baron Cohen as Borat Sagdiyev, a fictional Kazakhs, Kazakh jou ...

'', as well as in several other films and advertising campaigns. Their debut album climbed to Number 3 in the World Music Charts Europe Mahala Raï Banda have also had their tracks remixed and/or reworked by electronic music producers and artists such as

Nouvelle Vague The New Wave (, ), also called the French New Wave, is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of i ...

, Felix B (from

Basement Jaxx Basement Jaxx are an English electronic music duo consisting of Felix Buxton (born 30 April 1970) and Simon Ratcliffe (born 28 November 1969). The pair got their name from the regular club night they held in Brixton, London, UK. They first ros ...

Balkan Beat Box Balkan Beat Box (BBB) is an Israeli musical group. Founded by Tamir Muskat and Ori Kaplan in 2003, BBB was later joined by Tomer Yosef who became a core member. The group plays Mediterranean-influenced music that incorporates Jewish music, Jewish, ...

, DJ Click,

Russ Jones Russ Jones (born July 16, 1942 in Ontario) is a Canadians, Canadian novelist, illustrator, and magazine editor, active in the publishing and entertainment industries over a half-century, best known as the creator of the magazine ''Creepy (magazin ...

and more. Most of these reworks appeared as part of the ''Electric Gypsyland'' album series. Mahala Raï Banda tracks have appeared on international compilations including ''Buddha Bar'' (France), ''Bucovina Club'' (Germany), ''Balkan Bangers and Gypsy Beats'' (UK), ''Balearic Bisquits'' (Denmark), ''Balkanology'' (South Africa), ''Rough Guide to Eastern Europe'' (UK), ''Rromanu Suno'' (Serbia), ''Balkan Beats'' (Germany), ''Barrio Latino'' (France), ''Bar Gypsy'' (USA), and others. Mahala Raï Banda has also formed part of THE GYPSY QUEENS AND KINGS tour since 2009, and have been featured on the 2011 platforming game ''

LittleBigPlanet 2 ''LittleBigPlanet 2'' is a 2011 puzzle-platform video game developed by Media Molecule and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. The second main instalment in the ''LittleBigPlanet'' series and the third overall, it is ...

''. The song has also been known for being used as the intro song to the Romanian animated comedy, Animat Planet Show.

References

External links

Mahala Rai Banda management company, Asphalt Tango Production

* ttp://www.asphalt-tango.de/banda/tour.html Mahala Rai Banda tour dates, Asphalt Tango Production
Mini-site
on the

website. {{Authority control Romanian musical groups Romanian Romani musical groups Musical groups established in 2004