Baba Zula at New York Droma Gypsy Festival
Baba Zula will permorm with belly dancers at New York Droma Gypsy Festival.
Wed, Sept 24
DROMA GYPSY FESTIVAL 2008 ANNOUNCES LINE-UP
THIS YEAR’S FESTIVAL COVERS MORE TERRAIN THAN EVER
Sixteen bands from all over the planet celebrate their Gypsy heritage at Drom
New York, NY – Consolidating three years of history into nine-day stretch, the Droma Gypsy Festival 2008 (previously the NY Gypsy Festival) will take place from September 24 to October 3 this year at only one location, the East Village venue Drom. After having held the eclectic festival at numerous locales over the years, including Symphony Space, Central Park’s De La Corte Theater, and Joe’s Pub, Drom will serve as the ideal host for this celebrated gathering of some of the most important Gypsy and Gypsy-influenced artists in the world today. The fourth edition of the festival will feature 20 bands and DJs as well as belly dancers from across the planet.
“This year we felt the music and the spirit would be better presented at one single venue,” said festival co-producer Serdar Ilhan. “The festival will continue the tradition of presenting the amazing world of Gypsy music to New York audiences at Drom.”
While the romanticized labeling of the term “Gypsy” has lent the term rather ambiguous connotations, the artists partaking in the festival are well aware of the social and sonic importance of the word. By its very nature, “Gypsy” implies multiculturalism, given the vast stretches of land the nomadic dwellers have covered over the last 700 years. This open-eared globetrotting has come to fruition with acts like Turkey’s Baba Zula, whose ritualistic performances meld art, belly dancing, elaborate costumes, poetry and theater into one magnificent audio-visual production.
Whereas Baba Zula mixes artistic forms, France’s Watcha Clan investigates the musical relationship between cultures through electronic means. The band’s evolutionary exploration of Tuareg, Sephardic, Arabic, and Mediterranean sounds is driven by their relentless fury of beats, not to mention singer Sista K’s beautiful vocals and undeniable presence. Another impressive female singer will appear at the festival via Berlin’s Dotschy Reinhardt. Fully aware her last name will give instant recognition due to her relative Django Reinhardt’s legendary work, Dotschy points to Joe Zawinul, Jobim and Sergio Mendes for her jazz- and Brazilian-inflected guitar and vocal performances.
Also arriving from overseas are France’s east/west jazz-fusion outfit Balval, and Denmark’s klezmerites Mames Babaganoush. Chicago’s Eastern Blok, which includes guitar virtuoso Goran Ivanovic, will also make the trek east for a special performance.
Renaming the festival to break ground in its new home, Droma — from the club, Drom, and Roma, which is another name for Gypsy — will also feature local talent, including the groundbreaking Zlatne Uste (who host the annual Golden Festival for Gypsy artists), Drom residents the NY Gypsy All-Stars, Italian tambourine player and singer Allesandra Belloni (who will be performing with I Giullari Di Piazza), Viva Patshiva, the “comic gypsy rock opera,” Indian marching band Red Baraat Festival and trumpet legend Frank London. NY-based international projects performing during the fete include Macedonia’s Romski Boji, Spain’s Citron Brothers, and Romania’s Sanda Weigl..
Taking the Gypsy sound into club world, Austria’s DJ Dunkelbunt and Belgian DJ duo Nohmada will be offering support to the live shows, as will New York City residents DJ Joro-Boro of Mehanata Bulgarian Bar fame, and GlobeSonic Sound System’s DJ Derek Beres.
“There is more of a homogenous mix this year,” added co-producer Mehmet Dede. “Sixteen bands, including seven international bands, will be playing alongside DJs over nine days. We have bands flying in from France, Turkey, Germany, and Denmark, as well as local artists with roots in Romania, India, Spain, Italy, Macedonia, and Serbia. We are covering the music of some of the key countries that Gypsies have settled in as they traveled from India to Spain. As a result, we hope that a broader and inquisitive audience will follow this year's festival.”
The curious will find a treasure of music at this year’s annual festival. Living during a time when international travel and relations, on a political level, are tenser than ever, this cultural Mecca is proving itself to be an important and refreshing look at the soul of the emerging global society.
The annual Droma Gypsy Fest 2008 will take place from Wednesday, Sept 24 through Friday, Oct 3. Visit www.dromagypsyfest.com for a full schedule, music samples, band biographies and more. For more information, press kits with sampler CD, tickets and interview requests contact 212.777.1156 or dromagypsyfest@dromnyc.com.