Fanfare Ciocarlia vs. Boban & Marko Markovic, Balkan Brass Battle (Asphalt Tango)
East European Heavyweights Fanfare Ciocarlia vs. Boban & Marko Markovic on ‘Balkan Brass Battle’
Release Date: July 12, 2011
Finally, the two titans of East European Gypsy music go head to head in a Balkan brass encounter of epic proportions. Following the tradition of brass battles from Serbia’s legendary Guca Brass Festival to New Orleans’ mean streets, the Balkan Brass Battle showcases the wit, passion and musical genius of Europe’s Romany Gypsy people.
In the left corner: Fanfare Ciocarlia, the Romanian rockers who rose from rural obscurity to international fame as one of the world’s most explosive live bands. Their fierce groove helped fuel a global beats revolution: Fanfare Ciocarlia tearing the roof off the sucka night after night!
In the right corner: Serbian trumpet legend Boban Markovic & Orchestra – survivors of the Yugoslav civil war, Guca Festival’s greatest champions, immortalized in Emir Kusturica’s maverick films, Boban’s Orchestra now feature young gun Marko Markovic, the fastest trumpet in town!
The Balkan Brass Battle CD was recorded across a feverish, sleepless forty-eight hours in a Transylvanian hotel right outside Graf Dracula, the castle of Vlad Tepes. Both bands laid down their hottest grooves then shaped up for a battle royal in the studio. Your ears won’t believe these Gypsy mavericks turbo charged takes on Duke Ellington’s ‘Caravan’ and John Barry’s ‘James Bond Theme’. Also recorded were Balkan folk tunes, original compositions and a surreal take on ‘Gummy Bear’ from the McDonalds’ Kids Menu
