Catalogue: Gypsy and Balkan: "Brass Noir - On the Trans-Balkan Highway" - Various Artists: Boban Markovic, Fanfare Ciocarlia & more

Brass Noir presents some of the most renowned artists of the Balkan, seleced by DJ Robert Soko the inventor of the popular BalkanBeat Party, featuring Boban i Marko Markovic Orkestar, the undisputed kings of Balkan Brass and Fanfare Ciocarlia, the fastest Brass Band in the world, both known from the internationally successful Balkan Brass Battle.
The Balkan's Autoput is like Germany's Autobahn. Initiated by Marshall Tito in the 50ies as the "Road of Brotherhood and Unity", in the 60ies and 70ies it became the much frequented holiday route for Yugo, Greek and Turkish "Gastarbeiter" from Germany and Austria, tourists to southeastern Europe and exhausted lorry drivers heading for the Orient.
Today you can again drive along it in peace, but take care: the historical labyrinth is always there. Here is the soundtrack to cruise your own trans-balkan highway, between love and disaster, violence and melancholy, romance and abyss.

Press Quotes

"Wer sich seither gerne auf Balkan-Beatparties vergnügt wird auch seinen Namen kennen: DJ Robert Soko, der diesen extrem infizierten Sampler kompiliert hat. Alle teilnehmenden Combos bringen traditionell reichlich Blechgebläse mit ins Studio [...]. Knapp 60 extrem unterhaltsame - mit Balkan-Pop, Klezmer, Jazz und Dance virtuos jonglierende - Minuten lang wird dem Trans-Balkan-Highway Tribut gezollt.[...]"
-Saarbrücker Zeitung Feb 2012-

"Balkan Brass from Berlin's deadliest Piranhas: Piranha Records was the first world music label to effectively promote Balkan brass - issuing seminal albums by Boban i Marko Markovic, Fanfare Ciocarlia and others - and on Brass Noir Robert Soko has compiled 13 tunes from a variety of Piranha releases. Soko's aim is not to simplify raid the back catalogue for a brass sampler but to select particularly atmospheric brass recordings that suggest a road trip through former Yugoslavia. Opening with Serb jazz musician Boris Kovac's scene setting 'An Intro Trip', it is followed by Fanfare Ciocarlia's haunting rendition of the ancient Romanian folk song 'Lume Lume': Brass Noir immediately conjures up an eerie soundtrack that could effectively soundtrack a Balkan road movie. He emphasis Balkan brass as a music of great subtlety and jazz textures rather than the pumping, raw funk often associated with the genre. There are many gems to be found here - Fanfare Tirana's gorgeous 'Mehre Lehte', replete with bouzouki flourishes. reminds you how excellent the Albanian brass band's debut album is - and even the likes of Darko Rundek, whose cabaret-flavored folk rock I previously never cared for, stand up well. Balkan music lovers may own most of the tunes here but Brass Noir is that rare thing: A Balkan brass album that can soundtrack a quiet evening in.
-Songlines March 12-

"fomidable selection"
-vibrations Feb 12-