Lying on a cultural fault line between Central Europe and The Balkans, Romania is known for its varied, archaic, multi-layered musical environment. Hailing from the small village of Zece Prăjini in northeastern Romania, Fanfare Ciocărlia is an explosive and frenetic Balkan brass band that produces a wild, other-worldly good vibe. The dozen band members play trumpet, alto sax, clarinet, baritone horn, drums, percussion, kettle drum and helicon (a brass instrument in the tuba family). The self-professed “hardest working band in the blow biz” has a folkloric consciousness with innovative, original elements of Hungarian, Gypsy, Latin, Klezmer and Polka music. Check out tracks like “The Hungarian Wild Bunch,” “Pannonicated Polka,” “First Aid Klezmer,” “Porsche Polka” and “Gypsy Mambo No. 555.” They also present a lively, unique cover of Bill Withers’ “Just the Two of Us,” as well as several interesting snappy compositions from Koby Israelite such as “Demon Dance,” “The Trumpeter’s Lament,” and “Babo Never Worked a Day.”      

Fanfare Ciocărlia celebrates its 25^th anniversary with their tenth album It Wasn't Hard to Love You, a tribute to their legion of fans around the world. The band was discovered by a young German sound engineer, Henry Ernst, in 1996. “Fanfare” is a Romanian term for brass band, and “Ciocărlia” refers to a lark, as well as the name of the most famous encore piece in Romania. As they quickly became a fixture on the world music tour circuit, the band’s Balkan brass groove is red hot, bright and bursting with pep.

Sadly, Fanfare Ciocărlia has had to postpone their planned 2022 tour explaining that “a really hot Balkan brass experience cannot be realized with distance, mask obligation, partial dance prohibition or small audience capacities.” Regardless, It Wasn't Hard to Love You received good airplay, maintained a very strong position on the weekly Roots Music Report’s Top 50 World Album Chart, and was listed on The Roots Music Report's “Best of 2021” World Album Chart.

We encourage you to check out their wild, danceable melodies conveyed with a copious amount of playfulness, spontaneity and charisma. The Year of the Tiger (2022) needs some musical accompaniment, and the fast, furious, cohesive Fanfare Ciocărlia provides just the ticket to keep you moving. (Joe Ross, Roots Music Report)