Following her well-received  2015 album, Murchale, released under the band name Marcela & Los Murchales, the Slovak gypsy singer with a big voice is back to lead us on a further discovery of the musical heritage of Eastern Europe. Disillusioned with being a trapped black gypsy in Slovakia, Marcela relocated to France to find freedom. As she exclaimed on our previous project in the song entitled “Aven Romale!” - “Take everything from me, my food, my sleep, but the soul of my gypsy music. You can never take it from me. My gypsy soul, no one will take it from me so come with me ... Aven Romale!”

Driven by Marcela Cisarova, her 2022 album O’Roma also features guitarists who have played with her for quite some time, Benoit Vincent and Charles Lamouroux. Vincent also provides some backup vocals, and Lamouroux even plucks some banjo on “Ando Suno,” a lullaby with a unique rhythm and chordal progression that she often sings to her children. The remainder of the quintet is Loran Bozic (violin) and Yoann Godefroy (double bass). It all makes for some very festive instrumental ornamentation. With guest Emilio Castiello’s mandolin, a favorite lively track is “Amare Roma.” The band is equally comfortable with the slower, evocative introduction to the title cut that concludes with lyrics that mean “cradle to the sound of the trees, rhythm to the noise of the ground, I always flee further.”

A more rhythmically propulsive rock setting drives “Yalla Mon Frère” (Yalla, My Brother), a song Marcel co-wrote with Nedjim Bouizzoul, leader of Labess. Added percussion (riq, darbuk and cajon) by Ersoy Kazimov drives “Roman Havasi.” The CD booklet includes no English translations, and I don’t believe their band’s website does either. I was sad that no French lyrics are included for the snappy track, “Kibori” that is colored with Thibault Duquesnay’s saxophone.  A spirited instrumental “Mirjanino Kolo” featuring Bozic’s violin is joyful, head-banging world music.   While O’Roma begins with many of the band’s own self-penned compositions, I was pleased to hear them close the set with three traditional selections, “Deves I Rat,” “Aven Romale” and “Dancino Volveras,” that may address feelings such as joy, pain, love and anger. This shows that Marcela and company respect tradition but also have a vision to play modern music with a distinctive gypsy flavor. (Joe Ross, Roots Music Report)