Monday's mp3: Gypsy Blackout

Here in the USA, natural extremities are regional. The east coast and south have humidity and hurricanes. The midwest has biting winters and huge mosquitoes. And here in the Northwest, we've got earthquakes and windstorms. Two such windstorms hit last week, ripping branches from the many Douglas firs, toppling other trees, and causing widespread power outages. Here at SoundRoots HQ, we're still warm and well-lit, though some of our neighbors' homes and businesses are still dark. It's one of those times when families come together (for warmth and hot showers), and random strangers go into dark neighborhoods offering free hot food.

One casualty of the storm was the power to local radio station KAOS-fm, home of Spin The Globe. A planned show on Rom (Gypsy) music was thus postponed until January 12, but we've still got a sharing spirit. So here's a taste of things to come.

KAL is a contemporary band from the suburbs of Belgrade. In part, they remind me of the tradition-meets-electronica sounds of Shukar Collective. But more than Shukar, they dig deep into their roots, which you can hear in the Indian-style vocal scat in this song. "Kal" is the Romany word for "black," and brothers Dushan and Dragan Ristic formed the band to confront bias and stereotypes facing their people. The album was recorded at Dragan's home studio, and has an edgy modern feel throughout, though the roots are always present.

[mp3] KAL: "Dvojka"
from the album KAL

tags: worldmusic, weather, gypsy, gypsies, KAL, Shukar Collective, Balkans