Rumelia
Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States | SELF
Music
Press
I’ve just listened to “Lost and Found”-This is an astonishingly good album and I’ll make sure it gets a bunch of spins
--Matthew Finch, Musical director of KUNM, 89.9 FM, Albuquerque NM - KUNM 89.9 FM
“This album sounds great, very precise, and full of Balkan energy, art, soul, and emotions” -Raif Hyseni, Albanian accordionist with Merita Hallili, Caldwell, NJ - Private Party
This trio of young women play the music of the balkans (Albania, Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, and Bulgaria) with style, skill, and precision. Sitara Schauer is a fiddler with violinistic chops, but a real sense of regional nuance. She gets a rich tone when called for and knows when more of an edge is needed. Nicolle Jensen on lead vocals and doumbek, rig, and frame drum percussion, and Deborah Ungar on accordion and clarinet are very skilled and know this music intimately. The vocals are both sharp and sweet, and sound true to the traditions represented. This recording is a most enjoyable listen, and makes me want to catch them live when I have my dancing shoes with me.
-Kevin Carr - Fiddler Magazine
Discography
Rumelia Demo, 2010
Lost and Found, 2013
Photos
Bio
We are a group of women who are putting a contemporary spin on music from Eastern Europe, a region generally known as the Balkans. The music is unique to the western ear in that it uses odd time signatures (think 7/8, 9/8, and 11/8 for starters), as well as eastern scales (maqam) and tonalities. Rumelia’s repertoire is derived from the traditional and popular tunes of Albania, Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, and Bulgaria with a little Sefardic and a lot of Roma (Gypsy) music thrown in for good measure.
The band’s sound consists of intricate vocal harmonies, violin, accordion, a little clarinet, guitar, and the occassional ukelele, accompanied by traditional balkan percussion.
Videos:
http://rumeliamusic.com/video/
Links
