Album Details

• Artist: Various Artists
• Album: Gypsy Groove
• Label: Putamayo Grooves
• Year of Release: 2007
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2007-04-26

I can’t see a more fun, hip record being released this year. This compilation is a mix and mash of funk, reggae and electronica with traditional Balkan Gypsy folk music. It not only works, but it is infectious and shakes the roof.

The beats range from the chill of Czech rapper Gipsy.cz’s "Jednou" to the off the hook rumble of Balkan Beat Box’s "Sunday Arak." The blending of African rhythms and traditional Eastern European folk by Kishtehen Tanczenekar on "Virágok a Réten" is the standout track for me.

For only seven tracks that clock in at under an hour total, this is a set that will stay with you for weeks. Proof that old wine can fit into new skins, and that the world is a lot more hip than Billboard will tell you. You already knew that Emission- worshippers, but this collection digs deep into what the clubs in Prague and Monrovia are grooving too, and the fact that this is accessible to us in the West is a sign that all is not lost.

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