Besh o droM, Can't make me! (nekemtenemmutogato!) (Asphalt Tango/Piranha/Harmonia Mundi)
What happens when an urban wedding collective fuses deep ethnic folk roots with wild jazz improvisation? The Hungarian electro-acoustic band Besh o droM. This Budapest-based ensemble is nearly synonymous with creative. Pumping out their deep mix of Eastern beats, they lock into a heavy rhythmic groove. Their music builds a new place where tradition meets club music on the best possible dance floor. A smoking hot Balkan brass section wails out furious harmonies dripping with Gypsy and Middle Eastern influences, while funky rich Eastern rhythms bubble underneath like flowing lava. If your mental vision of Hungarian music holds only waltzes as somber and stately as the Danube, you're due for a startling surprise and change of world view. Besh o droM powers out a tasty, energetic display of smoldering brass and reeds mixed with Gypsy violin, guitar, cimbalom, accordion (not to forget oud, ney, kaval, bass and percussion). Even water can percussion is poured on to steam things up. Can't Make Me is one of the finest current examples of what world music can be. Performed with incredible drive, this music is also a great way to break free of any remaining winter doldrums and spring into summer.
      — Barbara Flaska