Traversing Gypsies

Germany- A Trans-European, multi-genre bunch of Raw gypsy musicians- Harmonia shares their musical influences and experiences with Sahil Sharma.

Originally inheriting the name with a primary notion of being called the ‘Somebodies- who connect to everyone, irrespective of taste, language. They came together, for they wanted to appeal to a a wider yet varied audience.

It seems natural that a band met in the United states and played together, but their roots are as varied as their cultures and musical backgrounds. It couldnt have got better. They together make a sound that offers a fine and rural blend of Slovakian, Romanian, Maldovian, Croatian, Serbian rhythms with the ‘extraordinary imbibing’ elements of the music of Hungary and Ukraine. “Though we come from distinctly different cultures, we saw what we had in common. Just as India has many different and distinct cultures, yet has an overlying “Idian-ness”, the peoples and cultures of Eastern Europe also have a great deal in common with each other that is distinct from other regions of Europe and the world.

As immigrants and the grandchildren of immigrants, these similarities have become more apparent when silhouetted against the background of American culture.”, said the Harmonia members.

If you get a chance to see them perform live, the gypsy vibes come out in full flair.Gypsies, ( or ‘Roma)’ thrived in the eastern parts of Europe and the pieces “Romanian Ritual Dances” & “Hungarian Suite in Gypsy Style” and “Songs from Vojvodina” clearly show this influence.

Putting more light on the energetic yet soothing Gypsy touch in their music, Harmonia members shared, “Interestingly, the Gypsies came to Eastern Europe in the middle ages originally from Rajasthan. Their language, Romani, is derived from one of the Prakrits. You can hear this in the song “Roads of the Roma/ Djelem, Djelem”.

Researching more on their music and backgrounds, while keeping an eye on their compositional style, we cannot just say that their music seems to revolve only around the old immigrants and their folk tales. Their shows have always been flooded with young audience and this is a validation of the fact that this culture is actually thriving in the US, though not as part of the mainstream. They feel exhilarated to perform for general audiences that are not part of their communities, yet are thrilled with the music. ‘Beata Begeniova’- The vocalist of the band , marks her magnetic presence and this is something that adds to their lively performance onstage.

Harmonia puts a unique twist in the old immigrant underground sounds. The journey, from interpreting the music and then adding a crisp to it in their own way has been interesting.

“Usually we work on the new songs as a group. One person strums a tune; perhaps others already know it, perhaps not. As we begin to play and work with it, various members of the group add ideas and try things. The music tends to evolve over time”, explained Harmonia “Primarily we base our music on traditional tunes and sources. We try to stay true to the spirit and style of the piece without being stodgy. We are not trying to recreate or revive anything; our music is living- it’s what we do – we just want to bring it to wider audiences. That said, there are a few tunes that we have composed, though none on the new CD. However, we do sometimes radically reinterpret them. The best example would be Beata’s arrangement of “In the High Pasture” which is based on an old folk song that has been extensively reworked”, they added.

Harmonia is coming with a CD, which is in the studios as for now. It’s already recorded and is getting polished to focus on the Hungarian music that they play for the Hungarian community. It is expected to hit the charts later in 2012. However, they will keep enthralling the audience worldwide with their latest music album ‘Hidden Legacy’, as they will be returning to Mountain West in July with performances at the Montana Folk Festival in Butte, Montana.

Written by: Sahil Sharma