World Music Album Reviews

Ciganski Diabli / Gypsy Devils : Self Titled & Dobré Casy

I'm the first to freely admit that the bulk of my CD collection contains albums from Eastern Europe and the Balkans - I just can't get enough of the music - I even bought a Hammered Dulcimer recently (a smaller and [unfortunately] "nicer" version of a Cimbalon) after being inspired the playing of Taraf de Haidouks.

So it was great interest I listened to the first CD I'd seen with music from Slovakia - a country bordered by Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Hungary and Austria.

The music played by Ciganski Diabli (Gypsy Devils) is definitely rooted in the traditional style of Hungary and Romania - evidenced by the frenetic pace of many tunes, virtuousic playing and a crazy Cimbal (Cimbalon/ Cymbalon) playing!

In 2000, the orchestra (still under the name Devil´s violin) received 3 Gramy awards from the Slovak music academy. They were designated as the Best orchestra, the Best album and the Best performer. They have gone on to tour the world and have visited countries such as America, Spain, Greece and even Australia!

In their own words, the repertoire of Ciganski Diabli is "very large and diverse, going from Slovak, Russian, Hungarian, Greek, Gypsy, Jewish or Roman etno music, to jazz standards, passing by operetta and movie music".

There were definitely quite a few pieces I recognised - the ever popular Monti's Czardas (Monti), The Flight of the Bumblebee (Rimskij-Korsakov) and Havah Nagila thrown in a mix of Jewish pieces.

Like many bands from this region of Europe, Ciganski Diabli seem to have limitless energy, unbridled passion and an extremely high degree of musicianship - surely they've been playing since they were little kids! There are no half-measures in their playing - it sweeps between frenzied runs and trills to soulful slow passages - before taking flight again.

I had the opportunity to see some video footage of them playing with a Symphony Orchestra and they seemed right at home in that environment - they were definitely the stars of the show though! I also watch a clip of them looking and acting like Gypsy Gangsta's - it was great - they didn't take themselves too seriously :-)

The final verdict? It really depends on your listening tastes - if you like "Gypsy" music in general you're going to love this - it's highly polished, very listenable and you'll recognise a lot of the tunes. If you're more into Taraf de Haidouks or Muzicas then you probably won't find this "edgey" enough for your tastes. Nevertheless, their definitely a band to watch out for if they're visiting your corner of the world!

> Find out more about Ciganski Diabli/Gypsy Devils at their website

Video: Gypsy Devils Cigánski Diabli F.Liszt E.Sarkozi Hungarian Rhapsody