Asphalt Tango Records
Asphalt Tango Records is an independent record label based in Berlin, which specializes in the music of the Roma from the Balkans as well as rock, psychedelic folk and electronica from Eastern Europe.
Genesis
Asphalt Tango Production was founded by Henry Ernst and Helmut Neumann in 1997. The men became friends in the 1980s in Leipzig, where both going about various jobs (Ernst worked as a waiter and Caregiver, Neumann as an orthopedic shoemaker and night watchman ). 1989 Ernst and Neumann took part in the Monday demonstrations in Leipzig. After the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany both moved to Berlin.
1996 Ernst visited the Moldova region in north- eastern Romania. If you stay in the small Roma village Zece PRAJINI Ernst came with the local, lived tradition of brass bands in direct contact. The music and the artists impressed him so much that he immediately set about continued after his return to Germany to book first tour.
Fanfare Ciocărlias first tour and the establishment of Asphalt Tango
Ernst managed for the musicians from Zece PRAJINI, now Fanfare Ciocărlia called themselves, twenty concerts to book in Germany and France. The thus first tour the band took place in March / April 1997. The preparation and implementation took a lot of work with him, so that his friend Ernst Neumann asked for help. Initially existed Asphalt Tango Production exclusively as a management and booking agency for Fanfare Ciocărlia.
The expansion of Asphalt Tango to independent label and publishing
The first three albums by Fanfare Ciocărlia were all published by the Berlin-based label Piranha and achieved very good sales. Ernst Neumann and were thus convinced that Asphalt Tango would also work as independent label. In November 2002, the first release of Asphalt Tango Records came on the market, the debut album " Ma Maren Ma " by Bulgarian singer Jony Iliev (produced by Ernst and Neumann ).
Asphalt Tango Records licensed the next two CD releases, on the one hand the album "Can not make me! " The Hungarian band Besh o droM and the album "Waltz Rromano " the Serbian Roma band Earth Wheel Sky band. Then In April 2004, the DVD " Fanfare Ciocărlia - The Story of the Band " published that the film " Iag Bari - Brass on Fire" next to a concert recording includes Ralf Marschalleck.
The international debut of the Polish Accordion Trio Motion Trio "Pictures from the Street " appeared in May 2004, a year later, the label brought the fourth album by Fanfare Ciocărlia " Gili Garabdi " on the global market.
CD series Sounds From A Bygone Age
In November 2005, published Asphalt Tango Records, the first album of the historic CD series " Sounds From A Bygone Age", presenting the old recordings of Roma musicians from Ceausescu's times. Volume 1 of the series is the violinist Ion Petre Stoican and other Lautari ( professional Roma musicians ) from Bucharest dedicated and includes recordings from the 1970s. The label brought in the series " Sounds From A Bygone Age" to date, five albums by Romica Puceanu, Dona Dumitru Siminică, Toni Iordache and Gabi Lunca on the global music market.
Project " The Gypsy Queens & Kings "
In 2002, fanfare Ciocărlia had ( held in Jasmine Dellals documentary "When the road bends: Tales of a Gypsy Caravan" from 2007) at the " Gypsy Caravan Tour" contributed by North America. This project inspired and Ernst Neumann, something similar for Europe to initiate. In 2007 she produced the album " Queens & Kings " by Fanfare Ciocărlia on which also known guest vocalists from different Roma communities in Europe are heard.
The band presented their fifth album in December 2006 with a concert at Sala Palatului in Bucharest, Romania. Fanfare Ciocărlia stood together with Esma Redžepova, Jony Iliev, Kaloomé, Mitsou and Florentina Sandu on stage. With this lineup toured the now " The Gypsy Queens & Kings ' designated project through Europe and Australia.
In 2009, Asphalt Tango rebuilt the cast of 'The Gypsy Queens & Kings ", Mahala Rai Banda, the Romanian replaced since the musicians of the fanfare Ciocărlia. The album "Ghetto Blasters " Mahala Rai Banda of (produced by Ernst and Neumann ) was released from the label in late 2009 to the start of another European tour of the newly imposed project " The Gypsy Queens & Kings ".
More Eastern European Gypsy, Psych - Folk, Electronica releases from Asphalt Tango Records
Asphalt Tango Records since its inception, working with music from Eastern Europe. In February 2006 the debut album " Kal " the Serbian Gypsy rock band Kal came on the market. In October 2007, the CD "Voice Letter " of Russian, resident since the 1980s in Berlin band ErsatzMusika was released, at which the Mix is based to hear from Russian folk and rock, poetic lyrics on the concept art of bandleader Irina Doubrovskaja. In October 2008, debuted La Cherga, a band of ex- Yugoslavs from Graz, with "Fake no more", one influenced by ska, dub and electronica album. Almost the same time " Bucharest Tango " by Oana Catalina Chitu. The Romanian singer Chitu living in Berlin for some time, deals with the Romanian tango of the 1930s. In April 2009, the label then released Kals second album "Radio Romanista " and ErsatzMusikas CD "Songs Unrecantable ". In November 2009 came Kottarashkys album " Opa Hey! " On the international market. On the first CD of Bulgarian producers Nikola Gruev is interwoven with samples of known Roma musicians and field recordings from Bulgaria to listen to electronic music.
Book & CD " Princes Amongst Men: Journeys With Gypsy Musicians"
" Princes Amongst Men: Journeys With Gypsy Musicians" ( original English version published by Serpents Tail 2005 ) is a book by music journalist Garth Cartwright. The author tells of his travels through Serbia, Macedonia, Romania and Bulgaria and encounters with famous Roma musicians in these countries. In 2008, the German translation appeared under the title "Balkan Blues and brass bands - Traveling with Roma musicians in Serbia, Macedonia, Romania and Bulgaria " in Hannibal Verlag. Asphalt Tango Records released the same time as the compilation " Princes Amongst Men", on which most of the musicians featured in the book can be heard.