Fanfare Ciocarlia
London Barbican
30th May, 2007

Romanian Gypsy brass band Fanfare Ciocarlia have won a wide audience across the last decade with their storming Balkan funk. An appearance on the Borat soundtrack (with a bonkers take on Born To Be Wild) led to their first major London gig, the 11- piece orchestra’s raging horns quickly having the capacity audience up and dancing. Touring Queens & Kings, Fanfare were joined by Gypsy musicians from across Europe, including flamenco trio Kaloome, Bulgaria’s raw throated Jony Iliev, Romanian beauty Florentina Sandu, and most impressively, Macedonia’s Gypsy Queen, Esma Redzepova, whose multi-octave voice reverberated across the theatre. Fanfare joined all of their guests for a great celebration of Gypsy artistry, then cleared the stage for a storming set of Eastern funk. Whether reinventing the James Bond theme or Duke Ellington’s Caravan, or playing fierce Ottoman flavours, Fanfare Ciocarlia proved why they’re the world’s most popular brass band.