Description
Romashka
Romashka plays Gypsy music from Russia, Romania, and beyond. Fronted by Lithuanian-born singer Inna Barmash and joined by a crew of multifaceted American musicians—including a half-Romanian, half-Japanese madcap accordionist—the band blends years of Klezmer, jazz, and rock into a fiery Gypsy music journey.
Born in New York in 2003, Romashka grew out of late-night jams, cafés, and subway sessions, quickly leaping to underground parties and pulsating clubs. Their high-octane shows attracted both downtown revelers and outer-borough immigrant communities, cementing their place as a driving force in the city’s Balkan and Gypsy music scene. They’ve hosted monthly dance parties at the legendary Mehanata (Bulgarian Bar) and Maia Meyhane, and performed at the Knitting Factory, BAM Café, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and outdoor festivals across the region.
Romashka draws its repertoire from Romanian and Russian Gypsies, with flavors of Spain, Turkey, and beyond. The musicians have traveled through Eastern Europe and New York’s immigrant enclaves, gathering songs and rhythms that mix aching love ballads with raucous dance numbers. The result? Party music that burns like Yiddish mashke (“liquor”)—raw, intoxicating, and impossible to sit still through.
“If you really want a challenge, try sitting still while Romashka plays!” — Michael Ginsburg, Zlatne Uste Balkan Brass Band
Yallah Yallah
Guitarists Amit Peled of Habbina Habbina and Segev Harosh join forces to give us: Yallah Yallah, a homage to ’80s drum machine-based, Middle Eastern pop. The two guitarists capturing the harmonized guitar parts on those classic records and adding keyboards, live percussion, and an Alesis SR-16 drum machine, omnipresent in the original ’80s recordings.