Mahala Raï Banda profile picture

Mahala Raï Banda

Straight Outta Mahala

About Me

Shaped in the Gypsy ghettos (Mahala) around Bucharest, Mahala Raï Banda (literally Noble Band from the Ghetto), combines a surprising array of trends and styles. Combining Romanian violins & accordions with a brass section consisting of army brass band veterans and a rocking rhythm section, they're the rising band from the Balkans. They effortlessly combine a knack for inventive arrangements with an indeniable ability to turn every single concert into a wild party. Tracks by Mahala Rai Banda (alongside pieces by label mates Taraf de Haidouks and Kocani Orkestar) were reworked/recreated by Nouvelle Vague, Balkan Beat Box, Dj ClicK, Forty Thieves Orkestar and Russ Jones for the Electric Gypsyland 2 project, and their "Mahalageasca" appears in Sasha Baron Cohen's "Borat" film.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 9/9/2006
Band Website: crammed.be/mahala
Band Members: Aurel Ionitsa & co
Influences: Watch Mahala Rai Banda perform a Take Away show on La Blogotheque , live and direct from a Paris supermarket....
Sounds Like: Find the Mahala Rai Banda album

...on the brand-new Crammed Discs shop .

Join the Crammed mailing list and receive a free, 13-track downloadable compilation entitled

Sign up here

You'll receive an email when the downloads start being available.

And remember: it's not Mahala that sounds like Borat, it's Borat that sounds like Mahala...
Record Label: Crammed
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Mahala Rai Banda "Take Away Show" on La Blogotheque

It's Crammed Discs Week on La Blogotheque!... With great videos of Mahala Rai Banda performing in a supermarket and getting the fishmongers dancing behind their stalls& and Tartit teleporting a cru...
Posted by Mahala Raï Banda on Fri, 19 Oct 2007 03:12:00 PST

Mahala Rai Banda dates in France & Germany !

17+18 Jan 07: Reims 19+20 Jan: Paris (New Morning) 26 Jan: Ifs (festival Routes Tsiganes) Mahala Rai Banda will also appear on the first two Electric Gypsyland nights in Germany, on january 12 and...
Posted by Mahala Raï Banda on Thu, 21 Dec 2006 11:26:00 PST

BORAT'S MOST OUTRAGEOUS LIE ABOUT KAZAKHSTAN

Borat's most outrageous lie about Kazakhstan isn't his allegation that homosexuals had to wear blue hats or that women used to have to travel on the outside of buses: it's his attempt to make us belie...
Posted by Mahala Raï Banda on Sat, 14 Oct 2006 05:53:00 PST