Taraf de Haidouks - Maskarada (Crammed Discs)

Ever killed time with those translation websites, taking a line of text, translating from English to (let’s say) Japanese and back again? “You’ve lost that loving feeling” ultimately coming back as “the feeling which has the love was lost.” The echo of the original sentiment is still there, but it’s awkward, diminished by having much of its essence stripped away. Maskarada suffers from the same problem. Gypsy band Taraf de Haidouks committed to learning pieces by 20th century classical composers – Bartok, Albeniz, Ketelbey – who were inspired by Roma folk music. Promising in theory, but disappointing in practice, the result is labored, stiff and far too reverent – especially for this lot! Having devoted the first half of the CD to this experiment in “re-Gypsification” the Taraf de Haidouks cut loose with a set of their own tunes, which, free of the baggage of a composer's score, sound – by contrast – all the more sweet in their unmediated, shambolic glory.