Ocean songs

New Internationalist, June, 1998

by Dirty Three (Bella Union BELLA 3)

Soon after Ceaucescu was deposed as Romanian dictator, two Belgians travelling in the country chanced upon a group of a dozen or so gypsy musicians in their village of Clejani, southwest of Bucharest. They were Taraf de Haidouks and nothing really prepares one for the first encounter with their gypsy soul music. There is, in their traditional tunes and songs, a wildness and a spirit that makes party tunes boisterous or laments solemn and plangent. There's little point in making any comparisons with the jaunty violin melodies that are periodically offered up as authentic gypsy material.

Since the Belgian-based label introduced the band to audiences outside Romania, Taraf de Haidouks have bowled over countless assemblies. Dumbala Dumba is their third album. That it exists at all is extraordinary: Romania has long had an ambivalent relationship with its gypsies and during the Ceaucescu regime folk music was corralled in the service of the state and a culture of `fakelore' grew up. Not surprisingly, these `fakelore' songs no longer exist; for traditional music to survive, it has to be grafted to a living root.

Taraf de Haidouks' fast vivacious music spans cultures - Balkan, Slavic and Turkish - with a rhythm of tradition and everyday ritual. Invigorated by the addition of guests, such as a group of Ursar former beartamers, the exciting beat, claps and rhythms speak for themselves. The shifts and the cadences reach back to the music's Middle Eastern origins and often the music can seem quite rough and uneven, but it quickly asserts its ability to regenerate itself with a flourish. And using makeshift instruments such as barrels, spoons and chairs, these dozen or so musicians suggest an urgent need to make music. It's a powerful and affirming communication.

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In their wild, soaring, creaking melodies, it might be said that Dirty Three possess a bit of Taraf de Haidouks' spirit, even soul. If this seems preposterous, check out the trio's fourth album, Ocean Songs. Led by violinist Warren Ellis (who also plays with Nick Cave's Bad Seeds), the band specializes in an instrumental sound that can range from manic heights to slow, understated melodies. Ellis, a trained player who left his native Melbourne to study with the gypsies in Romania and Morocco, brings a full range of improvisatory talents to fruition in the band. Guitarist Mick Turner and drummer Jim White provide a launchpad for Ellis's playing, and on Ocean Songs he coaxes a strange and mournful blues into being. As seductive a record as you will ever find.

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LG