Breton-Rom Music

October 20, 2011

Wow, it’s been a while since the last post.
I’ve been getting back into some of my roots a bit, listening to modal Breton music and coming to the realization that not all of it makes you want to slit your wrists. The Bretons can be tough and insular, but being a maritime people, there is also a multi-cultural strain that runs deep (by force if not by choice what with Russians, Americans, Africans and Asians camping in Brest during World War I and Germans in World War II).
This, coupled with hybrid world music albums becoming en vogue over the past 20 years, has led to the likes of some interesting collaborations including the Breton-Malian music “N’Diale” (see my previous post). From the same label comes Erik Marchand‘s Breton-Romanian mash-ups with several different tarafs.
These two tracks are from the album “Dor” with the Taraf de Caransebes.