Rakiya
World/Gypsy music
“Modern and traditional … including music of the Roma (Gypsies) … jazz and rock influences … electric and ethnic instruments, passionate singing, exotic harmonies, rhythms from the simple to the complex, driving frenzy and slow beauty…”
This is the essence of Rakiya, an eight-person band based in the Boston area. Our music is as varied as the Balkans: energetic Serbian dance tunes, Bulgarian and Macedonian Rom wedding music in exotic and compelling meters, fascinating Greek melodies, and sinuous, hypnotic Turkish songs of love and longing. We can keep a whole room jumping, pumping out volumes of energy in new and exciting rhythms, or entrance audiences with ancient songs that evoke as much passion today as when they were first composed.
Rakiya musicians come from a variety of musical backgrounds: jazz, rock, classical, blues, klezmer, American folk, and Celtic. Rather than imitating a specific Balkan sound, our arrangements blend the best of the Balkans with the wealth of musical styles that each of us brings to the table. The result is irresistibly danceable, evocative music with a Balkan slant but decidedly Western overtones.