Andrea had her first stage performance at the age of 5. From a few years later on, she has been singing and dancing in several folklore groups in Hungary, including the famous Bartok Ensemble. Often she was the soloist as a singer and/or dancer. With the groups and later in her solo career, she appeared in almost all countries of Europe.
Today, Andrea lives in Sweden and is mostly involved in singing. She takes her listener to a trip to the melodies of various ethnicities such as Irish or Gypsy, and staying true to her roots, she sings Hungarian folk songs as her main profile, performing them A Cappella or as World Fusion, lending her unmistakable voice to compositions of international artists.The Transylvanian band Barozda (which means Furrow) was formed in 1976 in the town of Csikszereda (Miercurea-Ciuc), Romania. The band learned the traditional Hungarian folk music from its roots, taught and inspired by village musicians, traveling all over Transylvania.
At this time of late 70’s, Barozda was in the frontline of those taking the original forms and traditions of the folk music to the city stages and founding dance houses where the music was brought to a wider and younger range of audience, setting the standard of the great Hungarian “tanchaz” movement in Transylvania.
In 1986 the political pressure became hard on the ethnic Hungarians and forced the band to leave its native fields behind. Members at time Imre Bokor, Jozsef Simo and Lajos Toro emigrated to Sweden.
Having become an appointed and popular group of musicians, Barozda was soon a frequent performer at Swedish festivals and nationally known folk music clubs. Western years also included invitations to Austria, Germany, Hungary and Switzerland, and featured appearances on Swedish national radio as well as TV shows.
On their first album together, Authentic Hungarian Village Music Andrea Gerak & Barozda present the songs they performed at Brugges Festival of World Music, in November 2006. Fiery dances from Transylvania, Moldavia and today’s Hungary, beautiful a cappella songs from the Northern regions, for those who appreciate music that is still here and alive, through hundreds of years. Most of the tracks are live recordings – just as if the listener attended one of their performances. Available on CD and as download.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
