Rom Bengalè was a well-known group of Romanian Gypsy musicians. The musicians from Rom Bengali, who were between 16 to 26 years old, made an name for themselves in the moloch Bucharest with their unconditional cross over style binding traditional Lautari music with modem oriental pop music.
Music was their life just as it was their parents. They reached, however, for keyboards, electric guitars, electric bass, drums and percussion along side of the traditional music. Their interest lied not in imitating western pop music but rather in creating their own Lautari traditional, undeniably oriental influenced, electric-soul sound. The lyrics spoke about unhappy love affairs between gypsies and non gypsies, the hopelessness of the inner city, (prices rising out of control, ever growing poverty), anti-gypsy discrimination, love, jealousy, and dreams of wandering trough the world.
The group disbanded in 2001.
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.