Tamango was the vocalist and spoon-player of The Shukar Collective, a group formed out of traditional gypsy (Roma) musicians from the band Shukar and younger Romanian artists. In The Shukar Collective, Napoleon, Tamango and Clasic played ursari music (ursar means ‘bear tamer’ or ‘bear handler’) using spoons, wooden barrels or darbuka drum to create a powerful sound that is at the same time emotional and soulful.
Younger members contributed their drum and bass beats and other electronic sounds which resulted in the remarkable album Urban Gypsy, released on Riverboat Records in 2003. From 2008 onwards, Tamango slowly retreated from the music scene due to ill health.
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.
I feel very guilty for showing a shukar collective video to a person that might not have had that same appreciation of the real music and video I saw. I am afraid he may have passed it on through emails with less appreciation and understanding of cool and not just cool – a real look at a culture that is unigue and amazing 🙂