shukar collective
Biography
The Shukar Collective was born from the meeting of new generation musicians with the gypsy traditions of Shukar founders Napoleon, Tamango and Clasic. Shukar plays ursari music (ursar means "bear tamer" or "bear handler") using spoons, wooden barrels or darabouka to create a powerful and urgent sound that is emotional and soulful at the same time. Urban Gypsy combines Shukar's original ursari music with the new technology of the collective, resulting in their distinctive sound.
The Shukar Collective idea came about after Lucian Stan and Dan Handrabur heard some original Shukar tracks and saw them perform in a well-known Bucharest jazz club. The idea behind the project consisted of re-orchestrating these fabulous folkloric pieces with current technologies, while preserving and emphasizing the original aspect.
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Napoleon
plays at wooden barrel's percussion and voices: 38 years old. He comes from a 12 children family. The name of his father is Coco (Rooster) and the name of his mother Salcia (Willow). He plays a wooden barrel in which he is throwing with stones taken from the alley. He is married to Nadia and father of five children: Razbunetor (Avenger), Armando, Bilclinton (Bill Clinton), Indonezia (Indonesia), and Lovenea (Beauty in Rroma language). He currently lives in the village of Gratia, Teleorman County - Romania and appeared as special guest on Taraf de Haïdouks album "Dumbala Dumba" (Crammed) in 1988.
Tamango
plays at spoons and voices: Not specified age, around 62. He plays on spoons since he was 16. His name is already a legend in the local folk music; one line being written especially for him: "i pe aripa lui scria, Tamango nu muita." ("On his wing there was a note, Tamango forget me not.") There is no connection between him and the well known Romanian football player, his model being... Louis Armstrong, whom he tries to follow due to his special vocal skills. He lives in the Balrii village, Teleorman County - Romania
Clasic
plays at primitive-percussions and voice: 24 years old. A living classic of the bear-tamers music. His hobby is to collect metals items from the fields all around his native village (Gratia), from which he is manufacturing toys
Tamango, Napoleon and Clasic are ex-street circus performers who used to use trained bears for their shows. However this incorrect treatments of animals has stopped and their energies are now focused on music and feeding their families.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.