Sound Tracks: Shukar Collective

Every trip should have a soundtrack, so we've asked CJ Fahey with Nat Geo Music to select artists from their catalog whose songs will inspire you to get going.



The Roma, also known as Gypsies (a politically incorrect moniker derived from the myth that the group migrated from Egypt), have a storied musical history. Virtuoso musicians like guitarist Django Reinhardt have captured world attention, and mainstream folk and rock musicians have celebrated "gypsy" spirit in their songs, i.e. "I want to rock your gypsy soul," from none other than Van Morrison.

If you've traveled through Europe it's likely you've come across Roma musicians performing in piazzas, restaurants, or on public transportation. Music might be a natural calling for a people who, by choice and sometimes by force, have lived on the fringes of mainstream society since their arrival in Europe over a half-millennium ago from northern India.

Shukar Collective is a Romani group from Romania that combines, I kid you not, the traditional music of bear handlers, or ursari, with electronic samples mixed by two Romanian DJs. The music video to their single "Malademna" shows scenes from rural Romania mixed together as though the video editor had spent all night partying in a club, and I mean that as a compliment!

[Nat Geo Music, Video]