Artist Info: Rumelia

Rumelia is a group of women who are putting a new spin on music from Eastern Europe, a region generally known as the Balkans. The music is unique to the western ear in that it uses odd time signatures (think 7/8, 9/8, and 11/8 for starters), as well as eastern scales (maqam) and tonalities. Rumelia’s repertoire is derived from the traditional and popular tunes of Albania, Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, and Bulgaria with a little Sephardic and a lot of Roma (Gypsy) music thrown in for good measure. [read more...]