The Balkan soul music of this Romanian Gypsy ensemble features pointed vocals and wild violins inching toward ecstasy. They are constrained by steady if elastic rhythms, yet even here, the tempo mounts toward turbo-charged. Taraf de Haidouks’ music has obvious affinities with Jewish klezmer and, more so, Serbian tamburitza. Among their musical colleagues, they stand out for having achieved international acclaim performing with Kronos Quartet and appearing with Johnny Depp in the film The Man Who Cried.
