Balkanbeats
A Night in Berlin
Piranha CD-PIR 2338
***½
Full Price (61 mins)
Of the many Balkan and Gypsy compilations out there, Robert Soko’s Balkan Beats has always stood out for its wide selection and solid dancefloor credentials, thanks to his longstanding Balkan Beats nights in Berlin where he is resident DJ. It was the first Balkanbeats compilation on top indie label Eastblok that first introduced talents like Slovenian gunslinger Magnifico to a wider international audience. Now in its fourth instalment on new home Piranha, Gypsy Djs will find plenty of floorfillers, although there are more known names and less of Soko’s crate-digging here than usual. Nonetheless there is plenty to keep hips swinging: Dunklebunt’s Cinnamon Girl is a bouncing little dance number that almost could be a remix from Belleville Rendezvous; local ska ragamuffin party kings Rotfront tear it up with typical flair on B-Style; Serbian alt-rave rockers Vrelo bring an almost electro-breakdance synth rhythm to traditional female close-harmony singing on Oj Vrelo. Finally it is the Vera Bila, gypsy rumba sound of joyous Czech outfit Deladap that is the pick of the bunch with Radost. All in all another solid selection from one of world music’s hardest working DJs.