Romanca
“Romanca” is an instrumental song written by the students and director of the Galakticka School Band. It is a technical piece, meant to give the lead guitarist a chance to improvise on a simple melody. But though it’s a practice piece and not similar to traditional...
Project Spreads Roma Music for the World to Hear It
I still remember our first visit to the Lunik 9 settlement in Kosice, Slovakia. By that time, nearly eight years ago, the neighborhood was already known as one of the largest Roma slums in Central Europe. It seemed out of place – an ugly holdout of poverty in a...
Out & About
“Out & About” is an instrumental song written by the students and director of the Galakticka School Band. This is not the kind of music these students would typically play. Rather than emulating their popular Roma musical icons of today, this song...
Nane Cocha (I Have Nothing)
Nane Cocha is an old Roma folk song that’s taken on new life in recent years. It’s a simple ballad about a young girl who’s getting married, leaving everything behind for her new life. No one is sure where the song originally came from or how old it is....