Orkestar Kriminal is a band of merry madmen and gals, who set fire to the stages they visit and ignite their listeners like a metal-punk band. In fact, Orkestar Kriminal’s music has been described as “Yiddish punk”, “Cabaret noir” or “crazy Balkan”. You could also say that it’s pure Montreal Keb, because probably few places would see a South-East European band have at its disposal everything it needs to integrate music from every continent, which it can sing in Yiddish (of course), but also in Spanish, Bosnian, Arabic, Greek, Polish, Hindi, Norwegian bokmal or indigenous Mixtec from Mexico! With Originali, you’re totally immersed in a popular festival of incandescent fervour, somewhere between Sarajevo and Delhi. All this will seem redundant to those who knew the great era of the Gitan de Sarajevo, the legendary Montreal group, but it would be a mistake to confuse the two. As mentioned above, Orkestar Kriminal respects tradition while destroying its slightly old-fashioned premises, with a street and punk attitude, whereas the Gitans were into folklore that was certainly energetic but rather traditional. Originali is, yes, original, but it’s also extremely ecstatic. And don’t forget that the energy you hear in your headphones will be boosted a hundredfold on stage. A first launch tour has just finished, but the lovable fellows are sure to be adding more dates in the months to come. Don’t miss them if they pass by your way.
