Party: Barcelona Gipsy Balkan Orchestra

Party: Barcelona Gipsy Balkan Orchestra

The permanent members of BGKO are clarinetist Robindro Nikolić (Barcelona, Spain), accordionist Mattia Schirosa (Italy), double bassist Ivan Kovačević (Serbia), guitarist Julien Chanal (France), percussionist Stelios Togias (Greece), and vocalist Sandra Sangiao (Spain). BGKO also includes rotating nomad musicians, and the band reflects the style of the various artists that have been a part of it.
Balkan Reunion at Sala Apolo (March 2015) // Jordi Oliver
The group originated in the spring of 2012, when eleven musicians gathered in Barcelona to celebrate International Romani Day. Some of them had already met at various jam sessions, including at El Arco de la Virgen, and at other musical venues in Barcelona.

In 2013, Barcelona Gipsy Klezmer Orchestra self-published its first album, Imbarca, which was re-released one year later with the vinyl EP Satélite K. The re-release included three new songs: "Hasta Siempre, Comandante", "Cigani Ljubiat Pesnji", and "La dama d'Aragó". After releasing Satélite K in 2014, BGKO played on tours around Italy, Greece, Malta, Serbia, Slovenia, Germany, and France, in concerts and festivals in Spain, and at the Auditorium of Barcelona.

BGKO hosted the Balkan Reunion in March 2015, which brought together numerous notable Balkan musicians from around Europe, including the Macedonian saxophonist King Ferus Mustafov (referent from the East Gipsy music), Vlado Kreslin (known for his collaborations with R.E.M.), and the Turkish singer Nihan Devecioglu. Around 1,300 people attended the concert, which took place at Sala Apolo. BGKO's second disc, which germinated from this Balkan encounter, was released in September 2015. Throughout 2015, the band played in Granada, Málaga, Palau de la Música Catalana, Ireland, the Netherlands, France, Austria, Switzerland, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, /Sarajevo (Club Monument)Germany, and Istanbul.

Its version of "Djelem Djelem", the international Gypsy hymn, has received more than 4,500,000 views on YouTube.[2]
http://bgko.org/