firma - important

Firma are probably one of my favourite Romanian bands. Their first video was La Orbire (Of Blindness), I have seen it once, liked it and forgotten all about it. Then they got a record contract and along came the single Nimeni (Nobody). I loved it instantly, in fact so much that I just went out and bought the album. It is very well worked, especially for a music album produced in Romania, with attention to every detail from sound and lyrics to album cover and design - all aspects in which the band members were heavily involved. And then came this video for the single Important. First time I saw it, I thought it belonged to a foreign artist. Really well done and I recommend it in a quality higher than the one youtube can provide.

There is also another version of this video, subtitled Rocca's Nightmare (Rocca being the lead singer and songwriter); then the band kind of vanished. There was a collaboration of Rocca with N-eatgroove (much like the Brian Molko - Timo Maas song First Day) and that's about that. Yesterday I read in a cheap grab-it-for-free local newspaper that the band is working on a second album. I didn't quite know what to make of it, since they only mentioned three members. I've check the band's homepage and... guess what, the newspaper was right for once. Apparently Lix, the guitarist and other songwriter has left the country; don't know what has happened to the other dude, but they are down to three members now and about to release an album. Am curious about that one.

cargo - batacanda

This is local pride kicking in :) And i mean local, not national. Cargo is one of the most appreciated Romanian rock bands, active for over two decades. It is the band that made guys like my brother want to be in a rock band; it is the band whose concerts i don't miss; it is the band that doesn't even have to sing when they come to play home gigs, because the public would do it for them with all their heart and all their lungs; it is the band that headlines festivals in my hometown, no matter what other band is playing the same day; it is the band that still draws fans in spite of changes of line-ups and attitude problems (oh, yeah, they sometimes have them :D ). This is one of my favourites among their songs, though it is so hard to pick just one. Makes me just wanna undulate my hips ;)
For Romanian speaking people... here is a short documentary on the band. And for them and all the rest... here is Batacanda.

hara - nuro shavo

I've decided to also promote some Romanian bands around here. Romanian music industry is far from great quality-wise, in my opinion. With far too many people listening to 'manele' and an overcrowding of the market with cheap ten a dime bubble-gum pop sings and some wannabe hip hoppers mainly. However, I do find that there are some notable exceptions. One of them is Hara, a band from Cluj, unless I am much mistaken. They've enjoyed some success with a couple of songs. My favourite is "Nu-mi pasa" ("I Don't Care"), but haven't found a vid. Instead, I went for Nuro Shavo, featuring Tamango. Enjoy ;)