Fanfara Tirana wins two IMAs awards

TIRANA, June 5 – The unique pairing of Fanfara Tirana Meets Transglobal Underground has been awarded Best Short Form Music Video for its whimsical, stop-motion video for the song “No Guns To The Wedding.” Fanfara Tirana Meets Transglobal Underground was among the exceptional self-released and independent label talent named by Music Resource Group (MRG) as the judge-determined Winners of the 13th Independent Music Awards (The IMAs), the influential international awards program for independent bands and fans.
This collaboration between members of the Albanian military brass band (Fanfara Tirana) and the British dance pioneers (Transglobal Underground) was also honored for top World Beat Album.
Fanfara Tirana has been described as “completely organicƷhether on gentle laments or trouser-shaking floor fillers” by The Times “meaty beats, crunching tubas and mercurial clarinets that speak lucidly of both past and present” by The Independent, and “a highly entertaining clash of Albanian brass and beats, with unexpected echoes of India or the Caribbean added in” by The Guardian.
Fanfara Tirana is a musical ensemble named after the Albanian capital. In its early days, its members played alongside the “professors” of the army band and devoted weekends to weddings, ceremonies where music is almost more important than food.
The ensemble enjoys retouching classical pieces by Mozart and Bach, reinventing them according to the mood of the moment and with a passion for typical Balkan party music. But their daily bread are traditional folk songs of Albania, especially those from the southern regions.
“We talk of Albanian blues to indicate a desire to express one’s suffering with the aid of timeless music, in this case made superlative by the genius of the band, Hysni (Nico) Zela, voice of Fanfare Tirana. The reference is therefore to “Kaba” music, improvisations on clarinet or violin, the prerogative of the territories surrounding Tirana and some areas of Epirus. At first glance, there would seem to be some confusion – in fact, the fifteen current members of the group are very familiar with music, both classical and traditional from the regions that have always hosted them,” says Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso.