Gypsy punk is a hybrid genre that blends traditional Romani music with punk rock. Singing in various languages, gypsy punk bands combine rock rhythms and instrumentation with typical Eastern European instruments such as drums, tambourine, accordion, violin, trumpet, and saxophone.
One of the first rock groups to incorporate elements of punk and Gypsy music were the Motherhead Bug, mainly active in the early '90s. The main exponents of the genre are Gogol Bordello, who first started using the term gypsy punk in reference to their musical style by titling their fifth album: "Gipsy Punk: Underdog World Strike". With their upbeat rhythm and shouted vocals combined with common Romani characteristics, they convey a bizarre cabaret atmosphere on stage, with frenetic and theatrical shows.
Aesthetics and staging in concerts are also a fundamental part of the No Smoking Orchestra, Emir Kusturica's group. The famous director has succeeded in bringing the traditions of the Romani people to the world. Disconnected from any show business dogma, Emir Kusturica and The No Smoking Orchestra are a significant phenomenon of the anti-globalist movement: dance music with compelling content that cannot be resisted. The No Smoking Orchestra's communication with the world is based on music and performance, conveyed through images and sounds without any specific insistence on a single homeland.
Such magic can also be found in the soundtracks of Kusturica's films, like "Time of the Gypsies", composed by another gypsy ambassador: the musician Goran Bregović. Accompanied live by the Wedding and Funeral Orchestra, Bregović's music is derived from Romani and South Slavic themes and is the result of the fusion of traditional polyphonic Balkan music with tango and other genres, transporting the viewer into a popular gypsy celebration.
