IT WASN'T HARD TO LOVE YOU (vinyl)

Description

New studio album celebrating Fanfare Ciocarlia's 25th anniversary.25 YEARS AGO: A seemingly endless, bumpy road winds along hills that don't want to be called mountains - somewhere in northeastern Romania near the Moldovan border. Houses from the past that Chagall randomly threw into the landscape, standing crooked and boldly colored in the mud, their windows staring wide-eyed at passers-by. At some point, the traveler makes a final difficult left turn and, after crossing another gravel road, finally reaches the birthplace of one of the most incredible recent phenomena in brass music: Zece Prajini, the place where it all began for Fanfare Ciocarlia. Here, in 1997, 12 musicians set out to conquer the world with deep explosions of tubas and tenor horns intertwined with wild cacophonies of trumpets and saxophones. Unleashing the joyful power of Eastern European brass music into the world - that was the idea! The seriousness of their mission was highlighted in 1998 on their 1st album with a quote from senior trumpeter Radulescu: '...just wait and see - at some point, we're going to play on Mars,' a momentous statement... the band has traveled millions of kilometers on countless tours in their attempt to reach the red planet. NOW IN 2021: Nothing needs to be rewritten, not even their music. Fanfare Ciocarlia's unparalleled talent for combining their Balkan brass with touches of jazz, pop, and rock, all performed with insane precision at dizzying tempos, has given them cult status and made them a permanent fixture on the music scene, ranging from punk to classical. Two and a half decades, thousands of shows, and 9 studio albums later, Fanfare Ciocarlia was at the peak of its career when a pandemic shocked the world. This unprecedented event meant the same for them as for millions of other artists worldwide: an abrupt halt to all work. And while the world seemed to stand still, the band's many fans became active and helped them celebrate their long-planned 25th anniversary album with financial support and words of encouragement. And here is the result: 'It Wasn't Hard To Love You' is a musical ode from legions of fans to Fanfare Ciocarlia. It's the latest chapter in the story of a big band from a small village, a band that wants to make people smile and a band that longs for a long future of thrilling concerts late into the night. "Catchy brass, frantic rhythms: it's hard to resist the Balkan fever of Fanfare Ciocarlia." --- TÉLÉRAMA ---. "ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING GYPSY BRASS BANDS IN THE BALKANS." --- LE MONDE ---. Fanfare Ciocarlia in a few words...: Fanfare Ciocarlia is one of the greatest Gypsy brass bands in the world, a 24-legged Balkan brass beast whose oriental funk groove has torn through venues and festivals across the planet with their Balkan brass sound. Their energetic performances and musical ingenuity have earned them fans from Melbourne to Memphis, from Tokyo to Toulouse. Sons of farmers from the "hidden" village of Zece Prajini, in northeastern Romania, the band members learned their craft at the feet of their fathers and grandfathers, proudly approaching each concert as a challenge both to entertain the audience and keep the true spirit of Gypsy music alive. It's no small thing to note that Fanfare Ciocarlia is solely responsible for the re-emergence and great rise in popularity of Balkan brass and the Eastern European brass movement.