Super Rats take you on a hijacked musical taxi-ride through the backstreets of Bucharest. At the heart of the band is the cimbalom – a ramshackle 145-stringed Austro-Hungarian contraption that sounds like the offspring of a honkytonk piano and a xylophone. Blistering accordion, sinuous violin, and thumping double bass complete this award-winning group’s sound.
From diverse and colourful strands – Ottoman court music, raw Balkan peasant folk, the legendary inventiveness of Roma (gypsy) musicians, a handful of tango and jazz – Super Rats weave a magic carpet to whisk you away to other times and places.
Band leader and cimbalom nerd Tim Meyen studied in Romania for over a decade before assembling a crew of rolled-gold local musicians to present this rich tradition in Australia. Together they careen through authentic 'muzică lăutarească' with panache, humour and dedication, sure to please curious ears.
Tim Meyen (cimbalom)
Alister Price (accordion)
Pip Thompson (violin)
Simon Milman (double bass)
More info on their web site.
"Think of that magnificently brisk soundtrack from The Grand Budapest Hotel and you’re somewhere in the ballpark… dip your toe into something new." - Adelaide Advertiser
"A dedicated and hard-working band!" - Mrs Nineta Barbulescu, Ambassador of Romania
"Tight, rhythmically complex … entertaining traditional dance tunes." - Michael Coghlan, 'The Clothesline'
