Close your eyes and take a walk down an unfamiliar alley,

the hum of far away places permeate the air as thick as the smell of the mouth-watering pastries cooking in the fire-bricked ovens.

Just as you think you’ve lost yourself amidst a lost and chaotic city, you emerge, open-aired and breathing in the sight of 50 men and women dancing to the uptempo sounds of family and celebration.

Finally, you think, something real.

Balkan Bump is the newly rebranded project from Oakland-based trumpet player and producer, Will Magid.

An ethnomusicologist, Will has been gathering inspiration for his music on every continent, save Antarctica.

That has led Balkan Bump to some curiously strange places…

Stream Balkan Bump – “Irfan” below:

“Irfan” is the first single off Balkan Bump’s EP, and it’s focused on one particular region in Europe. Can you guess what region that is?

Yes, the Balkans – where brass bands reign supreme on the local traditional music scene.

Like the nostalgic illustrations on frosty-perfect Gothic-era holiday cards or the image you get when you think of merry men with horns dancing in circles in far away European squares.

Or, for more practical purposes, this image you get when you Google ‘Balkan Music’.

Watch for the release of Balkan Bump’s EP on Gramatik‘s Lowtemp Records coming soon!

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