Tekameli - Escolteu

From Perpignan in the south of France, a stone throw away from the Gipsy Kings' native Camargue, Tekameli's founding members: Jean Soler, Salomon Espinas and Julio Bermudez, are also Roma musicians playing Rumba Catalana and Flamenca, the gitans' local music, a blend of Latin American beats with flamenco. One of the best and most remarkable bands to emerge from the French Catalan Gypsy scene over the last decade, they are definitely one of the genre's most authentic exponents. Recorded at Perpignan's Casa Musicale, a venue that reflects the city's cultural diversity, their new album, Escolteu, is a beautiful collection of their community's religious songs, exquisitely infused with their own brand of rumba flamenco, and highlighted by the purity of the vocals and the guitar harmonics.