Gipsy.cz
In just three years, Gipsy.cz has become one of the most famous Czech music representatives in the world and played at prestigious festivals and clubs in 15 countries around the world, from Glastonbury to Ljubljana, from Lisbon through Kiev to Soul. The leader of the band is the Romani rapper, musician and singer Radoslav “Gipsy“ Banga who has been performing since the age of 13; Vojta Lavička, co-author of the project Gipsy.cz plays the violin and sings. The band is famous for its energetic live performances spiced with a good dose of distinct humor and self-irony.The 2006 Anděl Award in the Discovery of the Year category, the Chart Jumper of the Year in the 2008 Český slavík contest (it jumped from the 89th place to the 10th place), the Best Band of the Year award (2007) of the music magazine Filter, many live performances at the biggest Czech festivals, concerts and clubs, the Golden Album for the sales of the first album Romano Hip Hop and the success of the second album Reprezent among the fans and audience in the Czech Republic and aboard show the success of the band in the Czech Republic. In addition to many television performances, the band also performed twice in the national rounds of Eurosong in 2007 a 2008.
Gipsy.cz significantly helped the mutual understanding and better communication between the minorities and the majority society. In 2007 Radoslav Banga became the national ambassador of the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All.
The great position of the band on the international scene is also proven by its participation at the legendary festival in Glastonbury, Great Britain, where it performed as the first Czech interpret ever. People saw Gipsy.cz in the Netherlands - at the Dunya Festival in Rotterdam, the Mundial Festival in Tilburg and in the legendary Paradiso Hall in Amsterdam. The band also performed at the Couleur Café Festival in Brussels, at the Bestival on the Isle of Wight, Great Britain, the Pulse Festival in London and the Sziget Festival in Budapest. The unexpectedly enthusiastic reception brought the band twice to the World Music Festival in Ulsan, South Korea.
Czech and foreign reviewers highly praised both albums. The European journey of the most recent album Reprezent (released by Indies Scope Records in co-production with Mars Promotion and Colours Promotion) started with the biggest Czech success – the 3rd place in World Music Charts Europe (WMCE) in October 2008. For the entire year of 2008, Reprezent took the overall 21st place in WMCE out of 916 nominated albums in 2008. The band’s albums are being also successfully sold in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Great Britain, Japan, Italy, Spain, Portugal, South Korea, etc. The songs from both albums are in many compilations dedicated to world music as well as Romani and modern music fusions.
The latest issue of the prestigious British magazine Songlines gave Reprezent all five stars, referring to it as Top of The World, and included the song Benga Beating in its sampler also called Benga Beating.
The band’s video clips were shown on MTV, on Nat Geo Music Fox Channel in Italy or on LinkTV in the USA. The songs of Gipsy.cz have been played by approximately 200 radio stations around the world, and their videos on YouTube viewed by approximately two million people represent one of the most successful Czech acquisitions in this modern medium.
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