Mukti, it's easy for me as a music critic to point out the differences between 'Tuttilegal' and the new album 'I Lumia Mo Kher', but where did those differences lie for you as musicians?
Mukti Gabriels (guitar, backing vocals): "Technically speaking, the two albums are completely different. For 'Tuttilegal' we left all the major decisions in the hands of the label we were working with at the time (Evil Penguin Records, red.). That meant that all of a sudden we had to work with a bunch of people who had never seen us play live. The end result was somewhat of a disillusion, so that's why for 'I Lumia Mo Kher' we decided to do things ourselves. This time we only went in search of a label to distribute the record after we completed the album. We had Michael Zimmerling, the producer we worked with, come over from the UK. His work on the album was more that of a sound engineer than that of an actual producer; sound-wise he really left his mark on 'I Lumia Mo Kher'. For 'Tuttilegal' we recorded everything live in the studio, almost as if we were recording a jazz album, when for 'I Lumia Mo Kher' we worked a lot more with overdubbing and sampling. The main difference, though, was the fact that for 'I Lumia Mo Kher' we could really take our time. When we recorded 'Tuttilegal', we were under a lot of pressure to put an album on the streets as soon as possible and this resulted in an album that didn't represent what we were doing on stage."
The only real Roma musician in Antwerp Gipsy-Ska Orkestra is Suki (Suhamet Latifi, keyboards, red.). Romani society being a tight-knit community, how did he end up playing with a bunch of Belgian gadjos (term of Romani philosophy that means a person who has no Romanipen, usually a person who is not an ethnic Romani, but it can also be an ethnic Romani who does not live within the Romani culture, red.)?
Mukti: "Suki has been a firm believer in what we were trying to do with Antwerp Gipsy-Ska Orkestra from the very beginning. As a band we've always been a very democratic group, something that probably has its roots in the shared punk influences from our past (Moss, Tachion, Belgian Asociality, red.). No one is put forward as the big star or band leader and I think that was something Suki could relate to. When he just joined the band, he was still a very shy individual, a disposition that would probably have landed him in an underdog position when playing in a Romani band. I guess musically speaking Antwerp Gipsy-Ska Orkestra will also offer him more of a challenge than playing with a traditional gipsy band. Suki has also said that working with Antwerp Gipsy-Ska Orkestra has changed his entire view on his Romani identity."
For 'I Lumia Mo Kher' you managed to persuade a number of prominent gipsy musicians to participate. How does the idea of putting the ska part of your band name in the spotlight for a next album and doing some collaborations with Jamaican artists strike you?
Mukti: "Sure, why not! We're not for excluding things, anyway. That being said, I have to add that, even though our band name has opened a lot of doors for us, at times it can also be a bit of a golden cage with us as musicians trapped inside. Long ago, we decided not to let the limitations of that name hold us a back in any way. To give you an example, at the moment we're working on a track that's heavily influenced by dubstep. The only thing we have to keep in mind in my opinion is never to lose that blend of upbeat cheerfulness and melancholy that's so characteristic of our music."
The most conspicuous part of the Antwerp Gipsy-Ska Orkestra name has to be "Antwerp". How much "Antwerp" is there in Antwerp Gipsy-Ska Orkestra?
Mukti: "The fusion of different musical genres is something that's very much linked to the Antwerp music scene; just think of bands like Think Of One or Wawadadakwa, for example. The fact that Antwerp is a port town, might have something to do with that; for centuries now the people from Antwerp have been exposed to foreign cultures and those influences have gradually and in a very organic way blended with local culture. Of course we can't rule out the role of globalization either; the most varied music genres from around the globe are now but a few clicks away, making it easier than ever to discover new things."
Together with Gregor (Engelen, vocals, red.) you've been active in the punk scene. Are you able to integrate that part of your musical persona into the music of Antwerp Gipsy-Ska Orkestra?
Mukti: "When we started with Antwerp Gipsy-Ska Orkestra we consciously decided to take a step back from our punk days. Now that we know the musical course we want to steer with Antwerp Gipsy-Ska Orkestra, we feel confident enough to start experimenting with some punk influences again. For me personally that's mostly on a musical level, by integrating some heavier guitar riffs for example, and Gregor for his part has used a couple of quotes from famous punk songs in one of the tracks on 'I Lumia Mo Kher'."
The track you're talking about there is 'No Disco Boy'. Apart from those references to bands like Napalm Death or Disorder, I guess that song is also meant as a bit of a reaction to Shantel's 'Disko Boy', no?
Mukti: "Well, that's a funny story really. That whole idea developed as a bit of a joke when we were brainstorming about the easiest way to fame for a band like ours one day. Someone came up with the idea of creating a musical nemesis; an artist or band we would question the musical taste or image of and could dis in our lyrics. That's how we ended up with Shantel. I have to add that in the mean time we've seen him perform live more than once and we have to admit that what he does absolutely works, but that doesn't take away from the fact he's still a bit of an odd character in the whole Balkan scene. In the lyrics of 'No Disco Boy' we're not really dissing him anywhere; it's just a bit of a tongue-in-cheek thing."
'Kerta Mange' is Antwerp Gipsy-Ska Orkestra's ode to the legendary gipsy artist Saban Bajramovic. Could you situate him for those who might not recognize his name?
Mukti: "Saban Bajramovic was possibly the greatest gipsy vocalist of all time. He passed away a couple of years ago (June 8, 2008, red.) after a life filled with booze, women and gambling I'm sure many rock star would have been envious of. He was also a real man of the people; I guess you could compare him to someone like Andre Hazes, a singer who wasn't afraid to blend the tragedy of his own life into his music. For Gregor Saban Bajramovic is a true musical hero and I think listeners will hear that in the respectful and passionate way he's tried to do his version of 'Kerta Mange'. To cover that song we had to seek permission from Esma Redzepova - no simple feat for a bunch of gadjos from Antwerp - but I guess we managed to convince her of our integrity."
The sleeve for 'I Lumia Mo Kher' is a bit atypical for a gipsy album. Who's behind that design?
Mukti: "We opted to work with the same designer who did the sleeve for our first album (Gerard Leysen, Afreux, www.afreux.be, red.). Personally, I consider his designs to be pure works of art. For the sleeve of 'I Lumia Mo Kher' we gave him total freedom. The only information we gave him was the title of the album. Like with any good work of art, everyone is free to interpret the design in his or her own way."
In the liner notes of 'I Lumia Mo Kher' I found the following quote: "No country will claim me. No border can stop me. The World is my house.". What is it like for a band adhering to that kind of philosophy to be living in a country the size of a handkerchief falling apart because of petty territorial disputes?
Mukti: "Whenever we're performing somewhere abroad, we always try to do our best to adjust that nationalist image that's been created of Belgium and explain that the different communities in our country aren't really at war with one another. Gregor likes to make a political statement on stage now and again, but in general we tend to steer clear from these kinds of topics. Of course the situation is becoming more hopeless by the day now. The advantage of being an inhabitant of a small country lies in the fact we are far better at putting ourselves into perspective, while people in bigger nations tend to focus more on their national identity. From an artistic point of view this whole situation can also be a great source of inspiration. I guess we all just have to keep on trying to see the funny side of it!"