Line up

• Aaron Seeman (Accordion)
• Djordje Stijepovic (Bass)
• Douglas Smolens (Guitar)
• Fabrice Martinez (Violin and Violintromba)
• Mike Penny (Shamisen)
• Ursula Knudson (Saw, Voice, and Violin)

• country:
  USA
• region:
  North America
• style(s):
  Folk Gypsy
• label:
  not signed
• type:
  Band
• gender:
  male, female
• instrumentation:
  instrumental, vocal
• artist submitted by:
  Smog - Produções Culturais

Music style: "far east gypsy flamenco"

Fishtank Ensemble is a band that offers a unique blend of Gypsy, Balkan, Flamenco, Klezmer and original tunes. The arrangements are always surprising and include instruments from many countries such as violin, accordion, flamenco and gypsy jazz guitar, shamisen, bass, saw and voice. From the smokey cafes of Bucharest to the Gypsy caravans of yesterday, Fishtank Ensemble evokes the spirit of a past age with the sounds of tomorrow.

Fishtank Ensemble formed around the arrival in our midst of the gifted young fiddler Fabrice Martinez. Originally from France, he has spent the last seven years traveling around Europe in a mule-drawn caravan learning and playing folk music with the ensemble "Croque Mule." Much of that time was spent living in Romania, often in Romani (Gypsy) villages.

A series of chance occurrences caused the members of what would become Fishtank Ensemble to meet in an Oakland performance space called 'The Fishtank' in the spring of 2005. After realizing their various affinities for gypsy music had much common ground, the future band decided to unite for a single show.

After 3 short weeks together, they recorded their debut album, 'Super Raoul'. 'Raoul' is a gypsy slang term for 'cool'. The album, recorded live at 'the fishtank' and at The Cayuga Vault in Santa Cruz showcases the bands diverse range of styles and influences. In late 2005 the band took to the road, performing up and down the west coast USA for delighted audiences everywhere. Some of the notable venues they have performed at include the Freight and Salvage in Berkeley, Tangiers and The Knitting Factory in LA, Don Quixote's Music Hall in Santa Cruz, The Fez Ballroom in Portland, and The Fiddlehaus in Seattle.

On the success of their first tour, the 2 band member who lived in Europe, agreed to relocate to the US to focus on establishing the band as a unique force in the folk and world music scenes. A forthcoming DVD will showcase the bands exceptional live energy and an extensive tour is planned for late 2006 summer 2007. With many new songs in the works, a new album can't be far off as well.

Links

• Fishtank Ensemble myspace
• Fishtank Ensemble website
• fishtank ensemble live gypsy tune (Youtube)
• Fishtank Ensemble
• "Turkish March" Mozart (Youtube)