Romengo & Monika Lakatos

Romengo is an Olah-Gypsy band from Hungary. With solo vocalist Mónika Lakatos they perform traditional Gypsy and world music.

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Romengo plays Hungarian Olah-Gypsy music. Most of the members learned this music together with their mother tongues. The band plays traditional Gypsy folk songs that they learned from their parents, as well as their own songs rooted in tradition but influenced by a variety musical styles. Since their formation in 2004, they played in India (Sufi Sutra), Malaysia (Rainforest World Music Festival), South-Korea (Sori Festival) and Mexico (Cervantino Festival) and gave concerts at more than 25 European festivals. In 2019 the band celebrated its 15th anniversary in South-America with concerts in Columbia, Ecuador and Peru.

Both albums of the band were ranked among the Top 10 albums of World Music Charts Europe: Kétháné hit the 5th place in September 2011, Nagyecsed-Budapest the 8th place in May 2014.

Mónika Lakatos, Romengo's solo vocalist, was rewarded with the Anna Lindh Prize in 2007, the For the Parallel Culture Award in 2013 and in 2014 with the For Ethnic Minority Prize.

Mónika Lakatos's first solo album Romanimo, which represents Hungarian Olah Gypsy hearers-ballads, was also among the top 10 albums of World Music Charts Europe. It hit the 4th place in February 2018 right after its release.

Romengo's music features both the honesty of Gypsy cultural tradition and renewal. They use traditional instruments like cans, taps and spoons, but they aren't afraid to experiment with new sounds either. Their openness to innovation is evidenced by joint projects with performers of different genres: they played several times with the Mendelssohn Chamber Orchestra and in 2015, they gave a joint evening with the Indian singer, Sumitra at Berlin Philharmonic.

The band is convinced that Olah Gypsy music is not restrained by any borders, which is why they can incorporate different styles in their songs, such as jazz and flamenco.

participating in

  • WOMEX 2022
  • WOMEX 2021
  • WOMEX 2019
  • WOMEX 2018
  • WOMEX 2017
  • WOMEX 2016
  • WOMEX 2015

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