Album: Various artists, Rough Guide to the Music of Romanian Gypsies (World Music Network)

This compilation by Dan Rosenberg is a very neat job. Romania has the largest Gypsy population in Europe, and that ethnic strain has long pervaded its culture: as this CD confirms, it's spread into everything from hip-hop and jazz-rock to the local brands of pop. Taraf de Haidouks and Fanfare Ciocarlia kick things off (though with less familiar tracks than usual) and we get a taste of cimbalom master Toni Iordache before setting off into less charted waters. Good to find the peerless Gabi Lunca (who now sings only in Pentecostal churches), plus a string of newer names.

Pick of the Album: 'Per Drumul de la Buzau' for homespun charm