Formed in 2012, The Brooklyn Gypsies are a collaborative project featuring a group of NYC area musicians and producers who come from a variety of backgrounds – including Japan, Spain, Russia, Italy and the US. And their sound is comprised of elements of North African music, Arabic music, electronic music, dancehall and dub reggae meshed in an effortlessly seamless fashion, echoing both the global spirit of NYC and the restless, nomadic way of life of the Gypsy. Adding to the global spirit of the material, lyrics are sung in Spanish, English and Russian by the group’s two vocalists Carmen Esteves and Tina Kristina. So in some way, the material on the group’s debut effort Sin Fronteras should sound both familiar and alien, as though it could easily be the sound of New York, Istanbul, Cairo, Moscow, and Tokyo – simultaneously. 

“Kunta Baba,” one of the singles off Sin Fronteras possesses Flamenco, dub step, Balkan sounding horns and Latin rhythms paired with an ethereal yet seductive vocal that twists and turns throughout the mix, like smoke. Sonically, the track channels “Latin Simone” off Gorillaz self-titled debut but with a trippier trance-like vibe that also interestingly enough, manages to be subtly cinematic.