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Super Rats take you on a hijacked Balkan taxi ride through the back­streets of Bucharest.

At the heart of the band is the cimbalom – a ramshackle 145-stringed Austro-Hungarian contraption that sounds like the offspring of a honkytonk piano and a xylophone. Blistering accordion, sinuous violin, and thumping double bass complete this award-winning group.

Exciting, authentic and thoroughly-researched performances

Canberra Critics’ Circle Award 2019

From diverse and colourful strands – Ottoman court music, raw Balkan peasant folk, the legendary inventiveness of Roma (gypsy) musicians, a handful of tango and jazz – Super Rats weave a magic carpet to whisk you away to other times and places.

Think of that magnificently brisk soundtrack from The Grand Budapest Hotel and you’re somewhere in the ballpark… dip your toe into something new.

Adelaide Advertiser

Band leader and Australia’s ‘chief cimb­alom nerd’ Tim Meyen studied with master trad­itional musicians in Romania for over a decade before assembling a hand-picked crew of rolled-gold local music­ians to present the rich tradition of Romanian folk music in Australia. Together they careen through auth­entic muzică lăutarească with panache, humour and dedication, sure to please curious ears.

A dedicated and hard-working band!

Mrs. Nineta Bărbulescu, Ambassador of Romania

Band members

Tim Meyen –cimbalom
Alister Price –accordion
Pip Thompson –violin
Simon Milman –double bass

Tight, rhythmically complex … entertaining traditional dance tunes.

Michael Coghlan, the Clothesline

… generally excellent vibes from this quintessentially Canberran outfit

Hayden Fritzlaff, The RiotACT!

An exhilarating performance … complex but still had a warmth and rhythmic earthiness …

Rob Kennedy, City News 

So why Super Rats?

Super Rats is a pun. It sounds like the Romanian word supărați, mean­ing “annoyed ones”. So far, no-one has laughed at this, but there’s still hope.