A hijacked taxi ride of classic tunes from the backstreets of Bucharest.
The heart of the band is the mighty cimbalom, a semi-extinct 145-stringed giant dulcimer that refused to go quietly. Something like the offspring of a honkytonk piano and a xylophone, bolstered by blistering accordion, sinuous violin, and thumping double bass.
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 distant times and places, in a show full of panache, humour and dedication to the beauty in these charmingly crooked melodies.
Think of that magnificently brisk soundtrack from The Grand Budapest Hotel and you’re somewhere in the ballpark…
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 Australian musicians to form Super Rats. Together they careen through authentic muzică lăutarească in their own consummate style, sure to please curious ears.
A dedicated and hard-working band!
Mrs. Nineta Bărbulescu,
Band members
Tim Meyen –cimbalom
Alister Price –accordion
Pip Thompson –violin
Simon Milman –double bass
Tight, rhythmically complex …
Michael Coghlan,
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.