Balval is a group of five musicans from Paris who were brought together by their passion for Eastern Europe gypsy music. Created in 2005 by the singer Awena Burgess, the group started as a trio and soon expanded to a quintet. The music of Balval ("the wind" in Rromanes, the gypsy language) takes us on a journey East and West, blending inspirations of Jazz, Latin, and Oriental music with traditional Roma songs and putting their own musical compositions to the words of contemporary Roma poets. An unforgettable voice (Awena Burgess), a blazing violin (Rosalie Hartog), a soulful electric guitar (Daniel Mizrahi), a swinging double bass (Benjamin Body), and a virtuoso percussionist (Bachar Khalife), celebrating the themes of love and desire, hunger and solitude, nightlong feasts, thieves and policemen, nature, and dreams… User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.