ZMEI3 - ROUGH ROMANIAN SOUL
  • News
  • Concerts
  • About
  • Artists
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Press
  • Booking

BACK TO LIVE

BERLIN, 20 JUL 2021
​
ZMEI3 ARE BACK. WE MISSED YOU!
​
31 July 21 / Düsseldorf / Germany
21 August 21 / Tuzla / Romania
​22 August 21 / Bucharest / Romania
4 Nov 21 / Kempen / Germany
5 Nov 21 / Offenbach / Germany
6 May 22 / Marnach / Luxembourg​

WATCH THE NEW VIDEOS >>

NEW VIDEO RELEASES

BERLIN, 28 OCT 2019
​
ZMEI3 are very excited to announce the release of new videos >>
PLOUA CU EA  /  "SHE'S RAINING HARD"
A song about the summer rain in the south
TU EȘTI EU  /  “YOU ARE ME”
A song about confronting the father figure

Stay tune for more!
Picture

GERMANY TOUR 2019

BERLIN, 1 AUG 2019

Don't miss our next concerts in Germany:

7 AUG BIELEFELD / 8 AUG HALLE
9 AUG BERLIN / 11 AUG GELSENKIRCHEN
16 AUG BONN / 4 OCT COLOGNE
6 OCT WEIMAR / 8 OCT JENA
​11 OCT FRANKFURT / 2 NOV BERLIN


http://www.zmeitrei.com/concerts.html
​
Photo credits: Sabine Büttner
Picture

ELECTRIC CASTLE FESTIVAL

BONTIDA, 21 JULY 2019

​
​On 21 July 2019 ZMEI3 played for the first time at the Electric Castle Festival in Transylvania.

We are very grateful to the amazing audience for being with us in such a large number, and for creating such an electric atmosphere!
Picture

IN THE USA FEAT. CORINA SÎRGHI

WASHINGTON, 21 MAY 2019


Featuring the talented Romanian singer
Corina Sîrghi, ZMEI3 will perform for the
first time in front of the American audiences
at the invitation of the Romanian Embassy
to the United States of America.

​
Union Stage / Washington, D.C. / 21 May 19
Picture

13 MAR 19 : SOLD OUT AGAIN

BUCHAREST, 13 MAR 2019

SOLD OUT - ZMEI3 raised the roof again
in Bucharest with the mysterious Elijah Saint
on the accordion 
for the first time. Thank you Expirat!

Expirat  |  13 March 19


Photo credits: Pogo Photography

29 NOV 18 : SOLD OUT AGAIN

BERLIN, 13 NOVEMBER 2018

SOLD OUT - ZMEI3 return this autumn to
Bucharest with new songs from the next album.

Control Club  |  29 November 18
Event details HERE


Photo credits: Naluca Photography

2018: THE NEW SHOW

BERLIN, 26 APRIL 2018

ZMEI3 2018: new show, new songs, new videography, new custom lighting - and a very new sound! Rough Romanian Soul now means direct, psychedelic soul. Watch the opening introduction HERE

8 MAR 2018 : SOLD OUT

BUCHAREST, 8 MARCH 2018

All tickets were sold out one month before the show at Expirat in Bucharest. ZMEI3 rewarded the crowd with a set more powerful than ever, for the first time with drums and custom video mapping.

​Photo credits: Florin Bondrila

IN BERLIN WITH PRO TV

BERLIN, 8 DECEMBER 2017

Pro TV is one of Romania's leading independent TV channels. In December 2018 they sent a film crew to Berlin to interview the band. The resulting material tells the story of ZMEI3 - a true story about immigration, music and friendship.
(in Romanian language) 
Picture

LIVE AT RADIO GUERRILLA

BUCHAREST, 31 OCTOBER 2017

ZMEI3 were invited by radio presenter Bogdan Serban to perform a full show and interview at Radio Guerrilla ​in Bucharest, Romania.

ZMEI3: THE DOCUMENTARY

​BOSTON, 6 APRIL 2017

​PRI Public Radio International premiered the new documentary about the Romanian group ZMEI3.
The exclusive premiere was presented by host Marco Werman on the award-winning global news program The World, which PRI co-produces with the BBC World Service and WGBH.
​The documentary film directed by the German journalist Roman Rhode is following the journey of the musicians deep into the mountains of Transylvania - and into inspiration and self-discovery.

CONTROL CLUB 2016: TRAILER

BUCHAREST, 23 SEPTEMBER 2016

For the first time after the international release of their debut album, ZMEI3 played an emotionally intense concert for the fans at home in the prestigious Control Club. Watch the trailer now!

THE BBC LIVE SESSION

CHARLTON PARK, 29 JULY 2016

After performing on the BBC Radio 3 Charlie Gillett Stage at the WOMAD Festival 2016, ZMEI3 were invited to give an exclusive live interview and session at the BBC Radio 3.

You can watch HERE the recording of the performance.
Picture

ZMEI3 AT WOMAD

​ZMEI3 performed at the WOMAD 2016 festival along with important artists of the world music from all continents.
​Supported by the Berlin Senate Cultural Affairs Department and by the Initiative Musik Non-profit Project Company Ltd. with project funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media on the basis of a resolution passed by the German Bundestag.
Picture

DEBUT ALBUM OUT NOW !

SAN FRANCISCO, 22 APRIL 2016

​Their debut album Rough Romanian Soul (out April 22nd, 2016 on Six Degrees Records) is produced by GRAMMY® award-winner, Ian Brennan, best known for his work with Tinariwen, Zomba Prison Project, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, and the Malawi Mouse Boys. The album was recorded in august 2015, live without overdubs in the Transylvanian mountains.

The name of the album, Rough Romanian Soul is also the name of the new style that ZMEI3 created. It is an ode to Romanian music entrenched with a deep history of regional blues and soul, as well as the inherent spirituality of their work.

A new aggressive style, mashing up blues and soul with influences of jazz, avant-garde, and folk with introspective topics and emotive soundscapes.
​
Picture
Across the fifteen songs, ZMEI3 cover topics of resistance, immigration, oppression, love, death, pride, loneliness, and strength.  “2 Mai” / 2nd of May is story of 2 Mai, a village at the Black Sea, close to the border with Bulgaria, which was a haven for hippies who wanted to escape the constraints of the communist regime.  “Poveste Din Tara Mea” / Story From My Country is about the feelings of an immigrant who left behind everything that he loved. A father is telling his little girl that she should never forget that there’s a country, a lost paradise, and that one day they will seek revenge on those who destroyed it.  “Shhh!!! … Tot Ce Nu Se Spunea Atunci” / Shhh!!! … All The Forbidden Speech is an improvised song, created around all the things, ideas and thoughts that were forbidden during the 45-year repressive regime in Romania.  “Marie, Marie” / Mary, Mary is an essential love ballad from southern Romania. A kind of southern blues.  “Pana Cand Nu Te Iubeam” / Since I’ve Been Loving You according to the band says, “It’s a strange coincidence that there is a Led Zeppelin song with the same title – but maybe it’s no coincidence since it’s exactly about the same feelings. ‘I’m about to lose…my worried mind’ – only that this song is urban folklore from Bucharest, dating from around 1850.”  “Intr-o Zi” / One day is the band’s slow blues song which was inspired by Bob Dylan’s “Girl From The North Country Fair.”  Other standouts include “Imn” / Hymn composed without lyrics and dedicated to the human experience, while “Vis” / Dream is dedicated to the memory of the Resistance fighters from the 50’s – and to those very few who always choose to fight and resist, even when it’s clear they have no chance.
​
1. Stai Langa Mine (Stay Near Me)
Music: Oli Bott, Lyrics: Mihai Victor Iliescu
2. Imn (Hymn)
Music: Oli Bott
3. 2 Mai (2nd Of May)
Music: Oli Bott, Lyrics: Mihai Victor Iliescu
4. Poveste Din Tara Mea (Story From My Country)
Music: Oli Bott, Lyrics: Mihai Victor Iliescu
5. Shhh!!!...Tot Ce Nu Se Spunea Atunci (Shhh!!!...All The Forbidden Speech)
Music: ZMEI3, Lyrics: Paula Turcas
6. Marie, Marie (Mary, Mary)
traditional
7. As Munci La Plug Si Coasa (To Have You)
traditional
8. Pana Cand Nu Te Iubeam (Since I’ve Been Loving You)
Music and Lyrics: Anton Pann
9. Ah! (Ay!)
Music: Cristian Stefanescu aka Electric Brother, Lyrics: Bobo Burlacianu & Mihai Victor Iliescu
10. Intr-o Zi (One Day)
Music: Oli Bott, Lyrics: Mihai Victor Iliescu
11. Vreau Un Barbat (I Want A Man)
Music: Oli Bott, Lyrics: Mihai Victor Iliescu
12. Somn De Frumusețe (Beauty Sleep)
Music: ZMEI3 & Ian Brennan
13. Voi Gasi (I Will Find)
Music and Lyrics: Paula Turcas & Mihai Victor Iliescu
14. Vis (Dream)
Music and Lyrics: Mihai Victor Iliescu
15. She’s Gone Wild

Music: Oli Bott, Lyrics: Mihai Victor Iliescu​

ZMEI3 ON KICKSTARTER

BERLIN, 2 JULY 2015

​To record the debut album in Romania with the GRAMMY® award-winner Ian Brennan, ZMEI3 made a Kickstarter campaign that
 raised 23,770 euro in just one month.

393 fans from the US, Romania, UK, Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Ireland, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, New Zealand, Canada and Australia backed the Rough Romanian Soul project.
Picture
ZMEI3 recording in Romania. Photo credits: Marilena Delli
Copyright Mihai Victor Iliescu 2011-2019. All Rights Reserved.