ROMAN BUNKA

Krautrock • Germany

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Roman Bunka biography
Born in 1951, Bunka�s biography may be considered a chapter in contemporary German music history. Working with the pioneering German avant-garde / rock / jazz and world-music group Embryo (portrayed in "Vagabundenkarawane", a documentary by director Werner Penzel) Roman Bunka broke new ground with his Eastern-influenced guitar playing and composing (featured on "Embryo�s Reise", Schneeball Rec.).

In India, in 1976 he performed in concert for the first time with world-renowned percussionist and composer Trilok Gurtu. To pursue his musical development in a microtonal and modal direction, Bunka searched for a second, more suitable stringed instrument. He discovered the Arabic lute or "oud", the fretless mother of the guitar.
His first solo album ("Dein Kopf ist ein schlafendes Auto" recorded in 1980 re-released by ATM-records) presented a blend of avant-garde rock with Oriental melodies. Released in the same period was the more jazz / rock fusion oriented album "Live!", rec. 1979 with the grup Aera. After concerts with Okay Temiz in Turkey, Bunka chose Cairo as his musical refuge in the Arab world during the 1980's.

There he met the immensely popular Nubian singer Mohamed Mounir. They began a collaboration that was to influence the course of Egyptian pop music, lending a note of sophistication and international influence to the genre. One of the many highlights of Bunka�s work with Mounir as arranger and oud soloist, was their appearance in the 1992 Mediterranean Culture Festival in Nimes France, as Egypt�s representatives. (CD: Mohamed Mounir, Line Rec.)

With solo-concerts in Tunis (Festival de la Medina), Cairo, Damascus, Aleppo and Beirut as well as in Lanzarote with the group Vox (CD: Spain to Spain, Erdenklang Rec.); and his performance at the Jazz Festival in Granada, Bunka, according to P. Pannke, brought his "very personal journey to explore the world of Arabic music" closer to a growing world-music audience.

Bunka�s credits as studio musician include work with one of Algeria�s best known singers Hamid Baroudi and the German Ethno-pop group Dissidenten. He also performed with Nagaswaran-player Roland Schaeffer and masterdrummer Paramashivam Pilai, The Karnataka College of Percussion, Charlie Mariano and Edgar Hofmann.

Roman Bunka composed the score and provided musical direction for the feature film "Al Oud" (Director: Fritz Baumann) that won the Gold Hugo at the 1992 Chicago International Film Festival. While ...read more