Shukar Collective (from the Romani word Shukar or Şucar, meaning "beautiful") is a Romanian musical group which fuses traditional Romani and electronic music. It is especially known for using traditional rhythms employed by the Ursari section of the Roma minority with contemporary electronic sampling. They generally mix various sounds produced by tapping spoons or other domestic objects with those produced on analog synthesizers.
The concept that led to the success of the group belongs to Paul Țanicui, Romanian film director who discovered the Ursari musicians Tamango, Napoleon and Classic that he would later name “Shukar”. Short time after, Romanian musicians Dj Vasile, Dan Handrabur (aka Dreamdoktor), Cristi Stanciu (aka Matze) and Vlaicu Golcea came with the compositions of the first Shukar Collective album, "Taves Bahtalo!"/ "Urban Gypsy".
Recently, they have been collaborating with Romanian multimedia artist Mircea Florian.
In 2010, the group was the subject of an HBO documentary.[1]
Shukar Collective participated at Brighton Fringe Festival on 2 May 2010, a day after their concert in the Brixton neighborhood, London, where the electro-pop clubs are always full. This mini-tour was done with the help and support of The Romanian Cultural Institute, from London.[2]