Czech Republic: Amaro Records releases its first two videos by young Romani singers

The Brno-based recording studio Amaro Records has been running for three months and has just released its first two video clips. The recordings were made by young Romani singers who got an opportunity to record there in exchange for their volunteer work during the construction of the community recording studio.

The studio is located at the site of a former gaming room in the center of Brno and was created thanks to the nonprofit organization IQ Roma Servis. "We have a volunteer program that is open to all and offers one hour in the recording studio for five hours of volunteering," Petra Borovičková, manager of the studio, explained to Rozhlas.cz, the online news server of Czech Radio.

The first video clip released by Amaro Records features 18-year-old Anna Maria Bagárová, who has longed to be a singer ever since she was a little girl. When she discovered the opportunity one year ago to contribute to building the studio, she did not hesitate to volunteer.

In May, when Amaro Records offically opened, Bagárová began to work toward making her dream come true. She took the melody of a song recorded by the Armenian performer Anushik Alaverdyan and wrote her own lyrics to it.

VIDEO

A singer performing under the artistic name of Fany Wonder has also recorded this cover of a Brian McKnight song with Romani lyrics. Like Bagárová, he got the studio time in exchange for volunteering.

VIDEO

The next step IQ Roma Servis will take with the project is to establish a café at the studio. It is expected to be staffed by young Romani people.