For a dozen years now, Orkestar Kriminal has created daring arrangements of old underworld ballads in 12 different languages, telling the tales of impoverished peoples the world over, driven to a life of crime. With their unique instrumentation and a refreshing gender-mashup in their musicianship, Orkestar Kriminal has arranged some of the world’s long-forgotten criminal ballads with all the fervour and gusto that they could muster.

After continuous touring and a multitude of festival performances, the biggest criminal punks in world music released their first ever all-originals album “Originali” in April, 2024 on the German label CPL-Music, with Grammy award-winning Producer-Engineer Mark Lawson, hitting the #1 spot on the Earshot “National International” charts. Drenched in expression, celebrated and improvised, this is “cabaret noir” at its finest!

“Imagine a 10-member gender-balanced band that sources material from the criminal underworld a century ago, performing songs in eight languages with quirky instrumentation and a punk attitude” – Edmonton Journal

“Seduced us right off the bat!” — La Fabrique Culturelle

“They’re the frenetic, hyperbolic version of the wildest live show you don’t have the musical vocabulary to lie to your kids about catching. They sing tales in more languages than I can count, borrowed from the underground legends of criminals the world over.” – DMNDR

“Exciting and tear-jerking all at once!” – Le Devoir

http://www.orkestar-kriminal.com