Romany tunes

Formed in 1999 by Adrian Claudiu Sâna,the band initially consisted of just one more member, Ramona Barta. But soon after,Barta left the band and Sâna reformed the band in 2001 with Sorin Stefan Brotnei,Mihai Gruia and Marius Nedelcu. Soon after,they released their first album In Culori (In Bright Colours),which was their shot to fame,the album being certified platinum the same year in Romania.

In 2006,the band made their first foray into English with the album French Kiss,which also included a previous song Kylie re-released. Talking about the move into English,Sâna says,“Our songs were well received locally and around the Baltic region but the band felt that if we had to reach to a more global audience then English would be a better medium and luckily for us it has worked very well. There was no big decision behind this.”

The band has seen its fair share of lineup changes. In 2008,Nedelcu left the band and was replaced with Corneliu Ulici. But Ulici too stayed only a short while,moving on in 2009,attracted by a career in films. Talking about this,Sâna says,“It has been both a happy and sad journey for us – happy because of the heights we have reached and sad because we have had to say goodbye to our friends,but thankfully it has not affected our music much.”

Performing quite regularly in India,the band is amazed by the kind of feedback they have got in the country. “This is the fourth time we will be performing in India and we are really amazed by the support we have in the country. We see Indian crowds dancing like crazy and when we see them singing along with us,familiar with all the vocals to our tracks,it gives us a rush,” exclaims Sâna. But the Lover’s Cry and Stay with Me artistes also plan on trying out something new this time around. “I think our new songs like Spanish Lover and a mix of our old hits but then we plan on surprising our Indian fans this time.”

And what about his opinion of Indian music? “I like Indian music quite a lot,even if I had very little exposure to it. We would love to do something in Bollywood soon,though!” smiles Sâna.

Akcent will be performing at Attica,Ishanya Mall,on Thursday,December 9,8pm onwards.