Romanian pop-rock band Hara is one of the winners of this year's InterContinental Music Awards in the US. Their song Rollercoaster, a collaboration with Fetele de la Căpâlna, was the jury's favorite track in the European Folk category.

Artists from around the world participated in the competition, from countries such as the US, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Australia, Malaysia, Egypt, Iran, China, India, and Argentina. 

Hara was the only representative of Romania in the finals of this year's international contest, where it competed with three songs, namely Rollercoaster (which also won in the European Folk category), Sărbătoare, and Noapte Albă.

"In the message at the award ceremony, the representative of the jury said they took into account composition, orchestration, music production, vocal performance. […] It is a great honor and a great joy that a song in Romanian managed to convey emotion so well as to impress an international jury with many members who also voted at the Grammy awards! This confirms once again that it is possible, that music can be an excellent ambassador of Romania all over the world," said Flavius Buzilă, Hara's lead singer.

"It's clear that the jurors really appreciated the song's concept and liked the 'fusion' with Fetele de la Căpâlna. The competition's mission is to discover and promote songs that are as authentic as possible, with traces of local cultures. And Romanian folklore is very beautiful and rich," he added.

The award won by Hara consists of a complex package of promotion, networking, and mentoring. More precisely, the band members have now entered a community of musicians, producers, and organizers from around the world. Coaching sessions will be held with the jury members to support them in taking their music internationally. There will also be creative sessions and even international concerts.

In addition, the winning track, Rollercoaster, will be promoted throughout the community and across all InterContinental Music Awards communication channels. The song can be listened to here.

Hara was founded in Cluj-Napoca in 2000. The current members of the band are Flavius Buzilă (vocals, guitar), Nunu Racris (drums), Andrei Bălașa (guitar), Mihai Andrițcu (violin), Matei Puscaru (bass), and Andrei Stoi (drums, percussion).

The recent award is not their first international success. In past years, two of Hara's songs have won the VH1 USA Song of the Year, one of the most important international music contests in the United States.

The band is currently working on a new song and preparing the biggest concert of their career, HARA SYMPHONIC, within the Cluj Symphony Experience festival, which will take place between October 4-6 in the Ethnographic Park in Cluj-Napoca.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: the band)