BIOGRAPHY

The band combines the raw beauty and energy of Eastern European folk music, mainly the Gipsy traditional music and Klezmer, with innovative arrangements, unexpected connections, style jumps and fiery improvisations. 

Their music is both very danceable and fun to listen, wanted at festivals, weddings and parties of all kinds, jazz clubs and synagogues. Over the past 14 years, they have played 650+ shows across 26 countries, from Portugal to Georgia, from Sweden to Italy, including live sessions for the BBC, Czech Radio etc. 

The band was formed in the fall of 2011 as a trio dedicated exclusively to Jewish music. In 2013, it underwent an instrumental, personnel and repertoire transformation. Since then, the band has consisted of four musicians in the instrumental line-up of clarinet, violin, guitar and double bass.

An important part of the history and present of Der Šenster Gob is busking. The band's first trips around Europe were exclusively for the purpose of busking, while the they participated in initiatives supporting the legalization of street art in Prague.

In 2015, the band undertook an expedition through the Balkans and Turkey to Georgia, where they performed in many music clubs with a special repertoire.

In 2017, the band also restored the original line-up, in which it operated until 2013. It performs with this klezmer line-up only rarely and mainly abroad. Since the name Der Šenster Gob already refers to a four-member and more diverse ensemble in terms of repertoire, this original line-up was given the name Urgob.

Since March 2023, it has also been touring in a special formation with Swiss-born, NYC brewed and now Vienna based Jewish singer Lea Kalisch, with whom it recorded the album Shtetl Neshume in 2024. Music reviews of the album have been published in the main Czech music press (Full Moon Magazine, Frontman, Deník N, Metro, Proglas etc.). The album ranked in the prestigious international World Music Charts Europe in 2024.

In 2024, the band won the international Amplion Argentum Award in the Street Art Category.

The song Bunos-Aires from the album Shtetl Neshume was included in the soundtrack of the international film Un Tango Para Rachel, directed by Lea Kalisch in Argentina in 2025. The film premiered at the Vienna Jewish Film Festival and received the Best First Time Director award at the Berlin Indie Film Festival.

Come to see them live and you won't regret it!