NIGHTLOSERS got together in 1994, in the city of Cluj, Transylvania, Romania, as a jam band in a local student pub. That’s also where, after a while, they found out they were given the name Nightlosers. The music is a combination of American Rhythm and Blues, Rock ‘n’ Roll and elements of Transylvanian folklore: Romanian, Hungarian and Gypsy folk music.
NIGHTLOSERS performed in clubs and festivals and appeared on TV and radio shows in almost all European countries, but also in the US, Canada, Israel, India, Cuba.
'A delicious mixture of blues and folk music from the Balkan area, with some jazzy-funky grooving on top, and a whole lot of humour. NIGHTLOSERS’ music is full of surprises and original turns.'
'On a trip to Romania, Keith Shadwick chanced upon a band which blew his mind. Now he can't listen to anything else. (...) When on summer holiday in Transylvania, while you might expect the occasional brush with the local folk music in one form or another, you certainly don't expect to discover a band playing the most bizarre combination of blues, R&B and eastern European gypsy music that you've ever encountered in all your days as a music critic. But that's what happened to me. (...) The blues playing was superb, the singing completely authentic: these guys knew what they were doing. There I discovered that the perpetrators of this madness were a group called Nightlosers.' - The Independent
'Nightlosers. If you've ever had the feeling that there's not much left to be added to the blues vocabulary, you haven't heard Transylvanian blues. Romania's Nightlosers don't hesitate to spice up your 12 bars with Eastern European folk music, gypsy swing and Celtic reels. And you really have to hear what a violin and a rhythm change can do for Six Days on the Road and Blue Suede Shoes. There's every reason to be there when they make their Canadian debut.' - The Montreal Gazzette
'Transylvanian blues band Nightlosers kick off their first ever tour of Canada tonight in Montreal. The Romanian band draw from a mix of blues, American country and Eastern European musical roots and have been playing the bawdy stew since Hanno Höfer formed the band in 1994. The group also features one for the ethnomusicologists - member Nucu Pandrea is billed as the world's only professional leaf player.' - The National Post