Respect to Sharla Records out of Skopje, Macedonia, who have produced over 100 records now of fine alternative music sung in the home language.
Tag: Macedonia
Categories
Kočani Orkestar – L’Orient est Rouge
It’s nice to go backwards to find some long-forgotten gems like this one. From the Kočani Orkestar’s Bandcamp site:
“This explosive Gypsy brass band from the Balkans was led by trumpet player Naat Veliov till 2000, and comprises two trumpets, three tubas, saxophone, clarinet, zurla (traditional oboe) and percussion. Their music is a punchy mixture of powerful brass band sounds, Turkish/Bulgarian rhythms (including characteristic asymetrical time signatures such as 7/8, 9/8 etc., which are sometimes called ‘Aksak’ in traditional Turkish music), and Eastern-style solos which are at the same time very skilful, inspired and wild. The sound of Oriental brass bands (which was introduced to larger parts of the Western public by Emir Kusturica’s film ‘Underground’) draws from traditional dance music from Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Turkey, elements of rumba and salsa, and even Indian film music. A live performance of the Kocani Orkestar is a formidable and exciting experience.”
Categories
Undone – Indeed
Three brilliant musicians, Ronit Bergman, Dorian Jovanović and Filip Mitrov, combine to make heavy neo-psychedelic music with a gritty edge to it. A peach of a release.
Categories
stotrojka – Најубави
Kanal 103 FM is the best independent radio program in the whole of the Balkans, never mind Macedonia. I’ve had many friends work there and produce amazing shows, so when Gjorgji Janevski let me know that this compilation was out, I rushed to hear it! From stotrojka’s (the label associated with Kanal 103 FM) Bandcamp site:
“Kanal 103 turns 33.
Our birthday compilation is up. This time, Macedonian music only.
A lots of first times and debuts, new and established names, some crazy pseudonyms, rockers going electronic, bedroom songs, postcards from our music diaspora, and also some rarities and archival gems.It was a blitzkrieg operation, and now, it’s time to celebrate.
Big love to all the wonderful musicians and souls who took part in it.
They are the most beautiful ones.”
Also, a big thank you to friends who took the time to interview me at the station, especially Toni Dimitrov, who I am indebted to for this honor.
Categories
Kristo Rodzevski – Black Earth
Here is something rather magnificent coming out of Macedonia in the form of Kristo Rodzevski’s latest album through Defkaz, a great Greek label. There is hope for the Balkans yet! From the Defkaz Bandcamp site:
“Black Earth has eleven traditional Macedonian songs infused with African aesthetics, including Gnawa undertones, Congo rumba, and African field recordings. The core of the traditional Macedonian harmonies and rhythms was developed over the centuries from the Ancient Greek and Roman Empire’s lyricism, Byzantium’s chants, and the Ottoman Empire’s classical music progressions, by way of multiple migrations, storytelling, wars, myths, tribalism, reconciliations, etc.) In a nutshell, Black Earth is a filtrate of the trans-generational transmission of resilience, trauma, love, and naivete.”
What is special about this disc is the quality of musicians appearing as guests here. Guitarist Dominic James, bassist Josh Werner, percussionist and sintir player Adam Rudolph, and the legendary Bill Laswell all supplement Kristo on this album. This is a proper supergroup.
Categories
Dimitar Dodovski – Dérive
Norman Records does a far more in-depth job introducing the world to the music of North Macedonian composer Dimitar Dodovski a wee bit better than I could. From their promo sheet:
“”Dimitar Dodovski approaches his craft of granular synthesis from a melodic perspective at most definitely the warmer end of the drone spectrum. Opening track ‘I’ introduces, of all things, mallet-struck chimes amongst the digital layers. The mallets recur on the following track (‘II’), but only when you least expect them. Staccato synth rises from a mist-draped lake of sound, each milky chord change rung by a bell. Pixelated textures drop in, then out, then back into focus again as Dodovski deftly carries us along on his smooth, humid, watery journey. It’s a gradually, dreamily dissolving picture of serenity. Sounds to submerge yourself in. By track 4, handily entitled ‘IV (Soul)’ I am spellbound by such moments of beauty that I have stopped typing and words have totally evaded me. For several minutes. That’s really not a good thing for a reviewer — but it *is* a recommendation. So. There. Especially if you enjoyed Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith and Suzanne Ciani’s latest joint opus. The rest of the album is equally lush. Even the choral pads and New Age-isms of some of the sounds can’t detract from that. It’s so very tropical sounding, unhurried; I can imagine stop-motion photography of an orchid blooming afresh to each struck note. David Attenborough’s voice optional but not entirely unnecessary.” –Norman Records”
Categories
Baklava – From Skopje With Love
Our friends over at the indomitable CPL-Music have released a charming disc of traditional music from my second homeland of Skopje, Macedonia! Baklava, the subject of today’s listening, work with folk music and does sterling work reinterpreting it for a more modern, updated sound. Speaking of that sound, the band develop it with a wealth of instruments, including ancient local ones like the tambura, the kaval and the daf, as well as bagpipes, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, accordion and (the very much non-Macedonian) ukulele. The music is upbeat, fun, and shines a good light on the wonders of (North) Macedonian music.
Categories
Kuzman – Fine Wound
Kuzman Markoski has produced a rather fine EP’s worth of soundtrack-style music. The composer, thereminist and sound designer offers a groove-filled, damn-near danceable disc. From his Bandcamp site:
“Kuzman is a versatile musician and audio-visual artist based in Skopje, Macedonia. With a background in classical training, he has honed his skills as a composer, thereminist and sound designer. This highly anticipated release comes two years after his debut solo album “Collective Zero” that marked Kuzman’s first foray into the world of studio albums as a solo artist, after his successful tenure with the Berlin-based band The Protagonist and the collaboration with the renowned producer Gareth Jones on the “OLAL” project. With an unwavering passion for music and dedication to his craft, he continues to explore new sonic landscapes and experiment with innovative musical approaches.”
The ever-reliable Canary Records out of Baltimore, Maryland, have released a compilation of Balkan 78 rpm shellacs with a lot of the artists being unidentified, but whose music is most assuredly from my home away from home.
If Andrei Tarkovsky had Edward Artemiev as his soundtrack specialist and early Roman Polański had Krzysztof Komeda, then it stands to reason that Macedonian auteur Milcho Manchevski would have his in Igor Vasilev Novogradska.
Parts of this new soundtrack are filled with dirge-like qualities befitting this movie, but what truly impressed me were at the end of the album. Chessboard sounds like it would fit somewhere in the Fourth World period of Jon Hassell’s early work, and on the ninth and final track, if you go to about 07:26 into it, you will hear a song so blatantly new wave (and yes, that’s a great thing to me) that Duran Duran would tip their hats to the crescendo of this fine, if far too short, soundtrack.