• Music

    Dimitar Dodovski – D​é​rive

    September 4, 2023 - By 

    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…

  • Music

    Baklava – From Skopje With Love

    July 18, 2023 - By 

    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.

  • Music

    Kuzman – Fine Wound

    June 2, 2023 - By 

    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…

  • Music

    Igor Vasilev Novogradska – Sisterhood Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

    February 25, 2022 - By 

    Igor Vasilev, working under the nom de plume Novogradska, has produced music in various genres, including darkwave (with Alexander Veljanov of Deine Lakaien), Mizar and his own solo work in electronic music.  He has also become a sought-after soundtrack composer.  This particular work, for the Dina Duma-directed Sisterhood, has an air of tension that would make it music appropriate for a David Lynch soundtrack.  There is an ominous foreboding in each track, which, to my ears, seems to be affected by everything from Hans Zimmer to easy listening music with a noir underpinning.  The highest compliment I can give this…

  • Music

    Anna Michaels & Yordan Kostov Quintet – Abstract Attitude

    July 5, 2021 - By 

    Anna Michaels is not the Toni Morrison-kind of poet I can’t get into.  Rather, she has the power of a street storyteller, the sort of person who you can engage at a New York or Los Angeles coffee shop talking about her experiences across the world, her observations of American life both as a local and a foreigner in some sense, and at her best, her words can be rather spellbinding.  She is the sort of person I would utterly enjoy a coffee with. It’s quite a treat to know that she has paired up with Yordan Kostov’s band, one…

  • Music

    Toni Dimitrov – Live at SlovoKult literARTour 2020

    March 9, 2021 - By 

    Composer, radio presenter, label owner, philosopher and old friend Toni Dimitrov has released a new album on the ever-interesting Kalamine Records.  Here are some of the details regarding the release, courtesy of their Bandcamp page: Performance at SlovoKult literARTour 2020 in Gevgelija, as a part of Bosh Festival. SlovoKult literARTour is a small international festival of contemporary art, text and poetry, taking place in Skopje and Gevgelija, Macedonia and Berlin, Germany. www.slovokult-literatur.de