Kočani Orkestar

The brass band that initiated the current Balkan Brass fever is called Kocani Orkestar. The Underground director Emir Kusturica introduced them in his Balkan epic Time of the Gypsies. They also influenced the soundtrack composer Goran BregoviĆ and played on the anniversary album of their Romanian fellow virtuosi Taraf de Haidouks.

Almost half of the estimated eight million gypsies in Europe live in the Balkans, which gives the region the densest concentration of Roma people anywhere in the world. This has led to a rich culture of gypsy music which, in western Serbia and Macedonia in particular, manifests itself in some spectacular brass band orchestras. Such ensembles have demonstrated a remarkable creativity in transforming the original style of the Turkish military bands into something fresh and exciting.
In Macedonia the strength of the brass band tradition led the director Emir Kusturica to shoot his famous film Time of the Gypsies in the capital Skopje's satellite town of Shuto Orizari, the largest Roma settlement in the world. Kocani Orkestar, Macedonia's most accomplished gypsy brass band, were featured in the film and take their name from their home town of Kocani.
The group's international recognition came after they were discovered by Michel Winter and Stephane Karo, the same team responsible for first bringing Romania's much-loved gypsy troupe, Taraf de Haidouks, to world attention. Both acts are signed to Crammed Discs, which led to the Kocani Orkestar guesting on the Taraf's Band of Gypsies album.
The Kocani's critical breakthrough came with their acclaimed album L'Orient est rouge, a thrillingly unpredictable showcase of gypsy eclecticism, integrating original pieces into the traditional brass band repertoire, all played in a dazzling array of complex time-signatures. The title song came from China and there were Hindi film songs alongside local Macedonian dance tunes, as well as a terrific version of the Roma anthem, Djelem, Djelem.
The line-up consists of two trumpets, one clarinet, one saxophone, four tubas and one tapan, a large double-skinned cylindrical drum, beaten in complex rhythmic patterns with a heavy stick in one hand and a thin switch in the other. Their latest album, Alone at My Wedding, explores the music that accompanies the three-day traditional gypsy weddings that still take place regularly all over the Balkan region. With typical gypsy diversity, Turkish and Bulgarian rhythms are married to local folk dances, with even a dash of Latin flavour thrown in for good measure.
The record also finds the Orkestar transcending the strict boundaries of the brass band genre by showcasing the talent of their new vocalist, the charismatic young Ajnur Azizov, who sings variously in Slavic, Turkish and Roma.
Kocani Orkestar has been touring extensively throughout Europe and even Japan. They've created a sensation at major events such as the Roskilde Festival (Denmark), Womad (UK), Sfinks (Belgium), Festival Jazz de La Villette (France), Lucerne Jazz Festival (Switzerland), Megaevento delle FAO Roma (Italy), Royal Albert Hall London (UK) etc., and more recently Les Mediterranees de Ceret (France), where they've also performed pieces together with Khaled.

Web:
www.divanoprod.com

Music:
Siki, siki baba, Ederlezi Avela, Kerta Mangae Dae

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