The “Ring Ring” Association, founded in 2000 in Belgrade, deals with music and culture, developing a network of diverse activities.
It is open to new, contemporary artistic expressions, but also to the preservation of musical heritage. The association holds an important place on the cultural scene of Serbia and Belgrade, actively nurturing and deepening international cooperation.
The most important activities of the association include the “Ring Ring” New Music Festival, the “Todo Mundo” World Music Festival, and the “Pocket Globe” World Music Festival.
Instead of the trio Schick/Håker Flaten/Steidle, on the third night of the 29th “Ring Ring” Festival – May 25, 2025 – we will hear the duo Oliver Steidle & Chris Pitsiokos.
The public call for artists to participate in the regional mentoring program “Soundscapes of the Western Balkans” is open until April 19, 2025.
Tickets for the second and third evenings (the first evening is free, but all the spots are already taken) can be obtained through the Tickets website:
Tickets can also be obtained via email: ringringfestival@gmail.com.
. . .
May 23
Marina Džukljev & dieb13
May 24
Pavel Fajt / Vicente, Dikeman, Radojković, Škorić
May 25
Oliver Steidle & Chris Pitsiokos / ONJQ
OLIVER STEIDLE & CHRIS PITSIOKOS
(Germany)
The duo features two well-known figures of the contemporary European jazz, improvised, and experimental music scenes.
Oliver Steidle (drums) and Chris Pitsiokos (alto saxophone) know each other well and have extensive experience performing together – for example, in Oliver’s quartet Rokc Music.
However, this will be their first time performing as a duo, making their concert at the 29th “Ring Ring” Festival a world premiere!
Berlin-based saxophonist, composer, and improviser Chris Pitsiokos (1990), originally from Brooklyn, composes music as a framework that enables performers to express their own aesthetic vision and creativity without subordination. In this way, his compositional approach challenges the traditional role of the composer as the dominant or sole decision-maker who pre-defines the musical flow. “Rolling Stone” magazine praised Pitsiokos for his surprisingly original vision and astonishing speed on the saxophone.
Oliver Steidle (1975) is one of Germany’s most innovative jazz drummers, known for his virtuosic, polyrhythmic playing and wide stylistic range. With roots in both jazz and hardcore punk, he first played piano before switching to drums at age 11. After experience in garage rock bands and jazz orchestras, he studied in Nuremberg and went on to become a key figure in Berlin’s jazz scene. He co-founded the bands Klima Kalima and Der Rote Bereich, both recipients of the “German Jazz Prize”. Steidle’s versatility is reflected in his many projects – from avant-garde trios to large ensembles – and collaborations with a variety of musicians. A regular presence at festivals worldwide, he continues to push the boundaries of contemporary musical expression.
This premiere duo performance of Oliver Steidle and Chris Pitsiokos is presented in place of the canceled concert by the trio Schick/Ingebrigt Håker Flaten/Steidle.
The concert by the Oliver Steidle & Chris Pitsiokos duo was supported by the Goethe-Institut in Belgrade.
These four well-known and experienced improvisers will perform together on stagefor the first time. Although their paths have crossed many times – and they have played in various combinations of duos and trios – the “Ring Ring” Festival has brought them together for this unique new collaboration.
Luís Vicente is a Portuguese trumpet player based in Lisbon. A highly active musician, he performs in numerous ensembles with a variety of approaches – from fully improvised to composed music – always maintaining a deep sense of freedom, which remains central to his artistic identity. He has performed at dozens of venues and festivals across Europe and North America, and his long list of collaborators speaks to his versatility. He also leads his own trio and quartet, performing original compositions.
John Dikeman is an American saxophonist currently based in Belgium. Drawing inspiration from a wide range of sources, his playing spans the full spectrum of improvised music and technique. He is an active member of numerous ensembles, including a trio with William Parker and Hamid Drake, a duo with Steve Noble, collaborations with Dirk Serries, and projects with Jasper Stadhouders, Joe McPhee, Luís Vicente, Alexander Hawkins, Roger Turner, Aleksandar Škorić, among many others.
One of the local heroes is Aleksandar Škorić, a drummer known for his intense yet nuanced performances with the Charles Gayle Trio, Akira Sakata & Entasis, Muzika iz unutrašnjosti, and numerous spontaneous collaborations throughout Europe.
Also featured is Branislav Radojković, a bassist from the Serbian bands Fish in Oil, Naked, and Muzika iz unutrašnjosti. He has performed on four continents and collaborated with artists such as Marc Ribot, Monika Lakatos, Jelena Popržan, Matthew Ostrowski, and George Cremaschi.
The duo of Serbian pianist Marina Džukljev (1983) and Austrian artist Dieter Kovačič (1973), known as dieb13, who works with turntables and computer, began during the COVID era, in October 2020. In line with the circumstances at the time, their collaboration took the form of remote sessions – dieb13 based in Vienna, and Marina in Novi Sad.
Their partnership evolved into a remote live concert streamed on YouTube on November 11. Both the performance and the collaboration were part of the artistic residency program NOISM, organized by kuda.org, aimed at developing new artistic productions in the field of improvisation.
Thanks to the recording sessions in October 2020, material was created for the acclaimed album “Štrudel”, released in April 2021 on the “Tak-ta-t” label. The album features a single continuous piece lasting nearly 43 minutes, presenting a wide spectrum of improvisations, dynamic contrasts, and rich sonic textures.
The duo’s first and so far only live performance took place in Vienna, at Echoraum, in June 2024. Their concert at the opening of the 29th “Ring Ring” Festival is not only their Balkan premiere, but also a rare opportunity to witness in person the perfect synergy between two highly creative minds working within improvisation, minimalism, repetition, and free jazz.
Marina Džukljev, throughout her extensive career as a pianist and pedagogue, has been merging the worlds of classical, contemporary composed, applied, and improvised music. She has collaborated with numerous (primarily European) musicians over the years.
Dieb13 has been a prominent name in the electroacoustic improvisation scene since the early 2000s, known for his work with improvisers such as Mats Gustafsson, Phil Minton, John Butcher, and Ken Vandermark.
The concert by Marina and Dieter is supported by the Austrian Cultural Forum Belgrade and Radio Belgrade 3.
Pavel Fajt (1957) is a drummer, composer, and producer, and one of the key figures in the Czech and European experimental and improvised music scene. His extensive career includes collaborations with numerous international musicians such as Fred Frith, Tom Cora, Anna Homler, and many others, as well as performances at prestigious festivals across Europe, the Americas, and Canada.
Fajt is also known as the co-founder of the cult bands Dunaj and Pluto, the leader of the international drumming project Slet bubeníků, and a member of several creative formations including Autopilote and the Mia Zabelka Trio. As part of the duo Bittová & Fajt, he left a lasting mark on the music scene of former Czechoslovakia and beyond—their self-titled album was voted one of the best LPs of the decade by “Rock & Pop” magazine.
He is the author of music for numerous theatre and film projects (“Hamlet: Neúplný sen”, “Don Quixote”, “Macbeth”), and was nominated for the prestigious “Alfred Radok” Award for his work. Fajt is also active as an educator, heading the audio department at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Brno, and collaborates with writer Václav Cílek on music-literature projects.
Pavel Fajt has previously performed at the “Ring Ring” festival, most recently in 2012 with the Mia Zabelka Trio. This time, he will present his solo project – a Balkan premiere!
This performance is supported by the Czech Centre in Belgrade.
Otomo Yoshihide’s New Jazz Quintet (ONJQ) is a Japanese free jazz/experimental ensemble led by a composer, sound producer, turntablist and guitarist Otomo Yoshihide.
What John Zorn means to the New York scene, Otomo Yoshihide means to the Japanese. Like an iconoclast, Otomo tackled the jazz repertoire, always with untold respect, virtuosity and skill. After more than 100 releases, including eight with his New Jazz Quintet, Otomo continues to search for a captivating balance between melodic structures and intense moments of improvisation.
ONJQ toured across Europe in January/February 2024 with 15 concerts in 8 countries – it was a successfull, almost completely sold out tour. Seeing Otomo live with his quintet or any other projects is an absolutely unique experience!
Jelena Popržan is a charismatic and vocally expressive violist, singer, and sound artist from Serbia, who has brought fresh vitality to the Austrian music scene through projects like Catch-Pop String-Strong, Sormeh, and Madame Baheux. Among her newest projects, alongside her acclaimed solo program “La Folia”, is the JELENA POPRŽAN QUARTETT, a venture she’s been nurturing since its concert debut at the “Glatt & Verkehrt” festival in Krems in 2021.
The quartet is formed by three renowned figures from the Austrian jazz scene: Christoph Pepe Auer, Clemens Sainitzer, and Lina Neuner.
Jelena discovered the poems of Polish-Viennese poet Tamar Radzyner (1927 – 1991) in a publication by the “Theodor Kramer Society”, which deeply moved her. Radzyner, a Polish Jew who survived the Shoah and participated in armed resistance, later found a home in Vienna and in the German language. She worked with figures like Georg Kreisler and Topsy Küppers. Her poetry, marked by a blend of wry humor and bittersweet pessimism, left a lasting impression on Jelena.
In tribute, Jelena has crafted a song cycle as a musical homage to Radzyner. However, the majority of the program is dedicated to Jelena’s brand-new instrumental compositions, which feature rich sonic imagery and melodic storytelling.
In September 2022, the Jelena Popržan Quartett released their self-titled debut album.
Jelena Popržan Quartett’s concert at the “Pocket Globe” Festival will mark their debut performance in Serbia!
This event is supported by the Austrian Cultural Forum in Belgrade.
———————————————————————————————
POSTAVA KONCERTA
Jelena Popržan: viola, voice
Lina Neuner: double bass
Clemens Sainitzer: violoncello
Richie Winkler: clarinet, alt saxophone
🔗 LINKS
Jelena Popržan: Website ǀ Jelena Popržan: Facebook ǀ Album “Jelena Popržan Quartett”: Bandcamp
· · ·
TEIJA NIKU
(Finland)
Teija Niku (photo: Antti Kokkola)
TEIJA NIKU is a Finnish accordionist, known for her expertise in Nordic and Balkan folk music. She has been described as a composer with an excellent sense of melody, as well as an inventive arranger, and her lyrical style of playing the accordion transcends technical accomplishment or pose.
In the summer of 2019, Ääniä Records released Niku’s third solo album “Hetkessä”, which features the artist in a truly solo performance. The wide range of registers, as well as the dynamic and technical possibilities of the accordion, combined with in-the-moment improvisations, form the foundation of the music, which is entirely composed, arranged, and recorded by Niku herself. Hetkessä received glowing reviews and airplay across Europe.
Since 2022, Niku has been working on new music, supported by a three-year artist grant awarded by the National Council for Music in Finland.
Teija Niku’s performance at the “Pocket Globe” festival marks her debut concert in Serbia!
This concert is supported by the Sounds of Europe project.
MANIUCHA & KSAWERY is a duo that uniquely combines jazz improvisation with the traditional, endangered songs of the Polissya region in Ukraine. In their compositions, they evoke spring, wedding, and love songs, as well as lullabies, weaving them into narratives that trace the cycles of nature and human life. Their music tells tales that cross eras and genres, drawing from Maniucha’s years of traveling to meet Ukrainian village singers, along with their shared musical imagination.
In their concerts, they not only sing and play but also share the stories and folklore connected to their repertoire.
Maniucha Bikont is a vocalist, musician, and anthropologist who has conducted numerous field recordings in Poland, Ukraine, and Russia. She is a member of various music and theater groups dedicated to traditional music, rituals, improvisation, and unconventional vocal techniques. She sings and plays the tuba with Tęgie Chłopy and collaborates with groups like Janusz Prusinowski Kompania, along with jazz and avant-garde musicians.
Ksawery Wójciński is a double bass player and composer, known for his broad musical sensitivity and adventurous experimentation. His range spans early music to sophisticated contemporary improvised music, and he has collaborated with musicians like Charles Gayle, Satoko Fuji, Ken Vandermark, and Mats Gustafsson.
The album “Oj borom, borom…” (2017) by Maniucha & Ksawery is a layered narrative rooted in ancient songs from Western Polissya. Traditional songs, tales, and fairy tales are the starting point for a dialogue of voice and double bass, which serve as equal storytellers. The bass doesn’t merely accompany the voice; it narrates its own stories and engages in dialogue with the voice, creating a fluid, balanced musical exchange. In this process, traditional and improvised music emerge as kindred languages, as if they were local dialects of a shared musical language.
The duo’s performance at the “Pocket Globe” Festival will be their debut in Serbia!
This concert is supported by the Sounds of Europe, the Polish Institute in Belgrade, and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
Hiram Salsano & Marcello De Carolis (photo: Vito D’Andrea)
The music project “Fronni D’alia” was born from the meeting of Hiram Salsano’s young yet ancient voice and Marcello De Caroli’s modern, virtuosic chitarra battente.
Together, the two artists fully express the sonic and evocative potential of the sounds and rhythms of southern Italy. Their musical exploration merges tradition with original compositions, enhanced by the use of loop stations.
Each note, like a gentle breeze, caresses the soul, carrying the sounds of narrative songs, serenades, and work chants across the landscapes of southern Italy. At the same time, the driving rhythms convey strength and vigor, echoing the resilience and passion of a community that has lived its history with tenacity.
HIRAM SALSANO, an independent ethnographic researcher from Cilento (Salerno), explores the voice as an instrument and plays southern Italian frame drums (tammorra and tamburello). In 2023, she released her debut album, “Bucolica. In 2024, her ethnographic research book “Chi fa ammore va Camminanne was published. She has earned several prestigious Italian awards for her contributions to the world music scene.
MARCELLO DE CAROLIS is an artist specializing in the chitarra battente. His recordings include “The Eclectic Beating – Contemporary Music for Chitarra Battente”, “Venti” (with Francesco Loccisano, a project selected for the official Womex ’23 lineup), and “Cordaminations” (with Luca Fabrizio). In 2019, he co-authored “La chitarra battente – Metodo Base” with Francesco Loccisano, the first beginner’s method for the chitarra battente.
Salsano’s and De Carolis’s concert at the “Pocket Globe” Festival will be their debut performance in Serbia!
This event is supported by the Italian Cultural Institute of Belgrade.
———————————————————————————————
CONCERT LINEUP
Hiram Salsano: voice, frame drums, Jew’s harp, loop station
Marcello De Carolis: chitarra battente, loop station
Offering polyphonic creations rooted in traditional song, the trio SAMAÏA creates a sound that is entirely their own, woven from harmonies, drones, and polyrhythms. Their voices, solidly anchored in the earth, reinvent traditional stories of Eurasia. Their repertoire draws from traditions dear to each of the three singers and honors the regional languages of France (Occitan and Breton), as well as other regions of Europe and the Middle East.
Their music is a powerful blend of their different life journeys:
Eléonore Fourniau, a specialist in Kurdish and Anatolian music, lived in Istanbul for six years to study languages and music, focusing on singing and the saz. With her powerful voice and unique style of playing the hurdy-gurdy, drawing inspiration from various stringed and wind instruments, she has won over Kurdish audiences and a wider global following;
Noémie Nael, a singer-songwriter in the French chanson tradition, trained as an actress before turning to singing and songwriting. She began composing and performing her own songs, accompanied by Joël Simon on piano. In 2017, her singing career took a leap with the creation of Trio Samaïa;
Luna Silva, a singer-songwriter of folk/world music, is the daughter of an English actress and a Spanish circus clown and grew up immersed in diversity and travel. Trained as an ethnomusicologist, she journeyed around the world, making it her open-air conservatory. Her passion lies in exploring various vocal techniques, which she incorporates into her songwriting.
The name “samaïa” comes from a traditional Georgian dance performed by three women, symbolizing the different facets of Queen Tamar: the young princess, the wise mother, and the all-powerful sovereign.
On stage, the three expressive singers accompany themselves with percussion and the hurdy-gurdy. They offer an intimate performance that is both moving and refreshing, leaving no one untouched.
Their second album, “Traversées”, celebrates life and its challenges through stories from various rural traditions across Eurasia. Each song narrates a rite of passage, a welcome, a farewell, a plea, or a celebration.
Their concert at the “Pocket Globe” Festival will be their premiere performance in Serbia!
This event is supported by the French Institute in Serbia.
ANA ALCAIDE is a musician and composer from Toledo, Spain, known for her research on ancient traditions and cultures. She is one of the most recognized Spanish artists in the folk and world music scene.
Alcaide has performed her music at major festivals, theaters, and venues across Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Germany, Morocco, China, Malaysia, Tunisia, Canada, Bulgaria, Indonesia, Estonia, Switzerland, Hungary, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, the UK, Uzbekistan, Argentina, Uruguay, and more – over 600 concerts on four continents!
She has played a pioneering role in introducing and popularizing the nyckelharpa in Spain. Rooted in ancient traditions yet distinctly modern, her compositions blend musical styles from various cultures with finesse. Inspired by the city of Toledo, Ana writes and produces her songs, crafts new arrangements, and adapts the nyckelharpa to ancient melodies from medieval Spain that have traveled throughout the Mediterranean region. In recent years, her personal and artistic evolution has led her to explore new creative territories.
In Novi Sad, Ana Alcaide will perform her “Essentia” program, alongside her husband, Bill Cooley, a multi-instrumentalist originally from the USA.
Ana Alcaide’s concert at the “Pocket Globe” Festival will mark her premiere performance in Serbia!
This event is supported by the Embassy of Spain in Serbia.
———————————————————————————————
CONCERT LINEUP
Ana Alcaide: vocals, nyckelharpa, Hardanger violin
Bill Cooley: oud, psaltery, bouzouki, bass pedal, programming
Singer JÚLIA KOZÁKOVÁ is best known for her solo work and her previous album “Manuša”, released in 2022, saw her bring new life into traditional Roma songs originally from Slovakia and Central Europe.
Júlia’s band are a group of exceptional Roma musicians from her home town of Bratislava who perform on cimbalom (Ľubomír Gašpar), violin (Viliam Didiáš), viola (Vojtech Botoš), double bass (Ján Rigo) and guitar (Zsolt Várady).
Since she was 13, Júlia Kozáková has worked closely with Roma artists and has collaborated with Czech singer Ida Kelarová and toured Europe with her Romany children‘s choir Čhavorenge. Her breakout and internationally released debut album “Manuša” brought Julia an new audiences performing in UK, Czech Republic and Slovakia and also received positive media feedback – it was the best performing world music album from Slovakia according to the World Music Charts Europe (WMCE) and won the Radio Head Award as “The Best Slovak World Music Album” of 2022.
Júlia studied at London’s SOAS and continues to study jazz voice at Janačkova Akademie in Brno (Czech Republic).
The Belgian-English-Hungarian-Romanian-Romani TCHA LIMBERGER’S KALOTASZEG TRIO brings laments, czardas’ and szaporas from the Transylvanian region of Kalotaszeg with the beautiful voice and violin playing of Tcha Limberger, accompanied by Toni Rudi (viola), and Vilmos Csikos (double bass).
Multi-instrumentalist and virtuoso Tcha Limberger has become recognised as one of the most prominent and important figures in folk music of the Carpathian Basin. This style, played by Gypsies in an area of Transylvania called Kalotaszeg and with a repertoire drawn from Hungarian, Romanian, and Gypsy cultures, is considered to be the most beautiful of all Hungarian music.
His accompanists, the highest regarded rhythm section of modern times from the music of the Carpathains, are: Toni Rudi comes from a long line of viola players and his father was probably the most celebrated of all, and Vilmos Csikos, equally at home in jazz and local music, and is the bass player to Roby Lakatos amongst many others.
“This music is little known and I will play it as it is meant to be played” – says Tcha – “It follows the lives of many from baptism to the grave. It celebrates their mutual existence and brings people together in the community of Kalotaszeg.”
Since picking up his first instrument, the guitar, composer, singer and multi-instrumentalist Tcha Limberger is one of a handful of world class musicians to have become accepted and respected in a style of music culturally not their own. His showcasing on the international stage of his Transylvanian Kalotaszeg Trio and Budapest Gypsy Orchestra, and his nurturing approach to teaching almost forgotten traditional music has made him one of the most prominent and “important figures in folk music of the Carpathian Basin”.
For this he has received unparalleled praise worldwide from professionals and public alike. Critics remarking on his achievements have claimed he is “entirely made of music”, “The Polymath king of Gypsy music”, whilst musician colleagues refer to him as “the fifth element”.
Limberger was born into a renowned Belgian family of Manouche musicians. He grew up in the world of Gypsy swing style of Django Reinhardt and over the years has collaborated with many of its leading performers.
His eclectic musical tastes, interests and passions were formed from early childhood with his first solo concerts singing Flamenco whilst accompanying himself on guitar at aged just eight. He has an ongoing fascination and love for traditional music from the world over, for a long while leading a band of Belgian musicians playing music from Aimara, and the Quechua Indians of Bolivia.
He studied modern classical composition alongside Belgian composer Dick Vanderharst with his compositional debut for a dance piece by Les ballets C de la B called “Patchagonia” directed by Lisi Estaras. Two current projects include I Silenti, a collaboration with Fabrizzio Cassol, and his much celebrated all-string swing band Les Violons de Bruxelles.
Tcha Limberger studied the music of Kalotaszeg with his mentor the legendary Neti Sandor, and the Magyar Nota style of Budapest with celebrated primas Horvat Bela. Both contribute to his recognition as both an exceptional and enthusiastic teacher who frequently holds masterclasses and leads interactive workshops encompassing both jazz and Central European folk music.
CONFERENCE “ROMA PEOPLE AND MUSIC: FREEDOM, ADAPTATION, TAKING OVER”
International Conference “Music on the Move“, Todo Mundo Festival, Belgrade, RTS Club – Radio Belgrade, 2022 (photo: Vladimir Milisavljević)
The CONFERENCE “ROMA PEOPLE AND MUSIC: FREEDOM, ADAPTATION, TAKING OVER” will be held at the Jewish Cultural Center “Oneg Shabat” (Jevrejska 16) on September 22, 2024, starting at 11 AM.
The conference will feature SPEAKERS from nine European countries: Ciro De Rosa (Italy), Maša Vukanović (Serbia), Christian Pliefke (Germany), Dragan Ristić (Serbia), Martyna Van Nieuwland (Netherlands/Poland), Tcha Limberger (Belgium), Júlia Kozáková (Slovakia), Dušan Sviba (Czech Republic), Marija Dumnić Vilotijević (Serbia), Anti Kovács (Hungary), and Marija Vitas (moderator/Serbia).
The Roma are undeniably a very attractive topic for artists and their audiences, as well as for scholars and a wider circle of people. This has been the case for a long time, and it is still true today. The Roma are a theme through which various elements, interpretations, and stereotypes intersect: truths, falsehoods, assumptions, imagination, idealization, belittlement, and assumed associations with certain talents and temperaments…
At the top of the most common associations with the Roma are music and passion. The proverbial connection of the Roma with music (and dance), as well as the presumed need for freedom in behavior and expression (of passionate) feelings, has inspired numerous artistic music names from different eras: Tartini, Haydn, Beethoven, Brahms, Bizet, Liszt, Sarasate, Dvořák, and others. Their compositions inspired by the imagined or real life and creativity of the Roma are generally extremely attractive to audiences, both from past centuries and contemporary ones. One reason for this perception and taste lies in the fact that the Roma are a paradigm for freedom and overcoming social boundaries and demands, which can be found as at least a latent, inherent need in almost every human being.
This very story of freedom carries a question mark… Are the Roma really the embodiment of freedom and some kind of social relaxation, considering the strongly patriarchal environment in which they have functioned for centuries up to the present day?
Aren’t the Roma actually quite framed by patriarchy and superstitions that largely shape their lives? Do we perhaps recognize freedom in the Roma because they have long lived a different way of life, which is not free, but precisely – different?
In addition to various dilemmas and themes related to the Roma and the question of freedom, there are also several issues concerning the Roma in music. In Serbia, the attitude of the non-Roma population towards Roma musicians has often been ambivalent – from admiration for their ability and openness to various types of music to some derogatory views, characteristic of the past (in the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century, more often in smaller communities), where music was considered an unworthy “Gypsy job” or certain instruments (e.g., the violin) were seen as typically “Gypsy” and thus unsuitable for Serbs, Serbian peasants, Serbian children to play…
It is true that the Roma in Serbia have popularized music as a profession, as a craft, which is also the reason for their musical openness and ability to perform and combine different types of music. In the past, in Serbia, the Roma began to play Serbian music to approach the dominant people, to perform what they needed, loved, and wanted to hear for them as a reward.
In this process of adopting the foreign, they added something of their own to the foreign, some kind of temperament, sensibility, ornamentation in music…
The famous Vranje singer Stana Avramović Karaminga (1897 – 1969) once described the difference between the true, Vranje urban singing, which was “pure”, in which no melisma was allowed in the middle of the melody or at the end, as she believed applied to Roma singers when they performed Serbian, Vranje songs.
In the 1990s, primarily influenced by film art, the Roma seemed to become a synonym for the Balkans, Serbia, and the legacy of brass bands for the West (and not only the West). Although traditional Serbian music is rich and diverse, and despite the fact that Serbs themselves have a strong brass tradition spanning over a century, what makes Serbian music most recognizable to the rest of the world remains the Roma and Roma brass bands.
Today, the Roma continue to adapt to the needs of contemporary listeners, not only to the Serbian rural, urban, and city populations but even more to the listening habits of audiences in the West.
Hence, among today’s Balkan brass bands (Boban and Marko Marković, Džambo Aguševi, etc.), we observe an increasing tendency towards a pure, “polished”, and highly produced sound, as well as the use of various well-known motifs, i.e., quotes from pop, funk, rock, Latino, and other genres.
What is the current situation with Roma musicians today, in Serbia, Europe, and the world? How many Roma musicians and bandleaders are there, as well as international groups and non-Roma bands that don a Roma guise or in any way allude to the Roma? To what extent are the Roma turning to musical literacy and education today? What is the role and place of Roma women in music and on the contemporary music scene? What about the modern audience and their relationship to Roma temperament and creativity?
All these and many other anticipated and unforeseen questions will be discussed and debated at the carefully planned fourth conference organized by the Ring Ring Association.
The conference will bring together local and international, primarily music professionals, to provide insights from their perspectives – musical, managerial, organizational, scientific, ethnomusicological, ethnological, journalistic, and research – on the complexity of Roma life and work in society and the music world, both past and present, especially within the polygenre milieu known as world music.
With the support of the moderator of the conference, which will be divided into two sessions, a debate will develop among the participants, and at the end of each session, the audience will have the opportunity to ask questions, comment, and engage in lively discussion with the speakers.
The conference is supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia, which has also supported all previous conferences organized by the Ring Ring Association: “Women in the World Music – Artists, Managers, Journalists…” (2021), “Music on the Move” (2022), and “Tradition Nowadays, in the World Music” (2023).
Admission to the conference is free.
TERNE ČHAVE
Terne Čhave, 2023 (photo: Dušan Sviba)
TERNE ČHAVE is considered probably the oldest active, and definitely one of the most well-known Roma bands in the Czech Republic. The band is famous for its distinctive sound that blends traditional Roma music of Central Europe with funk, rock, soul, ska, jazz, blues, and other influences.
Many years ago, these musicians have stood on their own feet, crossing the boundaries of the Roma ghetto. By bringing their gadjo friends among musicians and working with them together, Terne Čhave took confident steps into the big world.
Traveling across Europe, from the Czech Republic and Slovakia through Poland, Hungary, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Benelux, to England and Scotland, wherever they perform, people happily dance along with them.
Today, Terne Čhave is a band that has transcended the phenomenon of genre boundaries, but their Roma roots provide a solid base for musical journeys to destinations that are too far for many.
The band is not burdened by questions of style, but they don’t leave the audience time to think about it either, as they are mostly stunned by the devilish pace of the group’s songs. Therefore, it’s no surprise that Terne Čhave’s slogan is: It’s only Rom’n’Roll!
The band ROMANO DROM (meaning “Gypsy’s Road” in Romani), today the most prominent representative of contemporary Roma culture in Hungary, was founded in 1999 by a father and son, both with the same name and surname – Antal Kovács. Father Antal Kovács has since passed away, but the group has continued to work and preserve the tradition, thanks also to the grandchildren who joined the band.
The group performs predominantly composed music by Antal Kovács Junior, based on tradition and roots, as well as the language of the Vlach Roma, but with distinctly modern arrangements and a contemporary concept that combines old Roma heritage with Catalan rumba, as well as Arabic and Balkan rhythms.
Romano Drom, a band whose every performance is marked by an eruption of musical energy, with moments of melancholy and warm emotion, boasts an international career with a series of concerts and tours in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America. The band has released seven albums, with the latest being “Give Me Wine” (2019) – for the prestigious British label “Riverboat”.
At the “Todo Mundo” festival, the group will, with guest participation, present their special project marking 25 years of work.
The unique musical world of Romano Drom has brought them great success and made them one of the most sought-after global music ensembles dedicated to Roma heritage.
Lenhart Tapes feat. Tijana Stanković, 2022 (photo: Vladimir Opsenica)
Vladimir Lenhart, known by his stage name LENHART TAPES will happily drop Ethno-Noise on you, then leave you to work out what that might mean. You’ll have a pretty good idea after about a minute of the “Dens” album (Glitterbeat, 2023) - or indeed if you’ve spent any time in the Balkans generally, surrounded by folk music in all its incarnations, and in Belgrade specifically, which yields up the ghosts of the Yugoslav punk and industrial scenes of the 1980s and the city’s current experimental excursions to anyone with time to listen and explore.
Vladimir’s grandfather Ján was a popular interpreter of Slovak folk song in the 1950s, and the careful marshalling of national minority cultures in Yugoslavia produced a musical heritage that continues to resonate for those that have come after. Being younger, however, means that they have their own musical stories to tell and influences to work around.
Vladimir’s tapes-by-the-kilo, car-boot-sale approach is something familiar to turntablists and hip-hop artists, but it’s his love of industrial sound that’s key, producing a magical, beauty-and-the-beast encounter of dirty noise, improvised violin and righteous folk.
Lenhart Tapes is only one half of the story here, however. Enter Tijana Stanković: singer, classically trained violinist, ethnomusicologist and Radio Belgrade music editor. By Vladimir’s own admission, her encyclopaedic knowledge of the music he had grown up with turned the project from something somewhat ironic to something very sincere.
He recalls an immediate connection, over a shared love of that music, and it’s a connection that has since developed in perhaps unforeseen directions, with Tijana herself pushing Vladimir into an even more uncompromising sonic stance.
The slow burn of Lenhart Tapes’ emergence has been built upon a set of scorching small-venue performances, with Vladimir’s Walkmans laying down a collage of beat, noise and tune for Tijana’s voice and violin to respond to and, at times, work against. But if you think that makes them more of a live than a recorded proposition, you’d be wrong. A decade of sporadic releases, frequently on cassette, was followed by 2021’s “Duets”, a sweeping, sample-heavy progress report. Now comes “Dens”, which hits a different kind of stride.
The loops and samples of the previous record are still there, but are joined by an expanded roster of musicians. It’s denser, more considered, but still spacious; and it’s as rackety as Belgrade, one of Europe’s most intense capitals, but beautifully put together.
The “Todo Mundo” Festival is offering, for the first time this year, an opportunity for world music musicians (both those performing at the festival and local artists with world music bands/projects) to meet and talk with the delegates invited to the festival.
Musicians will have the chance to talk with:
– Martina Van Nieuwland, editor of the “Music Meeting” festival in the Netherlands and former director of the “Ogrody Dźwięków” festival in Poland, as well as an author and participant in numerous international projects.
– Ciro De Rosa, journalist and editor of the Italian “Blogfoolk” portal, collaborator with the famous English “Songlines” magazine.
– Christian Pliefke, owner of the record labels “CPL-Music” and “Nordic Notes”, distributor.
In these 10-15 minute conversations, musicians will have the opportunity to present their band/project and learn how to promote their band in the European market, how to get involved with the right festivals, record labels, media, and more.
The meetings will take place in the garden of the Hotel “Rex” (Sarajevska 37), starting at 11 a.m., and in case of bad weather – inside the hotel.
Registration is mandatory, and the number of spots is limited. Send your applications via email to: todomundofestival@gmail.com.
“DRAŠKOCI” AWARD CEREMONY
Lenhart Tapes, recipient of the Draškoci 2024 Award
LENHART TAPES is the recipient of the “Vojin Mališa Draškoci” award for 2024. The decision was made by the Award Committee of the Representative Association in Culture, the World Music Association of Serbia.
The award will be presented at the “Todo Mundo” festival in Belgrade, at the Jewish Cultural Center “Oneg Shabbat” on September 21, during the second evening of the twelfth edition of the festival.
After the award ceremony, Lenhart Tapes will perform a concert with singer Tijana Stanković. The festival evening will begin at 7:30 p.m. with a concert by Júlia Kozáková’s band, which cherishes Slovak Roma music.
The “Vojin Mališa Draškoci” award was established in 2013 with the aim of encouraging, developing, and popularizing the world music genre in Serbia, as well as preserving the memory of professor, composer, and double bassist Vojin Mališa Draškoci (1945 – 2000). Previous recipients of the award include Filip Krumes, Vasil Hadžimanov, Vlatko Stefanovski, Vladimir Nikić, Nenad Vasilić, Veljko Nikolić – Papa Nik, Đorđe Stijepović, Jelena Popržan, Dorian Jovanović, Dunja Knebl, and Jasna Jovićević.
“It is a great honor for me to receive an award that bears the name of our musical visionary Vojin Draškoci” – said Vladimir Lenhart for the magazine Etnoumlje – “The first thing I could say about myself is that I am not a formally trained musician, nor do I play any musical instrument (except perhaps the bass guitar). I see myself more as a musical listener or a seeker of unique melodies, and what I do in the field of creation is sampling, collaging, and producing new musical works from existing, so-called ready-made material. The primary tools I use for this purpose are audio cassettes and cassette players for their playback, as well as electronic equipment like samplers. I incorporate live instruments and vocals into my compositions, mostly performed by female singers of traditional music. I am proud that in my naïve approach to music, the WMAS committee recognized something worthy of attention. Although I sought my musical role models, like Holger Czukay or Brian Eno, in the Western world, I applied their musical methodologies to our environment: the Balkans, in a broader sense of musical tradition, as well as the local community in which I grew up, which is the micro-community of Vojvodina Slovaks living in Serbia. For me, the essence of world music is not in simply replaying folk songs in modern times but in defining a new time with the help of traditional tunes and melodies.”
The band KAL delivers an infusion of pure energy and sound that leaves the body and mind of concertgoers captivated at every moment. Under the slogan or genre subcategory Rock’n’Roma (sometimes also Gypsy Rockabilly), Kal creates an eclectic mix of Western Balkan music with swing, jazz, blues, and pop, offering an original and irresistible sound that is easily absorbed from the first to the last chord.
The band was formed in 1996 in Valjevo, with Belgrade later becoming the band’s base. The name of the band comes from the Romani language and means black (the color black). Kal has performed several thousand concerts both locally and abroad, and has participated in numerous significant European festivals: “Roskilde” (Denmark), “Fusion Festival” and “Berlinare” (Germany), “Sziget” (Hungary), “EXIT”, “Nišvil”, “Kustendorf”, and “Belgrade Beer Festival” (Serbia), “La notte di San Lorenzo” (Italy)….
In addition to intense European tours, Kal’s long history includes two American tours (in 2006 and 2008), during one of which they collaborated with the famous New York attraction, the band Gogol Bordello.
Slovak singer and artist JÚLIA KOZÁKOVÁ interprets arranged Roma traditional music and performs as a soloist, accompanied by a group of Roma musicians from Bratislava (on cimbalom, violin, viola, double bass, and guitar). She has collaborated with Roma musicians and has sung across Europe with the Romany children’s choir Čhavorenge, led by the esteemed Czech artist Ida Kelarová. In 2022, Júlia released the album “Manuša” (“people” in Romani) featuring songs of Roma from Slovakia and Central Europe, which received highly positive reviews from world music critics in several countries. Since then, she has performed at festivals in Slovakia, the UK, the Czech Republic, and other European countries. She studied music at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London and continued her training in jazz singing at the Janáček Academy in Brno.
A conversation with artist Júlia Kozáková, as part of the accompanying program of the 12th Todo Mundo Festival and its first event, will be held at the Institute of Musicology SASA (Knez Mihailova 36, Office 410) on Friday, September 20th, starting at 12 PM. The event will be conducted in English. It is part of the international project Sounds of Europe, co-financed by the European Union.
The topic of the conversation, titled “Reinterpretation of Traditional Songs of Romani from Central Europe”, will be led by ethnomusicologist Dr. Marija Dumnić Vilotijević, Senior Research Associate at the Institute of Musicology SASA.
Admission to the event is free.
This event also marks the beginning of the series “Conversations about Traditions of Music and Dance”, organized by the National Committee in Serbia of the International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance (ICTMD) in cooperation with the Institute of Musicology SASA. All events in the series will take place at the Institute. This series will serve as a platform for an open public and collaborative ethnographic dialogue between ethnomusicologists and selected performers, as well as providing a stage for invited musicians to present their work, art, and community heritage through performance lectures with discussions. The shift of ethnographic research from its original context to an academic setting aims to give voice to the performers, providing a wider audience, and fostering direct dialogue between the performers and the broader academic community. This initiative seeks to bridge the gap between documentary ethnographic interviews and professionally guided conversations that portray the artist. The selection of participants aims to showcase representative practitioners of intangible cultural heritage in Serbia, including ethnomusicologists-performers, choreographers, and others.
Šalter Ensemble operates on the border between free improvisation and composition, focusing on collective processes as a central part of its practice. The project is an international electroacoustic ensemble initiated in 2017 by Jonas Kocher in collaboration with Zavod Sploh Ljubljana and Izlog Festival Zagreb, and has since performed at numerous venues and festivals in Slovenia, Croatia, Italy, Switzerland and Serbia.
In 2021, the ensemble released the album Štiri dela and in 2024 it’s second album Tri dela.
The ensemble consists of outstanding personalities from the international music scene. The musicians come from a wide range of backgrounds – from jazz to traditional and folk music to contemporary improvised and electronic music – and are from different generations.
In its current programme, Šalter presents new compositions, which were developed especially for Šalter during a residency in Venice in May 2023: “Interstices / Interferences” (Jonas Kocher & Gaudenz Badrutt), “šum III” (Elisabeth Harnik) and “My Wish Your Command” (Tomaž Grom).
Line-up:
Gaudenz Badrutt – electronics; Estelle Beiner – violin; Ilia Belorukov – saxophone; Tomaž Grom – doublebass, electronics; Elisabeth Harnik – piano; Josef Klammer – drums, electronics; Jonas Kocher – accordion; Samo Kutin – hurdy gurdy; Alfred Lang – trumpet; Irena Z. Tomažin – voice
The Cologne-based ensemble, Trio C / W | N consists of three accomplished and experienced improvisers and personalities of the international improvised music scene: pianist Dušica Cajlan, saxophonist Georg Wissel and percussionist Etienne Nillesen.
Since 2016, Trio C / W | N has been continuously developing their concentrated ensemble language and convince with fascinating, imaginative, lively and subtle playing.
A trialogue of musicians who simultaneously co-create, react, complement each other and always act highly musically. In doing so, they place the qualities of sound, tone and noise with open forms, precisely formulated structures and accentuated rhythms at the centre of their music composed in real-time.
In November 2022, their album Thirty Nine Fifty Five was released on the New York label Acheulian Handaxe and was enthusiastically received by the critics. In March of 2023, C / W | N performed at renowed ART ACTS Festival in Austria, one of the most important European festivals for contemporary Improvised music and free jazz.
Currently, the trio is concentrating on a kind of analogue granular-synthetic ensemble playing, in which the music creates itself, so to speak.
