The twelfth “Todo Mundo” festival took place in Belgrade from September 20 to 22, 2024, at several locations. The program was dedicated to the Roma people and music, featuring six concerts, a public interview, mentoring sessions, an award ceremony, and an international conference.
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It cannot be said that such a thing is essential, but it is nice and appealing for a music festival to unite the program of its edition around a specific theme. This is how “Todo Mundo” has, several times, created a “story” that flows through the concerts and other program contents. Experienced Todo Mundo crowd may recall the festival’s focuses on the African (2012), Balkan (2014), and Hungarian (2019) music scenes, as well as on women (2021) and the Roma, which served as the thematic thread of the latest, twelfth edition of the festival.
The program design was facilitated by the fact that our Ring Ring Association has been a partner in the European project “Sounds of Europe” since 2022, so this year we also turned to the portfolios of our partners from different European countries. We selected artists and groups and ultimately created a lineup consisting entirely of Roma music performers: Tcha Limberger, Júlia Kozáková, Romano Drom, and Terne Čhave. After that, we needed to add a fitting “local” concert, and the decision was simple: the Belgrade band Kal, which had never performed at “Todo Mundo” before.
And that’s not all when it comes to the Roma theme – a public discussion with Júlia Kozáková at the Musicology Institute of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SASA) was also focused on the Roma, just like the international conference “Roma People and Music: Freedom, Adaptation, Taking Over”…
EVERYTHING WE DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT SLOVAK ROMA
The first event of this year’s festival took place in office 410 of The SASA Institute of Musicology. The public interview with Júlia Kozáková is a continuation of the series of artist conversations that the “Todo Mundo” festival has successfully developed with the idea of offering the ethnomusicological community (with an openness to a wider audience) the opportunity to get closer to a representative of a particular musical tradition or genre through direct contact.
Such conversations have previously been organized at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, in always pleasant cooperation with the Department of Ethnomusicology, and in 2024, we decided to hold it at the Musicology Institute. The conversation with Júlia Kozáková, held on Friday, September 20, in the early afternoon, was led by ethnomusicologist Marija Dumnić Violotijević, Senior Research Associate at the Institute.
The attendees enjoyed a wealth of information and interesting facts both from Júlia Kozáková’s professional life, particularly regarding her love for the Roma heritage of her native Slovakia (Júlia herself is not Roma, but Slovak), as well as data on traditional Roma music and culture in Slovakia and surrounding countries.
The topic titled “Reinterpretation of Traditional Songs of Romani from Central Europe” turned out to be very inspiring for the audience, and as a result, the entire event lasted much longer than originally planned.
A STRONG AND GENTLE EVENING
That evening, we attended the first two concerts of the festival at the Jewish Cultural Center. First, the Belgrade band Kal filled the room with a powerful performance and intense energy, skillfully combining typical rock instruments such as electric guitar, bass guitar, and drums with sound sources characteristic of, among other things, the milieu of folk and Roma music: accordion and violin. The atmosphere was led by the frontman Dragan Ristić (vocals, guitar), always with a strong desire to encourage as many people as possible to dance.
And then – after socializing with cigarettes and beer in the lobby and outside the venue – a complete contrast to the Kal concert took place. The gathered audience was now enchanted by intimacy and warmth. Belgian musician Tcha Limberger, through his playing and voice, weaving threads of emotional tenderness and refined humor, led his Belgian-British-Hungarian-Romanian Kalotaszeg Trio, which also featured Toni Rudi (viola) and Vilmos Csikos (double bass), authentic representatives of the style. This is the sound of Transylvania and the Kalotaszeg region. But it is also about the wonderful, vivid storytelling of Tcha Limberger, through which the audience could gain an even deeper understanding of the music of this unique area.
MENTORING SESSIONS
The sunny Saturday, September 21, gathered us first in the middle of the day at the Hotel “Rex” Garden, where for the first time within the “Todo Mundo” festival, mentoring sessions were held. Our delegates – Martyna Van Nieuwland, (Netherlands/Poland), Ciro De Rosa (Italy), and Christian Pliefke (Germany), experienced professionals in the European world music scene – chatted over coffee and the gentle breeze with interested musicians about their plans, development, careers, and more. With the exception of Júlia Kozáková, the mentoring sessions were attended by local musicians from various genre backgrounds.
HOP, THEN HEAVY
The second evening at the Jewish Cultural Center was marked by two completely different concerts. Júlia Kozáková, an unknown name to the Belgrade audience, surprised them with the attractiveness of her presence and the lightness of her interpretation. Together with the outstanding, authentic sound of her accompanying Roma band Manuša, Júlia delighted the audience. Smiles, clapping, cheers, and those positively charged whistles followed every Roma song and instrumental improvisation on stage. The spirit of the Roma heritage from Central Europe and the vividness of that string tradition illuminated the audience, who, after the break, had to emotionally adjust to a different mood – the performance of Lenhart Tapes and Tijana Stanković.
Before this one non-Roma concert at the 12th “Todo Mundo” festival, we, as representatives of the World Music Association of Serbia, awarded the annual “Vojin Mališa Draškoci” Plaque with a statuette to Vladimir Lenhart for his dedicated artistic work and unique achievements in blending diverse forms of folk and cultural heritage with modern sound tools (walkmans, audio cassettes) and expressions.
Next came the recognizable noise of Lenhart Tapes, woven from beauty, power, suggestiveness, excitement, anger, and many other faces of sound. The “facilitator” of Lenhart’s artistic message – his long-time collaborator, vocalist and violinist Tijana Stanković – skillfully and magically commanded her instrumental and vocal vocabulary.
Their joint performance was predictably convincing, and a new, yet unreleased track “threatens” to become a hit, within the framework of this “industrial sound”, of course.
VIEWS OF THE ROMA
The final day of the 12th festival, Sunday, September 22, featured, as part of the program, the international conference, the fourth organized by the Ring Ring Association within the “Todo Mundo” festival. The theme “Roma People and Music: Freedom, Adaptation, Taking Over” gathered, during two sessions, nine speakers – highly experienced and distinguished individuals and professionals, including musicians, managers, publishers, organizers, ethnologists, ethnomusicologists, and more. Among the participants were representatives of various nations, including Roma.
The speakers came from nine European countries, each with their own specific knowledge and experience. The perspectives were diverse, and each one prompted questions from the audience.
The conference, held at the Jewish Cultural Center, featured the following participants: 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).
EXPLOSION OF RHYTHM AND JOY
The very end of the festival couldn’t have been more energetic! The concerts held at the Jewish Cultural Center, though vastly different, sparked a similar atmosphere and a lively mood in the audience. And they had one more thing in common: the Roma music of Central Europe, first Hungarian, and then Czech.
Romano Drom is a big name on the Hungarian music scene, one that is not unknown to the Serbian concert audience, although it was certainly necessary to once again “explain” their exceptional talent. However, everything unfolded seamlessly. The sparkling playing and lively voices of the musicians on stage conveyed the spirit of the Vlach Roma heritage from Hungary, with its irresistible mobility of vibrant acoustic music and the striking “crackling” of voices. The joy and excitement of the audience were evident.
Next, with a less traditional and more rock-oriented approach, the Czech band Terne Čhave, also a big name on their country’s scene, got the audience on their feet with even more energy. The reactions were fantastic, despite it being their debut in Serbia, although the leaders of the lively mood in audience came from the Czech Center Belgrade and their friends – Czechs and lovers of Czech culture.
The highlight of the evening and the entire festival was the joint performance of several songs, during which members of Romano Drom joined the Terne Čhave band on stage. An explosion of rhythm and joy!
The “Todo Mundo” festival is organized by the Ring Ring Association in collaboration with the Music Information Centre of Serbia.
The twelfth “Todo Mundo” festival was supported by: “Sounds of Europe” (Creative Europe), the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia, Collegium Hungaricum Belgrade, the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the Czech Center in Belgrade, EFFEA/World Music Festival Bratislava, European Folk Network/European Folk Day, the World Music Association of Serbia, the Jewish Cultural Center “Oneg Shabbat”, and the magazine “Etnoumlje”.
The 12th edition of the Todo Mundo festival will feature six concerts, an international conference, mentoring sessions, and an interview with the artist. The festival will be held in Belgrade from September 20 to 22, 2024.
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At a time when children and parents have already settled into the school rhythm and autumn is taking over from summer, the “Todo Mundo” festival gifts the audience its twelfth edition, which is largely dedicated to Roma music.
During the three festival days – Pokreni! (Move!), Zavrti! (Spin!), and Poskoči! (Jump!) – daytime and evening events will take place. The main evening program will consist of six concerts, held at the Jewish Cultural Center (Jevrejska 16).
The concert program will kick off on September 20 with the Belgrade band Kal – well-known to both local and international audiences – featuring their distinctive, strong rhythms, powerful energy, and the compelling vocals of frontman Dragan Ristić. The evening will be rounded off in a completely different mood, with a concert by Tcha Limberger’sKalotaszeg Trio.
Limberger, a violinist and vocalist, has a deep love for the music of the Carpathians, Transylvania, Romania, and Hungary, which has brought this exceptional, skillful, and versatile artist into the circle of top interpreters of Roma heritage from a region far removed from his native Belgium.
Tcha’s trio includes two Roma musicians: Toni Rudi Junior (viola) and Vilmos Csikos (double bass).
The second evening (September 21) will begin with a performance by the brilliant young Slovak singer Júlia Kozáková and the five-member Roma instrumental ensemble Manuša. Together with Júlia, they create a light and exhilarating atmosphere, deeply rooted in the tradition of Slovak Roma. Júlia’s warm, agile alto is perfectly supported by violin, cimbalom, viola, double bass, and guitar.
After Júlia and Manuša’s concert, the “Vojin Mališa Draškoci 2024” award will be presented by the World Music Association of Serbia to Vladimir Lenhart, known on stage as Lenhart Tapes.
This unique local musician is a virtuoso on Walkmans, creating a club atmosphere and experimental sound by sampling audio cassette material. After receiving the award, Lenhart Tapes will perform alongside vocalist Tijana Stanković.
The final musical evening (September 22) will feature performances by legendary bands from Hungary and the Czech Republic – Romano Drom and Terne Čhave. Both bands create modern gypsy music, with Terne Čhave even coining a slogan: It’s only Rom’n’Roll. Unlike them, Romano Drom builds modernity on the foundation of Vlach Roma tradition, which the band carefully nurtures and modernizes. The concert in Belgrade, as well as their entire tour this year, celebrates Romano Drom’s 25 years of successful work.
The accompanying program of the “Todo Mundo” festival includes several events. In collaboration with the National Committee of Serbia ICTMD and the Institute of Musicology of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, there will be an interview with Júlia Kozáková (in English) on the topic: “Reinterpretation of Traditional Songs of Romani from Central Europe”. The interview will take place at the Institute of Musicology (Knez Mihailova 36/4) on September 20, starting at 12 p.m.
On Saturday, September 21, starting at 11 a.m., at the garden of the Hotel “Rex”, mentoring sessions will be held with local and international delegates and musicians. Musicians must register in advance via email: todomundofestival@gmail.com.
The festival’s daytime program also includes an international conference in English titled: “Roma People and Music: Freedom, Adaptation, Taking Over.” The conference is scheduled for September 22, starting at 11 a.m., at the Jewish Cultural Center.
With the program on the final day, September 22, the festival, as it did last year, joins the celebration of the “European Folk Day”, just one day earlier, on the eve of the actual date which is September 23.
Ticket prices are 1,000 dinars for each concert evening. The price for a festival pass is 2,500 dinars. Tickets can be purchased through the website and at Tickets.rs sales points. Admission to accompanying events is free.
The organizer of the “Todo Mundo” festival is the “Ring Ring” Association, in collaboration with the Music Information Centre of Serbia. The festival is supported by Sounds of Europe, the Ministry of Culture of Serbia, Collegium Hungaricum, EFFEA, the World Music Association of Serbia, the Czech Center Belgrade, and the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.
The eleventh Todo Mundo festival was held in Belgrade at different locations from September 21 to 23, 2023. The program included five concerts, one DJ gig, an international conference and a public conversation with two members of the Hungarian group Erdőfű.
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The eleventh edition of the Todo Mundo festival was fully in line with the basic idea set at the very beginning, in 2012 – an intriguing and diverse concert and accompanying program, which corresponds to the challenge and diversity of the world music polygenre, an entertaining, artistic, research and educational approach, and close contact with the audience.
Although the campaign for the 11th edition started earlier than ever, the three days of the festival flew through us with great speed and intensity that gave a new, driving energy.
When it was announced at the end of 2022 that September 23 was chosen as the European Folk Day, we immediately started to plan performances for that day by two ensembles, which fit perfectly into the first celebration of this important date. We hosted both groups – Erdőfű (Hungary) and Janusz Prusinowski Kompania (Poland) thanks to the international project “Sounds of Europe”, in which our Ring Ring Association is a partner and part of a team with 12 other festivals from 10 European countries.
Then, during the arrangement of Bombino’s performance in Novi Sad (Pocket Globe festival), the possibility arose to arrange Vieux Farka Touré’s gig in Belgrade with the same agent. The concert of Alba Carmona was essentially discussed during a joint bus trip with her agent to Naples and the Napoli World festival.
When you make such a program, then imagine and ask yourself: “Does the audience in Serbia know these musicians? How popular is Vieux really or is it just known for his famous father Ali Farka Touré? Is flamenco popular enough to fill the hall? How attractive is the traditional music of Hungary and Poland to the local audience?”
It was awaiting its confirmation in September. Only two unknowns remained when we started the campaign: Which of the local artists to include in the programme and, of course, what the last-minute budget would be, that chronic pain of most events in Serbia.
We chose DJ Killo Killo, our internationally most famous world music DJ, fan and connoisseur of African music, as the local artist. We considered this as a more than appropriate solution for the continuation of the evening after Vieux Farka Touré’s concert, in the Zappa Baza club, with which we now cooperated for the first time.
That choice for the opening of the festival (September 21) turned out to be a complete success. The audience responded in large numbers, both younger and older, including several legends of Belgrade music journalism. All of them together confirmed that the music of Mali easily provokes all generations to dance. Despite all that, cooperation with a world star, as Vieux certainly is, was not at all complicated. Vieux and his musicians are polite, simple and cordial in their conversations with the media and the audience (we think they spent two markers signing records and discs).
The following evening (September 22), the return to our longtime venue, the Jewish Cultural Center, presented a new challenge. Will the two different audiences – flamenco lovers and accordion fans – completely be separated or will the quality and intriguing music make everyone stay in the hall for both concerts? And yes, to our joy, exactly the second thing happened. Belofour, the Austrian accordion quartet, also nailed the flamenco fans to the chairs, only for Alba Carmona and Jesús Guerrero to keep them there with ease, and finally get them back on their feet.
The European Folk Day itself was marked with several activities during the third, and last day of the festival (September 23). In addition to the evening performances of the groups Erdőfű and Janusz Prusinowski Kompania, good acquaintances from the international scene, during the day, another in the series of international music conferences, which we organize for the third year in a row as part of the Todo Mundo festival, was held in the RTS Club – Radio Belgrade Gallery.
The topic, quite appropriate “Tradition nowadays, in the World Music”, imposed itself, with the participation of experts, musicians, organizers and scholars from six European countries: Daina Zalāne, Márton Éri, Marija Dumnić Vilotijević, Alba Carmona, Janusz Prusinowski, Ana Sors, Mirjana Raić Tepić, Soma Salamon, Joanna Wiedro-Żak, as well as permanent hosts, organizers of the “Todo Mundo” festival, Marija Vitas and Bojan Đorđević.
In addition to this addition to the program, the festival, as in 2022 and 2016, in cooperation with theDepartment of Ethnomusicology of the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, offered a talk by Soma Salamon and Márton Éri with professors and students, on the topic of Hungarian traditional music, tanchaz, the heritage of Transylvania etc.
This time too, the volunteers contributed, and the media supported us quite strongly.
As it was every year, the freshly realized festival is the impetus for us to start creating the next edition and to attract a new and younger audience, but also to promote the festival all over the world, both at festivals, conferences, and through social networks.
The 11th Todo Mundo festival brings five concerts, a DJ performance and an international conference. It will be held in Belgrade, from September 21 to 23, 2023.
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The transition from summer to autumn, in the capital of Serbia, will be marked again this year by the Todo Mundo festival, with concerts at two venues and an international conference. In terms of the program, the festival days were conceived and named as: “Razmrdavanje” (Shaking up), “Gradske priče” (City Stories) and “European Folk Day”.
We are already used to regularly listening to the pearls of world music at this festival, from regions that were called “exotic” before the new era of Internet networking. This year, the headliner of the festival is Vieux Farka Touré from Mali, an artist who performs extensively on all continents, with a current tour lasting over six months, with already sold-out concerts in England scheduled for May 2024. Magazine “Rolling Stone” awarded five stars to Vieux’s latest album “Les Racines” (Roots), another great offshoot of the so-called desert blues.
The son of legendary Malian musician Ali Farka Touré, Vieux will open the 11th Todo Mundo festival with a performance at Zappa Baza on Thursday, September 21. After the concert of his trio, the audience will be further shattered by one of the most engaged local DJs among those inspired by ethnic sound – DJ Killo Killo (Vojislav Malešev) from Novi Sad. His set will include Afrobeat, and Ethiopian jazz, as well as new, modern themes inspired by Africa.
The remaining two evenings will be held at the Jewish Cultural Center Oneg Shabbat, on September 22 and 23. The “Gradske priče” evening will be opened by the Viennese accordion quartet Belofour, whose music is inspired by Vienna itself, as well as the Balkans, tango, classical and jazz music, bringing top-notch art, virtuosity and fun!
It will be their premiere performance in Serbia, which also applies to the concerts of other foreign artists at this year’s festival, and in some cases, it’s about premieres in the region.
One of the most popular “exotic” kinds of music is flamenco from Spain, where new names, performers and composers are constantly arriving. At the Todo Mundo festival, the duo of singer Alba Carmona and guitarist Jesús Guerrero will present their approach to flamenco and other Spanish and Latin American genres, and will also show us why interest in their duo is growing in Europe.
The dance character of the music is an obvious feature of this year’s Todo Munda. This also applies to the last evening, during which the festival joins the celebration of the “European Folk Day”, officially linked to September 23, starting this year. Thanks to the program of the third festival evening, called “European Folk Day”, Belgrade is also on this European map!
The celebration of the “European Folk Day” will begin with the international conference “Tradition nowadays, in the world music”, which will be held in the RTS Club – Radio Belgrade Gallery, starting at 11 a.m. and ending with concerts in the evening hours.
Among the many great roots groups from Hungary, the band Erdőfű drew attention with exceptional albums released in the past three years, concerts and well-attended tanchaz-evenings, and was recently nominated for the “Best New Group in Europe” award, chosen by representatives of several festivals gathered around the project “UpBeat”.
Even more experienced, and much better known in the world, is the Polish band Janusz Prusinowsky Kompania, which approaches folklore tradition in a similar way, authentically and refreshingly. Band leader Janusz Prusinowski is one of the leading researchers and promoters of Polish roots music, as well as a prominent violinist.
Compact and exclusive, the program of the 11th Todo Mundo festival will allow the local audience to truly enjoy the concerts of top, well-known musicians of diverse artistic expressions.
The price of an individual ticket is 1,500 dinars for the first evening (September 21) and 1,000 dinars for the second and third evenings (September 22 and 23). The price of the festival set is 3,000 dinars. For the first evening, individual tickets can be purchased at Zappa Bar (Kralja Petra 41) and through the Tickets.rs website, while the set, as well as individual tickets for the second and third evenings, can be purchased exclusively through the Tickets.rs website. Tickets can also be purchased at the entrance, before the start of each evening.
The organizer of the 11th Todo Mundo festival is the Ring Ring Association in cooperation with the Music Information Centre of Serbia. The festival was supported by: the Ministry of Culture, City of Belgrade, Sounds of Europe/Creative Europe, Embassy of Spain, Collegium Hungaricum Belgrade, Austrian Cultural Forum, Instytut Adam Mickiewicz and RTS/Radio Belgrade 3.
The huge name of the music of Mali, Vieux Farka Touré, will perform in Serbia for the first time, at the opening of the 11th World Music Festival Todo Mundo in Belgrade, at the Zappa Baza club, on September 21, 2023.
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It is not easy to be the son of a world-renowned musician, especially if there is a passion to follow the paths of one’s father’s profession. Such a fate befell Vieux Farka Touré, a guitarist, singer and composer from Mali who is building an international career with great success, at the same time pushing the boundaries of traditional West African music and deeply respecting the heritage and artistic expression of his father, the great Malian musician Ali Farka Touré (1939 – 2006).
Luckily for all world music and, especially, desert blues fans, Vieux Farka Touré (1981) when he was young he did not obey his father, but following his example, secretly turned to music and the guitar, practicing dedicatedly and progressing rapidly. Everything fell into place, so that Ali was even a guest on his son’s debut album “Vieux Farka Touré” (2006), making some of his last recordings in life.
In the following years, five more Vieux’s solo studio albums will follow: “Fondo” (2009), “The Secret” (2011), “Mon Pays” (2013), “Samba” (2017) and the latest “Les Racines” (2022) which brings Vieux’s deep connection again with the tradition of Songhai music from the north of Mali.
This longing for roots and history resulted in a series of ten original compositions, performed on traditional and modern instruments, focused on various topics such as mutual understanding and the togetherness of the people, devotion and fidelity, and love for family.
Although Vieux Farka Touré drew attention first as an outstanding guitarist – earning the appropriate badge “Hendrix of the Sahara” on the music scene – he soon developed into a complete musician, who is adorned with both recognizable vocals and inspired compositional work
He is constantly on tours and in interesting collaborations, and his performance at the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa (2010) stands out as a particularly attractive moment in his career.
Vieux Farka Touré (photo: Kiss Diouara)
The music of Mali has been very popular all over the world for years, including in Serbia. So far, the Belgrade audience has had the opportunity to listen live to bands and artists such as Tinariwen, Tamikrest, Bassekou Kouyaté, Habib Koité, Afel Bocoum, Tartit, Ballaké Sissoko…
This fascinating list will also include Vieux Farka Touré, who will perform on September 21 in the Belgrade club Zappa Baza with his trio, which also includes Adama Koné (drums and calabash) and Marshall Henry (bass guitar).
After the concert of the Vieux Farka Touré’s trio, DJ Killo Killo, a well-known name on the local scene, will have his appropriate set, announcing that he will pay the most attention to the music of Africa.
Tickets can be purchased at the Zappa Bar club (Kralja Petra 41) and on the tickets.rs website at a price of RSD 1,500. A set of festival tickets (5 concerts and 1 DJ set) can be purchased at the price of RSD 3,000 via the tickets.rs website. Tickets can also be bought at the entrance, before the start of each concert evening.
The organizer of the Vieux Farka Touré’s concert, as well as the entire “Todo Mundo” festival, is the “Ring Ring” Association. The concert is realized with the support of the City of Belgrade.
Respected cultural workers from Serbia, Bojan Đorđević and Marija Vitas, were awarded the prestigious Budapest Ritmo Award 2023. The award was given on April 13, 2023, in the capital of Hungary, at the famous world music festival Budapest Ritmo.
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The Budapest Ritmo festival had its first edition in 2016. It is an event that is successfully and ambitiously led and developed by the association Hangvető, known for many high-quality European projects, including the multi-year project “MOST – The Bridge For Balkan Music”.
This widely famous project (2020 – 2023) made the Balkan world music scene significantly more visible and helped numerous artists, festivals, concert venues and music experts to raise their work to a higher level, giving them a serious “wind at the back”. Some of the names from Serbia that received support through “MOST” are: Naked, Rodjenice, Shira utfila, Lenhart Tapes, Alice in WonderBand, Etnofest, Todo Mundo, Zeman Fest, Malomfesztivál, Kvaka 22…
The festival itself, which had its eight edition from April 12 – 15, 2023, every year offers a lavish program consisting of concerts, conferences, film screenings and other accompanying activities, including the “Budapest Ritmo Award”, given to prominent individuals, for their significant contribution to the world music scene.
Previous winners include: Ben Mandelson (2017), Simon Broughton (2018), Hilde Björkum (2019) and Helen Sildna (2022). Cultural workers from Serbia, Bojan Đorđević and Marija Vitas, life and professional partners, joined the list this year as the fifth award winners.
They received the award, symbolically, together with their daughter, minor M. Đ, who has been regularly present at festivals throughout Europe since the first year of her life, including almost all previous editions of the “Budapest Ritmo” festival.
Bojan Đorđević and Marija Vitas were awarded for their dedicated, long-term work on the world music scene, which includes continuous promotion of traditional music, cultural heritage and the world music scene of Serbia and the Balkans.
Their work is very diverse and includes various activities: the magazine Etnoumlje, the radio show Disco 3000 (Radio Belgrade 3), the world music festivals Todo Mundo (Belgrade) and Pocket Globe (Novi Sad), the Ring Ring festival (Belgrade), the Music Information Centre of Serbia, World Music Association of Serbia, writing about music for various local and foreign media, field work, Balkan World Music Chart, projects like music albums and books, promotion of artists abroad, etc.
The “Budapest Ritmo Award”was given to them on April 13, during the second festival evening, in the popular Budapest club Szimpla Kert, in the presence of numerous delegates of the festival, musicians, journalists and representatives of the “Hangveto” association.
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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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CONCERT LINEUP
Ana Alcaide: vocals, nyckelharpa, Hardanger violin
Bill Cooley: oud, psaltery, bouzouki, bass pedal, programming
Tickets can be purchased through the Gigstix website as well as via email at pocketglobefestival@gmail.com.
. . .
» The Festival Pass ǀ 2500 RSD
» Single-Night Ticket ǀ 1000 RSD
. . .
November 12
Samaïa / Ana Alcaide
November 13
Hiram Salsano & Marcello de Carolis / Maniucha & Ksawery
November 14
Teija Niku / Jelena Popržan Quartett
JÚLIA KOZÁKOVÁ: MANUŠA
Júlia Kozáková: Manuša (photo: Petr Chodura)
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 Ex, Catalytic Sound Festival (photo: Geert Vandepoele)
The years and decades may pass, but The Ex never falter! The famous quartet from the Netherlands, highly respected in circles of unconventional, avant-garde punk music enthusiasts, celebrates its 45th birthday in 2024. This milestone is marked by an impressive series of concerts in 45 countries, including their 2000th career concert held in the Netherlands at the beginning of March. This is their first tour since the pandemic.
The Ex exude inexhaustible energy and strength. Their concerts and tours boast an enviable intensity, while their discography remains highly dynamic. They are also known for their frequent, unusual, and diverse projects and collaborations, which span the realms of avant-garde, traditional, and improvised music.
Founded in 1979 in Amsterdam, The Ex began collaborating with jazz musicians and a Kurdish-Iraqi group in the early 1980s. Throughout the 1990s, these collaborations became more frequent and diverse, but perhaps their most famous phase of musical cross-pollination began in 2002 with Ethiopia. This culminated in a collaboration with the renowned saxophonist Getatchew Mekuria, with whom The Ex released two albums and performed over a hundred concerts.
As unwavering advocates of the “do it yourself” concept, The Ex have operated independently of record labels, managers, and roadies throughout the years, serving as a model for other progressive bands and musicians. They have released 28 albums on their label, “Ex Records”, and from the outset of their career, they formalized their independent management activities under the name “Stichting Ex”. They have performed concerts across nearly all of Europe, as well as in the USA, Russia, Canada, and Ethiopia. In Belgrade, they have performed three times, with their last appearance in 2015, also at the “Ring Ring” festival.
TRIOBROK was formed in Istanbul in late 2023. Drawing inspiration from sound references such as Albert Ayler, Peter Brötzmann, and Mats Gustafsson, TRIOBROK blends subtle musical structures with free and noisy madness. They have already performed several improvisational concerts in Belgrade and Istanbul.
Although recently formed, each member is a locally renowned musician with a significant number of releases and publications. Daniel Izmaylov is a member of the trio DYW and the Belgrade-based jazz-punk quartet the Omy. Ali Onur Olgun has performed with various artists, including Kastenfaul, Nobody Presents, and the Cem Tan Quintet. Atilla Ozan Keskin is a prominent figure in the Turkish contemporary jazz scene, known for his work with Şu Güzel İnsanlar and the Uninvited Jazz Band.
Michael J. Schumacher / sculptures: Mark di Suvero (photo: Michael Yu)
Michael J. Schumacher is an American composer, improviser, pianist, media artist, curator, and a teacher.
In his practices, Schumacher centers around immersive sound, continuing a long tradition going back to the “Philips” Pavilion, “acousmatic” presentations at GRM, Stockhausen’s “Kugelauditorium”, Young’s “Dream House” (not technically multichannel but immersive and architectural), Lucier’s “Music for Solo Performer”, Amacher’s “structure borne sound” and many others.
There are two basic reasons for using lots of speakers: 1) sound from the rear triggers unique emotional responses; 2) spatial aspects, foregrounded, become a structural component of the music.
An added benefit is that by taking away the visual focus of the stage, listeners become more receptive to “moment” forms.
The Portable Multi-Channel Sound System is a unique musical instrument designed so that the artist can present his immersive compositions in a variety of settings and situations. It sets up in less than an hour and can be carried in a single suitcase, yet provides 8 fully discrete audio channels, complete with speakers, cables, amplifiers, audio interface and computer.
Schumacher uses high quality 4” full-range drivers and improvised resonators to extend the frequency response.
His creative work includes also the music for modular synthesizers, prepared guitar, piano, video and dance.
Fish in Oil & Jelena Popržan, Belgrade, DKSG, 2024 (photo: Milorad Marković)
Fish in Oil, a unique Belgrade band, and Jelena Popržan, a versatile musician from the Austrian scene, are celebrating their five-year collaboration, which began with a spontaneous joint performance at the Jazziré festival in Subotica.
In this exciting project, the eclectic music of Fish in Oil, inspired by punk, free jazz, film music, blues, rock, etc., merges with the viola and voice of Jelena Popržan. Jelena’s vocal color, intensity, and character surprisingly transform and fit into the diverse repertoire of the band.
The authentic fusion of musicians’ sensibilities, shaping the original themes of Bratislav Radovanović Braca, creates unique musical narratives, taking the audience to imaginative sonic landscapes, filling them with positive emotions.
Fish in Oil has been around for more than 30 years, and the audience has had the opportunity to hear them at some of the most famous local and regional festivals. In addition to festival performances, there are numerous club performances both locally and internationally.
Jelena Popržan, a violist, vocalist, and composer, known to the local audience from festivals such as Ring Ring, Todo Mundo, Jazziré, and Ethno Fusion Fest, harmoniously combines various musical experiences: rock, classical music education and interpretation of the works of classical music, interest in traditional music, and a penchant for improvisation and experimentation.
Line-up:
Jelena Popržan – viola, vocals; Bratislav Radovanović – electric guitar; Rastko Uzunović – tenor saxophone; Đorđe Kujundžić – saxophones; Branislav Radojković – double bass, electric bass guitar; Feđa Franklin – drums; Aleksandar Radojičić – percussion; Bojan Rajačić – sound design
Manja Ristić, born in Belgrade in 1979, is a violinist, sound artist, published poet, curator, and researcher. As a classical solo and chamber musician, as well as a composer and an improv musician, she has performed all across Europe and in the US, involving collaborations with established conductors, performers, multimedia artists, poets, and theatre/film directors.
Ristić’s sound-related research besides contemporary performance in the field of instrumental electro–acoustics, is focused on interdisciplinary approaches to sound and field recording as well as experimental radio arts.
Ristić has created commissions for ORF musikprotokoll, Radiophrenia, Radio Art Zone, Kunstradio – Radiokunst, Radio Cona, Semi-Silent, Radia.FM, Framework Radio, REVEIL Soundcamp, all national broadcasting agencies across SE Europe, and many independent media platforms.
She co-curated sonoAdriatic Tales at Ars Electronica 2020, and in the last 20 years curated and developed a distinctive number of cultural events, international projects, cultural conferences, and educational platforms in the fields of inter-media, experimental sound-related arts, scene, and multimedia arts.
Manja signs several independent theater and movie productions as an author, composer, and performer.
The winner of several distinctive awards for solo and chamber classical music.
Works and lives on the island of Korčula, Croatia.
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.
