The Republic of North Macedonia in located in southeastern Europe, north of Greece.
The most popular traditional music instruments include the gajda (bagpipe), šupelka (flute), kemane (3-string fiddle), tambura (long-necked lute), zurla (double-reed horn), tapan (drum), kaval (flute), and the accordion.
Brass Band Tradition
In Macedonia, the strength of the brass band tradition led the director Emir Kustirica to shoot his famous film “Time of the Gypsies” in the town of Shuto Orizari, the largest Roma (Gypsy) settlement in the world.
Almost half of the estimated eight million gypsies in Europe live in the Balkans, which gives the region the densest concentration of Roma people anywhere in the world. This has led to a rich culture of gypsy music which, in western Serbia and North Macedonia in particular, manifests itself in some spectacular brass band orchestras. Such ensembles, often using battered old instruments passed down the generations, date back to the Ottoman occupation and have demonstrated a remarkable creativity in transforming the original, static style of the Turkish military bands, which they originally imitated, into something fresh and exciting.
Macedonian Musicians
Baklava
DD Synthesis
Dragan Dautovski
Esma Redzepova
Kadrievi Orkestar
Kocani Orkestar
