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JustAnandaDourEyedDude

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A folk tradition I love the dark, intense and exotic sound of is
Sevdalinka (Bosnia and Herzegovina) also known as Sevdah. More traditional folk, and not the pop-folk variety.

I have encountered it via modern exponents like Amira_Medunjanin. At one point in time (a decade ago) I had collected every CD of Amira's that I could find on Amazon. Cannot afford to keep collecting CDs and DVDs/Blu-rays, though. :(

Amira performs "Pjevat ćemo šta nam srce zna":

Amira performs "Što te nema" live:

From Azerbaijan, Sevda Alekperzadeh is eclectic in style, though she often incorporates traditional "khanende" style.
"Bayati siraz" (lullaby from Shiraz), performed by Sevda Alekperzadeh:

Elina Duni (singer and songwriter) has been previously linked in an ASR music recording thread. Being born and raised in Albania, she has recorded many Albanian songs. She sings more generally songs from the Balkans, though, and from other countries (her recording of "Avec Le Temps" is superlative). Her style is jazz rather than pop, and she sings exquisitely in at least nine different languages. I treasure every CD of hers that I own.

One of my very favorite Elina recordings, and indeed of any singer, "Yiati Den M'agapas":

Elina sings "Kur Më Del Në Derë" (traditional Albanian song):

Elina Duni Quartet play a Romanian song "Lume, Lume" live in Tirana, Albania:

A haunting cover of Leo Ferre's "Avec le Temps":
 
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ADU

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Thanks for the excellent suggestions, JustAnandaDourEyedDude and Morla!

Not sure if I've listened to any Sevdalinka. But will have to try some more of this style.

I am also a fan of S. Alekparzedah, and enjoy a number of other Azerbaijani, Turkish, and also some Uzbek artists. The music I have mostly listened to from the Balkans and these other areas is probably more mainstream and pop-oriented for the most part. Though I'll occasionally also listen to artists who are also a bit more off the beaten path... And all of the above are certainly welcome here.

On another popular headphone forum I deliberately separated the music of the Balkans, Turkey/Central Asia, and the Middle East (aka MENA or WANA) into different topics. I'm not sure how much sense that really makes though. I like quite a bit of the current pop-folk genres in the Balkans though. And I suppose one of the reasons I did that was that I didn't want them to be overwhelmed by the other Turkish, Arabic and East European (e.g. Russian/Ukrainian) artists and music which is also quite popular in the region.

Although there certainly are influences from Turkey and the Middle East in some of the music of the Balkans, the music in this region has a slightly different feel and flavor imo that makes it a little bit distinct and different from some of these other areas. Perhaps that is partly because of the Slavic and other European/Western and Mediterranean influences?
 
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JustAnandaDourEyedDude

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Thanks for the excellent suggestions, JustAnandaDourEyedDude and Morla!

Not sure if I've listened to any Sevdalinka. But will have to try some more of this style.

I am also a fan of S. Alekparzedah, and enjoy a number of other Azerbaijani, Turkish, and also some Uzbek artists. The music I have mostly listened to from the Balkans and these other areas is probably more mainstream and pop-oriented for the most part. Though I'll occasionally also listen to artists who are also a bit more off the beaten path... And all of the above are certainly welcome here.

On another popular headphone forum I deliberately separated the music of the Balkans, Turkey/Central Asia, and the Middle East (aka MENA or WANA) into different topics. I'm not sure how much sense that really makes though.

I like quite a bit of the current pop-folk genres in the Balkans though. And I suppose one of the reasons I did that was that I didn't want them to be overwhelmed by the other Turkish, Arabic and East European (e.g. Russian/Ukrainian) artists and music which is also quite popular in the region.

Although there certainly are influences from Turkey and the Middle East in some of the music of the Balkans, the music in this region has a slightly different feel and flavor imo that makes it a little bit distinct and different from some of these other areas. Perhaps that is partly because of the Slavic and other European/Western and Mediterranean influences?
Agreed that the music of the Balkans has different flavors to it, as compared with Middle Eastern and Russian/Ukrainian, and even differing from region to region in the Balkans. I expect that language and instrumentation plays a part in these differences, though songs certainly travel a lot in modern times.

YouTube came up with suggestions based on my searches for Elina Duni and Amira Medunjanin.

Teuta Zekiri sings "Nene moj". More of a mainstream club atmosphere. She is certainly sexy as all get out.

Teuta Zekiri covers "Ne Tirane" of Elina Duni:

Fioll (Fjolla Ibrahimi) covers "U rrit vasha":

Fioll sings "Kur me del ne dere":

A more trance folk approach by singer Tutku with a firm and lovely voice; though can also sing more upbeat songs. She covers the song "Një lule" of Nexhmije Pagarusha:

Tutku with the song "Kur e përcolla ylberin"

Edona Reshitaj, Albanian actress and singer, covers "Baresha" (with a couple of minutes of tasty percussion beginning at 4:35):

Tamara Repanovic sings "Pira Mange Romale":

Albina Kelmende sings "Na qeli prap thana":
 
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ADU

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Although there certainly are influences from Turkey and the Middle East in some of the music of the Balkans, the music in this region has a slightly different feel and flavor imo that makes it a little bit distinct and different from some of these other areas. Perhaps that is partly because of the Slavic and other European/Western and Mediterranean influences?

Forgot to also mention the contributions of Roma culture and folk music as well, which is also significant in some of genres mentioned in my first post!

Agreed that the music of the Balkans has different flavors to it, as compared with Middle Eastern and Russian/Ukrainian, and even differing from region to region in the Balkans. I expect that language and instrumentation plays a part in these differences, though songs certainly travel a lot in modern times.

Indeed! Popular songs seem to get remade in a variety of different languages throughout the East European/West Asian region.
 
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bloodshoteyed

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i always liked the macedonian ethno-rock group Leb&sol, and even more what Vlatko Stefanovski does after it
 

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Any recommendations for more traditional instrumental music featuring the cimbalon from the Balkan area?
 
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ADU

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i always liked the macedonian ethno-rock group Leb&sol, and even more what Vlatko Stefanovski does after it

Not a group I'm familiar with, but I listened to a few of their tracks, and thought there were pretty decent. Thanks for the suggestion, bloodshoteyed.

Any recommendations for more traditional instrumental music featuring the cimbalon from the Balkan area?

Probably the wrong person to ask. But would welcome ideas from others on this.
 
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Trdat

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I am heavily into pop folk actually its pretty much one the only type of music genres I listen to. In particular Serbian(Turbofolk) which tops it for me on the popfolk side of things but that could be cause I grew up with it so some bias there, Albanian(Tallava) and Armenian(Rabiz) but also a fan of the more oriental traditional based modern versions without what we might call synthesized analogues of traditional sounds which many of the Balkan countries mimic hence the title turbofolk to describe synthezised sounds with an upbeat. It seems only Greece has been able to maintain a version of traditional music which includes real traditonal intruments in an ensemble that is influenced by modern era beats and tempos.

Not saying it doesn't exist in other nations but there is a gap between the traditional to turbnoness and Greece has its unique genre there(probably my favourite) while the other Balkan nations pursue the more turbo versions which I still adore and appreaciate, each with its unique vocal mellismas. I also listen to Fairuz, Najwa Karam, and other more traditional types of music all varying in there degree of turboness to traditionalness including lets not forget Turkish(Arabesque).

Ive been lucky to attend Indira Radic in Montenegro, Goga Sekulic in Belgrade, Notis Stafianakis in Athens, Vassily Karras and Nikos Makropolous in Sydney. A few other less world famous Armenian Rabiz singers but still known about in Pop folk circles in the region Paul Baghdadlian and Harout Pamboukjian in Sydney and some more recent Rabiz singers who have become pretty famous such as Super Sako, Suro etc in Armenia. I missed Paola Foka in Sydney in 2010 and a few other Albanian artists while traveling through Albania in 2017. But its not the end of the world.
 
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Trdat

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Thanks for the excellent suggestions, JustAnandaDourEyedDude and Morla!

Not sure if I've listened to any Sevdalinka. But will have to try some more of this style.

I am also a fan of S. Alekparzedah, and enjoy a number of other Azerbaijani, Turkish, and also some Uzbek artists. The music I have mostly listened to from the Balkans and these other areas is probably more mainstream and pop-oriented for the most part. Though I'll occasionally also listen to artists who are also a bit more off the beaten path... And all of the above are certainly welcome here.

On another popular headphone forum I deliberately separated the music of the Balkans, Turkey/Central Asia, and the Middle East (aka MENA or WANA) into different topics. I'm not sure how much sense that really makes though. I like quite a bit of the current pop-folk genres in the Balkans though. And I suppose one of the reasons I did that was that I didn't want them to be overwhelmed by the other Turkish, Arabic and East European (e.g. Russian/Ukrainian) artists and music which is also quite popular in the region.

Although there certainly are influences from Turkey and the Middle East in some of the music of the Balkans, the music in this region has a slightly different feel and flavor imo that makes it a little bit distinct and different from some of these other areas. Perhaps that is partly because of the Slavic and other European/Western and Mediterranean influences?

Azerbaijani and Persian has its own unique style that I haven't totally got into yet but I follow many Turkish artists. But there are a few Azerbaijani Russian singers(at least I think one of the singers is Azerbaijani) that have brought out top tracks Ive linked one below.

It is hard to quantify the genres, and I have attempted ever so slighlty in my post above. Its difficult to gauge what the song beems towards whether its the turbo side and what edges towards the traditional side. But ultimately in my opinion the genre is based not on region but more on the scale of turboness to traditionalness. Hence, Najwa Karam will edge towards the traditional side with a variety of music from one side to another while Nancy Ajram will edge towards the popfolk side and what you will get is music from the Balkans or any other nation similar to the scale on which its on, this is my take. And even if there is a consensus the dividing line is so blurred we might as well keep it all in one thread but I am open to suggestions if we want to keep things seperate.

Lately I have been into Egyptian popfolk tracks to teh second one is a favourite of mine


 

Anti-Climacus

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It's not folk, but rather synth-pop, very much reminiscent of the English and American bands of the 80's. The vocals and the language though are entirely Balkan! The band was Croatian, Croatia then being part of SFR of Yugoslavia.

And of course, closer to the thread's signature, the Macedonian Queen of Gypsies:

 

Trdat

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Although there certainly are influences from Turkey and the Middle East in some of the music of the Balkans, the music in this region has a slightly different feel and flavor imo that makes it a little bit distinct and different from some of these other areas. Perhaps that is partly because of the Slavic and other European/Western and Mediterranean influences?

Yes, defintely the Balkan has its own taste I agree. The mellismas has been influenced by the Ottoman Empire giving it the influence with each respective nation having there unique way they tune there vocal cords which in essence will be similar to a nearby country of influence depending on religon or affiliation. Serbia is distictively influenced by Greece when it comes to how women sing at least, while Albania by Turkey, Bosnia by Turkey and so on with so many overlaps but as a region the Balkans have there distinct traditional music which adds to the uniqueness that forms the pop music of today that you describe.

Also, yeh I can see how the thread can be overwhelmed by Turkish/Middle Eastern music.
 

Trdat

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Trdat

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Here is something more Balkan with that specific tune you guys are talking about.

 
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ADU

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Azerbaijani and Persian has its own unique style that I haven't totally got into yet but I follow many Turkish artists. But there are a few Azerbaijani Russian singers(at least I think one of the singers is Azerbaijani) that have brought out top tracks Ive linked one below.

It is hard to quantify the genres, and I have attempted ever so slighlty in my post above. Its difficult to gauge what the song beems towards whether its the turbo side and what edges towards the traditional side. But ultimately in my opinion the genre is based not on region but more on the scale of turboness to traditionalness. Hence, Najwa Karam will edge towards the traditional side with a variety of music from one side to another while Nancy Ajram will edge towards the popfolk side and what you will get is music from the Balkans or any other nation similar to the scale on which its on, this is my take. And even if there is a consensus the dividing line is so blurred we might as well keep it all in one thread but I am open to suggestions if we want to keep things seperate.

Lately I have been into Egyptian popfolk tracks to teh second one is a favourite of mine...

Thank you for all your great and knowledgeable thoughts on this subject, Trdat. It's nice to see some other folks here who are also interested in these genres.

So yes... "pop-folk" is definitely broader than just the music of the Balkans. And I also listen to similar-sounding music by artists from a number of other parts of the surrounding region, including Anatolia, the Caucasus, Central Asia (aka "the stans"), and the Middle East. As I mentioned before, there are a number of artists I like in similar genres from Turkey, Azerbaijan, Lebanon, and also other parts of West/Central Asia. So I'm not really sure of the best way to handle this.

My original concept for this thread was something similar to what I began here, which covered just the Balkans. But we could very easily take this in a different direction. And broaden the topic out to include some of the other areas above.

I'm not sure exactly how you describe the area that includes all of these regions along and around the borders of Southeastern Europe and Asia though. But that's where this type of music generally seems to proliferate, and be located. Any suggestions on how to handle this are welcome. And I'd be curious to hear what you and others think would be best along these lines.
 
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It's not folk, but rather synth-pop, very much reminiscent of the English and American bands of the 80's. The vocals and the language though are entirely Balkan! The band was Croatian, Croatia then being part of SFR of Yugoslavia.

And of course, closer to the thread's signature, the Macedonian Queen of Gypsies:


Some great stuff, Anti-Climacus. Thank you for posting these.
 
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Thank you for all your great and knowledgeable thoughts on this subject, Trdat. It's nice to see some other folks here who are also interested in these genres.

So yes... "pop-folk" is definitely broader than just the music of the Balkans. And I also listen to similar-sounding music by artists from a number of other parts of the surrounding region, including Anatolia, the Caucasus, Central Asia (aka "the stans"), and the Middle East. As I mentioned before, there are a number of artists I like in similar genres from Turkey, Azerbaijan, Lebanon, and also other parts of West/Central Asia. So I'm not sure really the best way to handle this.

My original conception for this thread was something similar to what I began here, which covered just the Balkans. But we could very easily take this in a different direction. And broaden the topic out to include some of the other areas above.

I'm not sure exactly how you describe the area that includes all of these regions along and around the boarders of Southeastern Europe and Asia though. But that's where this type of music generally seems to proliferate, and be located. Any suggestions on how to handle this are welcome. And I'd be curious to hear what you and others think would be best along these lines.

Actually, it looks like I can't edit the title of this topic anymore. So looks like we're stuck with it as is for now, unless I can get a forum moderator to change it.

If you or anyone else want to post pop-folk tracks/artists from some of the other areas above though, I'm definitely ok with that, and will give it a listen.
 
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