Voyvoda – Iztok

With this post I start something, that I wanted to start far ago. I’m going to present some of the notable Bulgarian bands here, in my blog, so more people around the world can get into their music, cause there is a qualitative Bulgarian music and it deserves more listeners and more people involved into its raw, yet shining magic.

My first prey is gonna be the latest album of one of my favourite and most talanted and unique Bulgarian bands – Voyvoda. Called “Iztok” or “East”, this Balkan gem begins with the enegmatic sound of bells, so typical for my home geographical latitude. A cozy repetative guitar riff and a post-war poetry tenderly spoken by a female voice, come shortly after, followed by the charismatic singing of the frontman Filip, accompanied by dark synths and heavy drums. This lovely and powerful combination ends with the iconic for the band sample from an obscure movie. My first association after listening  few times the album was for Sonic Youth, but seen through a Balkan/gothy/neofolk prism. Some of the songs are sang in English (Stefan the Vlach son), some are in Bulgarian (Staroverets) and some are sang on both, but they are all powerful and remarkable, creating a composite blend that grows in you.

The album may be a little bit more noisy and low-sang/spoken than Voyvoda’s previous ones, but definitely captures  their unique spirit. Dark, weighty and mysterious, Iztok tells the story of a piece of land born in war and baptized in blood and tears, but nevertheless still breathing and seing hope through the bullets.

01 Iztok
02 The Man In The White Coat
03 Boylover James
04 D.A.S.F.
05 Mr. Mrak
06 Stefan The Vlach’s Son
07 Staroverets
08 Doubts
09 No Passports
10 6000000words

You can download free the album from here or here.

And here is the official video of their song “Veni”, which is not from this album, but is still soo freaking good:

<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”//www.youtube.com/embed/wkC3UgcIc5A” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>

There is no such place on the world as the Balkans. And there will never be.