Over the last year, four Bulgarian musicians have been playing together. You’ll see their names. Leaders? Nedyalko, the Kaval (shepherd flute) player , it grew up with folklore and wedding bands, and the phenomenal universal keyboard player Minko, for whom experimentation and the pleasure of music make up the two sides of the coin. The average age of the performers? 31 years. Young? Yes, but old enough to have managed to try out the taste of a wealth of styles and genres, from the magic of Bulgarian folk and Balkan Chalga to rock and … jazz. And to understand the meaning and prospects of world music in today’s globalized world. These five musicians know very well what kind of music they want to create. And what to tell people about it. They’ve convinced themselves of the most important thing about music: if it hasn’t got the energy, passion, movement and fire two captivate your soul immediately and if it hasn’t got that mysterious pinch of groove, it won’t get anywhere. It will just disappear like smoke in the wind. The dimensions of the talent of these four musicians? You’ll find out for yourself from their debut CD. It’s named after the group: IKADEM: the dream of fortune, success and hope. Let’s hope that you’ll be lucky enough to hear Ikadem live! Because their vivid, colourful, lively and free-ranging music rides the crest of the wave of improvisation and will never be the same from one day to the next. Prof. Gencho Gaytandzhiev from www.womex.com
