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During their visit in Poland last weekend (at Cieszanów Rock Festival) Dubioza kolektiv received the Złoty Bączek Award for the best performance of international artist at legendary Pol’and’Rock festival 2018 (previously Przystanek Woodstock). Congratulations!!!

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 After passing the bless on latest album, in 2019 Darla Smoking presened their new album “Extinct”, dedicated to all the wanishing live on our planet. “Extinct” will try to awake and remind again that the battles against extinction from some decades ago are still there and haven’t been getting any attention and help in solving the situations. We still have Native Americans without their prairie, Tibetian people being forced to become Chinese, Maori and Aborigini tribes drowning in the big city’s slums, massacre in Amazonia and the last sheppard in Bulgaria who is being sucked into globalisation. It goes all the way to the plastic soundscape under the Arctic sea. All in all the new album will spit out the dying screams and helpless anger while we all quietly watch the world blow in our faces. Extinct is the new dead.

Darla Smoking is a Slovenian duo of crazed cats, Brgs and Nac, who seriously shook the Slovenian grounds with the release of “Big Bug” on Kapa Records in 2017. Darla mixes various influences and sounds, including field recordings from various parts of the world, which Nac then carefully electronically processes. Brgs on the other hand provides a constant drum drive, combined with extensive use of modular synthesizers. Their sound is therefore extremely multifaceted, with the most dominant elements of world or ethno music, dub and psychedelia, but their music reaches and goes far beyond just these genres. Album Extinct is supported with live visuals on concerts by Atlas Skull who is part of Darla’s visual message from the beginning. 

A post-everything cacophony of brilliance that barges into your brain and forces your limbs to dance. It’s dub music for rockers, punk music for the electro generation, world music for the outcasts and night owls. Few bands ever get close to creating such a hedonistic, seductive racket, but that’s because few bands are like Darla Smoking.” Europavox.com

“Incredibly interesting, unusual, challenging and fresh album” Rockline.si

“The Big Bug album is proof that people who rush through life often overlook the unique moments which make this world so beautiful” RockOnNet webzine

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“Invisible World“ is based at the jazz crossroad where East European, Balkan and Mediterranean influences merge and set off in new directions. The band is led by Czech bassist Tomáš Liška, a prolific musician of many ideas and projects, joined by Turkish violinist Efe Turumtay, Serbian accordionist Nikola Zarić and Moravian drummer Kamil Slezák. Tomáš Liška met all of them in the course of his musical journey around the world, while tirelessly searching for fascinating interactions between instruments and cultures which would enthrall both him and his audiences. The foursome’s join approach is not based on individual exhibitions, but rather on a philosophy where music is a crystalline medium which irradiates a rich palette of emotional hues. These are inspired by strong melodies which are adorned by a subtle and seemingly effortless lacework of improvisation.

Invisible World have been awarded the Audience Award of the Ostrava Music Crossroads 2017 music conference.  In 2018 reached nomination for the Czech “Grammy” award Ceny Anděl in category Jazz & Blues. In 2020 released their second album “Hope” which has won the Ceny Anděl award as The Best 2020 Czech Jazz Album. The band have performed at world music & jazz festivals and venues across Europe, Africa, United Kingdom and Japan including WOMEX Gran Canaria 2018.

PRESS

A sophisticated blend of New and Old World influences, including Turkish violin, Balkan accordion and a pinch of tango nuevo. The result leaves as much space for listeners as for the musicians. A great opportunity for music adventurers.”
(Petr Dorůžka, world music journalist & explorer)

Eastern European flavours with a Parisian jazz air.” 4*/5
(Tom Newell, Songlines, December 2017)


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Džambo Aguševi Orchestra is a brass band from Macedonia virtuously performing a music that might be defined as fusion of traditional Balkan, Gypsy and Turkish music influenced by swing, jazz and pop and film music, today considered as one of top Balkan brass bands.

Džambo Aguševi was born in Strumica, Macedonia, in 1987 in a family with long and significant musical tradition. Since his childhood, following example of his father Cemal and his uncle Koco, Džambo never even considered an alternative to a music career. At the age of 11 he became a member and the third trumpet of Aguševi Orchestra founded by Koco Agushev, who was a legendary trumpet player, well known in the Balkans and appreciated musician abroad.

Every trumpet player who wants to be fully respected in the Balkans must take part in competitions. Džambo embraced all challenges and went to compete at “Kumanovo Trumpet Fest” in 2006, downsizing other musicians and conquering deserved first place. From 2006 until 2011 the new star of the Aguševi Orchestra was the absolute champion in Kumanovo, until he was banned to compete in order to leave some possibilities for the other trumpet players! In 2011 he took a part to the competition in Pehcevo and managed to win all the prizes, impressing the jury.

It is widely known that the dream of every trumpet player of the Balkan region is to win the Guća Festival. The famous “Dragacevski Sabor” in Guca, Serbia (also known as “Golden Triumpet competition”) is since the sixties the most important event of this kind in the whole region and probably in the world. At the World competition in summer of 2011, The Aguševi Orchestra received the first prize and Džambo wrote his name in the history of this famous event: both the judges and the audience appraised the Orchestra and its young leader. The victory in Guća was followed by another victory in Pehcevo in 2012, with the consequent request from the organization not to compete anymore, because Aguševi Orchestra took all the possible prizes.

The Orchestra joined the cast of Memento-Momento, memorable concert event by Nino D’Angelo, directed by maestro Roberto De Simone at the prestigious San Carlo Theatre in Naples. Very impressed by the energy of these musicians the legendary De Simone insisted to have the band as a part of celebrations for the proclamation of the Gigli of Nola / UNESCO heritage.

After having been the main attraction in Mexico City Festival Historico, where the orchestra has entertained 35.000 people, la Banda gitana del momento was going to tour to France, Italy, Albania, Turkey, Austria and Switzerland throughout 2014 and was also invited to perform at the WOMEX 2014 conference and festival.

PRESS

I Want My Trumpet to Sound Like Cry (Independent Macedonia)

Džambo Aguševi Orchestra: Diamond fingers (Harmonie magazin)


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Once upon a time (2003) in a dubious corner of the world and a land called Bosnia and Herzegovina, a group of friends decided to form a band. But this was no ordinary band, and they did not form under ordinary circumstances. True, along with local Balkan flavors, musical influences came from all over the world: ska, punk, reggae, electronic, hiphop. Yet, there was no music industry, few concerts, no space for cultural or political expression among the new crop of plugged in youth. In fact, the entire region was reeling from deep moral and economic post-war stagnation. It was from this environment that DUBIOZA KOLEKTIV was born, and not quietly, but kicking and screaming, presenting no-go topics front and center, and demanding to be heard. In doing so, they created a phenomenon.

For a quick rundown of the band’s history, their selfentitled first albumDubioza kolektiv” was released in 2004, and was instantly met with an enthusiasm not seen on the Bosnian scene since pre-war times. Next came the EP Open Wide”, this time featuring dub poet Benjamin Zephaniah and Mush Khan from Funda-mental. Then came their second full-length CDDubnamite” and this is when their popularity began tospread beyond Bosnian borders. By 2008, with the release of “Firma Illegal”, their bold and uncompromising stand against the nationalist establishment elevated them to fame across the entire Balkan region. In 2010, album number four titled “5 do 12” followed, and in an open snub to ultra-capitalist music labels and as an expression of commitment to their fans, Dubioza made the album available for free download at dubioza.org.

It was around this time that Faith No More’s Bill Gould discovered Dubioza Kolektiv, and his label Koolarrow Records, picked up their fifth album “Wild Wild East” and introduced the band to the international stage with worldwide distribution.

“Apsurdistan” was released in 2013, becoming a huge success with more than 300,000 downloads. Animated music video for the featured track “Kažu” was viewed 35 million times on YouTube and their Western Balkans tour sold-out arena-size venues. All of this, along with a relentless approach to touring, has brought Dubioza’s sounds to every corner of Europe.

In 2016, the band released their seventh LP album, “Happy Machine”with guest appearances by Manu Chao, Benji Webbe from Skindred, Punjabi singer BEE2, Catalan ska-rumba band La Pegatina and trumpet player Džambo Agušev from Macedonia. Inspiration developed over two years, largely inspired by events that unfolded over that time – from Istanbul’s Gezi park protests (“All Equal”) or the Syrian refugee crisis and Europe’s shameful response to it. The video for the album’s single “Free.mp3 (The Pirate Bay Song)” was featured on the homepage of the world’s most famous torrent site thepiratebay.org. Another highlight was the video and the song itself – “No Escape (from Balkan)”. Their first US-tour followed, with a debut at SXSW and concerts in several North American cities in venues such as 9:30 in Washington, D.C. They were selected as No.1 band at 2016 Eurosonic festival, per European festivals votes.

“Pjesmice za djecu i odrasle”, another album in their local language, was released in 2017, in combination with a feature documentary Film za djecu i odrasle” that chronicled the band’s history and making of the album. “Himna generacije” and “Rijaliti” became instant hits with millions of views.

Following in the footsteps of their previous collaboration on the song “Red Carpet”, Dubioza kolektiv and Manu Chao teamed up for another power-house single “Cross the Line”, announcing their new album #fakenews”, which will be available at the end of January 2020. The album features guest appearances by legendary dub-reggae artist Earl Sixteen from Dreadzone, Soviet Suprem, Mexican band Los de Abajo and an exclusive appearance by Robby Megabyte, soon-to-be-famous Internet superstar robot. Songs are in English, Spanish and Google-translated French.

Over the years, Dubioza Kolektiv became the biggest band in the Balkans, with sold out shows in venues with 12,000+ capacity in Zagreb, Belgrade, Ljubljana, Pula, Rijeka, Split, Sarajevo, Sofia, etc. Besides the Balkan region, they played sold out shows in USA, Canada and all across Europe: London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Dublin, Budapest, Oslo, Prague, Vienna, Madrid, etc. The band also performed at major European festivals, such are Glastonbury, Roskilde, Lollapalooza, Boomtown Fair, Sziget and so many more. They set the attendance record at Exit Festival’s Fusion stage and played in front of half a million people at Pol’and’Rock Festival, where they received Złoty Bączek award for the festival’s best international performance in 2018, voted by the audience.

They toured and continue touring tirelessly, having over 100 shows per year. Audiences across the world recognized them as a must see live act. Their history has shown: these guys don’t stop until they achieve their objectives. If you are looking for macho, money-and-ego driven posturing, you will not find it here – no MTV “rude boy” gangstas, no strippers or bling, no corporate endorsements from the international fashion industry. Rather, they take on traditional musical forms and enrich it with their unique perspective, which is delivered with a level of positivity that hits you like a blast of fresh air. If you are open to the experience, it could change your life too.

DISCOGRAPHY

2004    Dubioza kolektiv / Gramofon Rec.
2004    EP Open Wide / Gramofon Rec.
2006    Dubnamite / Gramofon Rec.
2007    Unpopular Singles / Gramofon Rec.
2008    Firma Ilegal / EKIPA / Menart / PGPRTS
2010    5 do12 / Menart
2011    Wild Wild East / Koolarrow Rec.
2013    Apsurdistan / Password Prod.
2015    Happy Machine EP / Password Prod.
2016    Happy Machine / Koolarrow Rec.
2017    Pjesmice za djecu i odrasle
2020   #fakenews / Menart
2022    Agrikultura


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