In the summer of 2017, four instrumentalists put together a formation to give free expression to the way they feel about musical tradition in this globalized world. The combination of a Balkan with a world ethno sound was what gave the project its name – an ambitious idea that takes outstanding talent as an instrumentalist, as well as good taste and experience in interpretation in different genres.

The idea for the Glo Bal Kan project belongs to kaval player Nedyalko Nedyalkov, soloist of the Bulgarian National Radio’s Folk Music Orchestra, who has been a member of numerous international formations. In 2011 he was part of the project of renowned performer and researcher into medieval music Jordi Savall, who has a Grammy award to his name in the best small ensemble performance category. Nedyalko, as all other members of Glo Bal Kan are brilliant at improvisation and have proven it through the years. Percussionist of the project is Stoyan Yankulov-Stundzhi, one of the most successful musicians from the Bulgarian percussion school, renowned for his unorthodox music ideas, frequently combined with new instrumental techniques, a famous name in jazz, pop, rock and ethno music. Petar Milanov is Glo Bal Kan’s guitarist, in some of the pieces he plays the tamburica. He is a member of the orchestra of the Philip Kutev National Folklore Ensemble, but also performs with formations which seek a fresh angle to tradition. Saxophone player, jazzman Vladimir Karparov is also part of the project. As Nedyalko Nedyalkov himself admits: “Performing skills are important, but there is one other thing that matters – the friendship that binds us together and makes our music sincere and exciting.”

“We will be having three concerts dedicated to the 140th anniversary of the liberation of Bulgaria. Today, 1 March, Granny Martha’s day, a day loved by one and all, we shall be playing at Sofia Live Club at 8, on 2 March – in Plovdiv, at Bee Bop Café, and on Bulgaria’s national day – 3 March – we shall perform in the town where I was born, Haskovo, at the Ivan Dimov theatre at 6, where admission will be free. We have made a very good selection of Bulgarian songs, three of them were arranged by Vladimir Karparov, the other two – by all Glo Bal Kan members. There will be lots of our own music, based on Bulgarian traditional music with a Balkan taste and sound. We shall be playing different instruments, some of them unfamiliar to the broad public. It will be an interesting experience. The message we want to convey is that music must bring good emotions, love, that it is a call for humans to unite, as well as an agreeable way of communicating emotionally and spiritually.”

English version: Milena Daynova