Sanja Ilic & Balkanika - Official Profile

A Balkan World- Ethno- Music band
SANJA ILIC & BALKANIKA
The musical formation “Balkanika” is an ethno-music band that rapidly is gaining popularity worldwide. Aleksandar Sanja Ilic is one of the most successful composers of several music genres in former Yugoslavia, he writes music for movies and theatre and he won many prizes on different music festivals. His group „Balkanika“ consists of young, famous and talented ethno-music musicians who are playing old Balkan instruments with modern feeling, rhythm and sensibility. The band came into existence in 2000, and has continually developed a sound that is without equivalent anywhere. The music style is very hard to describe; it is an original sound, combining elements of world music based on the traditional and spiritual music of the Balkans. „Sanja Ilic & Balkanika“makes, where are possible, concerts with big domestic choir and with symphonic, philharmonic or string orchestra.
Projects “BALKAN 2OOO” and “BALKAN KONCEPT” are the bestselling ethno projects in last 15 years in Serbia. “Sanja Ilić & Balkanika” are the Serbian “Group of the Year” 2002, 2005 and 2006.
For the last two years there were more than 100 concerts all over the world. To mention only a few: London /GB/, Chicago /USA/, Canada /Ottawa, Toronto/, South Korea / Ulsan /, India /New Delhi/, Pakistan /Lahore/, Egypt / Cairo, Alexandria/, Mexico /Mexico City, Leon, Guanahuato, Puebla, Queretaro, Pachuka, Atizapan/, China /Shanghai/, Brussels /Belgium/, Rotterdam /Holland/, Austria /Vienna/, Tunisia /Tabarka, Hammamet/, Luxembourg /Luxembourg/, Greece /Athens, Corfu/, Croatia /Opatija/, Macedonia /Skopje, Ohrid, Bitola, Struga, Veles /, Slovakia /Trencin/, Slovenia /Maribor/, Montenegro, Republic of Srpska, Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina … and all of them finished with great standing ovation.
Concert program consists of the songs from albums “BaLKan 2000” and “Balkan Koncept” as well as the most beautiful old songs from the Balkans Parts of the review on the concerts and music of » Sanja Ilic & Balkanika« ..... For many years he composed music for TV, movies and theatre, but he has also been famous for his brilliant festival hits performed by wide range of singers in ex Yugoslavia.... So this pianist who insists on modern production and arrangements, huge and rather expensive concerts..... has become the founder of the main stream trend in the ethno music in this area.
Tarlac Goran - “Reporter“ (Serbia)
Balkanika is very interesting ethno group, with it’s excellent composer and arranger Aleksandar Sanja Ilic, that in a very skilled and attractive way combines traditional ethno tunes of Balkan area people with a contemporary and modern sound, and the result is a spectacle that is visually and sounding very attractive …The music that Balkanika performs is inspired with old melodies of the Balkans , that thanks to the skilful arranger games of the experienced composer Ilic become contemporary and modern compositions in trend with the “world music” expression.
Balkanika – amazing ethno spectacle “ Novi list” ( Croatia )
The Croatian public finally had an opportunity to meet a worldwide famous group of Aleksandar Sanja Ilic. Strong and powerful performance of first-class musicians on modern and traditional instruments, excellent vocals, experienced mixed choir and string orchestra left nobody indifferent…. Strong and powerful “Aleksandar Sanja Ilic & Balkanika”
- Novi list ( Croatia )
The stars from Balkans were shining on Grand Stage in Shanghai.... 8.000 people in the audience were very deep emotionally touched by the beauty of the melody, even though they did not understand the lyrics.
Ximin Bao – Shanghai (China)
...The composer Sanja Ilic and his band Balkanika performed the concert of ethno music played on the old instruments with modern sound... the music of Balkanika presents a real refreshment, and almost a healing us takes us back to pure and sincere.
Aleksandar Crkvenjakov- National Television (Serbia)
A flute, kaval, saz, bouzouki and many other old instruments played all together created an atmosphere of the archaic times, inducing the scene of spiritual and hollow, making emotion of deep pleasure and harmony...
Ivanka Toncev- National Television (Serbia)
Sanja Ilic &Balkanika are an evidence that music from the Balkans has a phenomenal going through.
Svetlana Slavkovic – singer (Serbia)
That was a real holiday in Belgrade.... As you could see the concert was extraordinary approved by the audience.... Sanja and I are friends. We played together.
Theodosii Spassov – Kaval player number one in the planet (Bulgaria)
I attended this concert, upon invitation, not really knowing what to expect, and enjoyed every minute of it. Sanja Ilic is a Serbian pop musician and song-writer with a strong interest in ethnomusicology; in the items performed in this hour-and-a-half long presentation, he has ranged the length of the Balkans, taking ethnic material and fusing it with pop means. The result is enormously appealing: the strong bass line you expect of pop, though here with far more rhythmic variety, the pungent harmonies of Balkan folk-singing and a startling variety of instrumental sonorities. Indeed, I started making notes every time one of his six musicians picked up a new instrument: flute, violin, cow horn, mandolin, clarinet, lute, oud, electric guitar, bagpipes (in several sizes), bouzouki, piccolo and a percussion section that included tambourine and every manner of drums and small bell and gong; Ilic himself presided at piano and electric organ. The players were joined by five female singers, often intoning, over the instrumental tapestry, in the parallel fifths that seem to be a staple of virtually every folk culture. …
Sanja Ilic and Balkanika, St Cyprian’s Church, London, 26th October 2002 (Martin Anderson United Kingdom) more on:http://musicweb-international.com/SandH/2002/Aug02/ilic.h tm
The band collaborated with the following guest musicians in some performances and compositions:
- DJ Sam Popat – Buddha Bar.
- Theodossi Spassov – Kaval player number one in the world (Bulgaria),
- Izzet Kizil – percussionist ( Turkey),
- Raquel Bareira – vocal (Portugal),
- Sinan Alimanovic- pianist (Bosnia),
- Tamara Obrovac – singer, composer and flutist (Croatia),
- Sain Zuhor – Sufi musician (Pakistan),
- Suchet Malhotra – percussionist (India), and many others…
Discography:
2000 – CD “Balkan 2000”
2004 – CD “Balkan Koncept”
2005 – CD – Live in Sava Center
2006 – DVD “LIVEONKALEMEGDAN”
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