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The rock band Balkandji was founded in the fall of 1999 by Nikolay Barovsky (keyboards) and Kiril Yanev (guitars). The idea for the style as well as for the foundation of the group was a result of long experimentation and joint work of the two in the field of musical synthesis between traditional rock music and elements from the Bulgarian folklore. The first song of the band - "Az tebe, libe, sum zaljubil" was inspired by the poet Kosio Nikolov who offered them to write a song based on one of his poems. The demo version of the song was recorded at Kiril Yanev's home. In 2000 the band participated with this song in the "Spring 2000" contest of the National radio "Horizont". In the mean time, as a side project, the group participated with two children songs in the contest "Parad na detskata pesen". The songs - "Vyatura" ("The Wind") and "Staryat Prizrak" ("The Old Ghost") won first and second place in the contest.
The activity of the group increased further as Alexander Stoyanov (drums & percussion) and Vladimir Leviev (bass) joined the team. Paralel to composing and recording of the demos for their first album, the group again entered the spring contest of the National radio Horizont" - Spring 2001 with the song Krali Marko", which climbed to number one. In the same year the song Kum taz Zemya("To This Earth") won second place in the contest My reason to stay in Bulgaria. In the fall of 2001 another side project of the group, again making use of folklore elements but this time based on electronic music, won third place in the contest "Computer Space 2001".
The opera singer Inna Zanfirova joined the group in November 2001. Thus the style of the group was finally definedoriginal music based on synthesis of folklore and heavy rock music. In the mean time the work on demo record for the first album "Probujdane" ("Awake") was concluded. Provoked by the offer to participate in a concert on November 29, 2001, Spas Dimitrov (guitar), Nikolay Traikov (drums) and Hristo Pashov (bass) joined the group since at that time Alexander Stoyanov and Vladimir Leviev were studying abroad.
In 2002 Nikolay Barovsky and Kiril Yanev decided to produce the album on their own, because at the time the producers' interest in this kind of music was low. Since then more than 1000 copies were sold. The band began regular live appearances as part of the program of the club for original music !Shipka. The percussionist Kalin (Katzko) also joined the group. The first appearance of the group outside Sofia (August 2002) was in the festival "Sluntze-Luna 2002" in the village of Trigrad. During the whole year the band toured the country as well as regularly performed in the club Mishenata in Sofia.
In 2003 the band recorded the song Oi, Mari, Yano, which was included in the CD compilation "O!Shipka" produced by Toxity Records. In addition to the regular appearances in the club for original music the group also participated in a number of summer festivals including The Rockers' Fest in the village of Debnevo, the "Sluntze-Luna" Festival in the village of Trigrad, etc. The recording of a second album - a co-production between Balkandji and Toxity Records- began but its release was delayed due to unfavorable market conditions.
In the next 3 years the band focused exclusively on playing live - in clubs, various rock festivals, biker gatherings, charity events, you name it. The year 2005 was especially difficult for the band, as one of the founding members - Nickolay Barovsky was arrested and detained in Greece under false allegations of smuggling counterfeit money. After spending about 16 month in prison and under investigation he was cleared of all charges and returned to Bulgaria in January 2006. 2005 (despite Nikolay's absence) and 2006 were marked by club appearances in O!Shipka, Fans rock bar, and Maskata at least once a week. Incidentally, Balkandji was the last band to perform (July 30, 2006) before the closure and transformation of O!Shipka (RIP). Balkandji continues to perform regularly on the annual summer festival in Trigrad and other events around Sofia and Bulgaria - such as the festivals dedicated to the great Bulgarian musician Georgi Minchev, the Day of Sofia and others. One of the highlights of 2006 was on December 1 - Balkandji played at a sold out show opening for Kultur Shock.
You can find a fan-supported website at www.balkandji.org . Plenty of MP3s and video recordings from several live shows.
The song "Pogled" from the show with Kultur Shock, on Dec. 1, 2006. Many thanks to Krechetalo for providing us with this video!
An interview with Katsko before the show with Kultur Shock.
Zvezdica
Oi, mari Yano
Az tebe, libe, sam zalyubil (live)
Krali Marko