18 March 2005: Today I added ten new tracks as well as a new forum. Please register and help us get the discussion started.

18 November 2004: Just added a bunch of new tracks. For the past couple of months, there has been some very interesting gossip going on in the BalkanBrass Yahoo! newsgroup. Make sure you join it because you're missing on some very good stuff.

old news
disclaimer

warning: This website is not related to Pop-Folk music i.e. Bulgarian Chalga, Serbian folk or Balkan national folklore. It is about hardcore instrumental cocek. No vocals, no crap, just raw Gypsy cocek.

definition: Cocek is a musical genre and dance that emerged in the Balkans during the early 19th century. It spawned from Ottoman military bands which at that time were scattered across the region, mostly throughout Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia and Romania. That led to the eventual segmentation and wide range of ethnic sub-styles / trends in cocek. Cocek was handed down the generations, preserved mostly by Gypsy minorities and was largely practiced at village weddings and banquets.There isn't an English word for cocek although some refer to it as Gypsy brass. The spelling "cocek" is actually derived from Serbian. Macedonians use chochek. In Bulgaria, it is written as kyuchek or kyutchek. No matter how you address it, it is one of the most fascinating manifestations of Balkan and Gypsy culture. And yes, this is the music traditionally used for belly dancing.


Ibro Lolov	Lulinski cocek
Zlatna Truba	Prokupacko oro
Ork. Razvei Krachul Plevensko	Mambo kyuchek (bas bas).rm
Ork. Razvei Krachul Plevensko	Banka kyuchek.rm
Boban Markovic	Vodopad.rm
Goran Bregovic	Wedding cocek.rm
Ork. Karandila	Chesi kyuchek.rm

29 October 2005 - Ivo Papazov & Yuri Yunakov

The two masters of Bulgarian wedding music held a concert in Manhattan, New York last night. I had the pleasure of attending. Visit the forums for pictures and more!

29 March 2005 - Karandila 2005 Tour Dates

Vibrations are guaranteed when the eleven professional musicians take off with their blend of traditional and modern gypsy rhythms. Karandila will be heading for Germany, Austria and a few other Western European locales. Visit their official label site for more info.

8 April - Nürnberg / D
9 April - Neubrandenburg Jazz Festival / D
12 April - Dresden Tante JU / D
13 April - Leipzig Kulturbund / D
15 April - Vienna Balkan Feever Festival Opening / A
17 April - Bratislava (Option) / SK
18 April - Prag / CZ
21 April - Göttingen Musa / D
22 April - Hannover Jazzclub / D
23 April - Darmstadt Knabenschule / D

01 June - Stans / CH
02 June - Merano / IT
04 June - Vienna / A

16 July - Koblenz Festival (Option) / D
20 July - Stuttgart Festival (Option) / D
21 July - Brussels (Option) / D
23 July - Aschaffenburg / D