(photo: Barka Fabioanova)
Which 10 albums influenced you the most? This is a question that I will ask guests from the world music realm (musicians, producers, organizers, agents...), and I will share their answers to you every two weeks on these pages.
My new guest in this edition of 'My 10 albums' is Bojan Đorđević, one of the lawyers from the Balkans that are creating music festivals. It is difficult to count everything that Bojan does on the music scene. With his friend Aleksandar Konjikušić 1985. he started cassette-only label called Nikad Robom and they started to organize concerts in Belgrade in 1987. In 1996. he started International New Festival Ring Ring that was programming experimental, avantgarde, free-jazz, electroacoustic, contemporary, avant rock, improv as well as world music. In order to make his life easier he started another, this time world music festival Todo Mundo in 2012, together with Dom Omladine Beograda and Longplay agency. Both of the festivals are still live and kicking, so when he was offered to create (with his team, through the Association Ring Ring) new world music festival in Novi Sad, he could not say no to another challenge – check the Pocket Globe festival program in 2022, where Bojan is also artistic director. Besides that he was organizing festivals Zajedno-Zusammen, Swiss Balkan Music Days, Umbria Jazz- Balcanic Windows...
Bojan also writes about music and from 1990. he had a weekly radio show which in 1999. turned into “Disco 3000”, a world music radio show (soon he became a member of the World Music Charts Europe panel). He selected music for several albums, and he became manager and booker for Boban Marković Orchestra, Boris Kovač, Svetlana Spajić. Nowadays Bojan works with Džambo Aguševi Orchestra from Macedonia and Divanhana from Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Making this list of albums is challenging – so many things influence you, not only albums. Books, films, concerts, music magazines, radio shows, comic books, friends. For me it was very important even being part of a non-musical family was to get a simple turntable player at the age of 11 and radio & cassette player at the age of 14. You might say it is too late for a kid, but at this time, I was one of the first in my class to have it. And to use it all the time.
Talking Heads – Remain in Light (Sire Records 1980.)
Living in Belgrade in the 70s was nice and many new roads were there to explore, but even I bought Sex Pistols debut album (lucky to be in London at the release period) my main info point was radio – that means mostly songs, not the albums. But, things started to change for me with the influence of music magazine “Džuboks” and especially the radio show of the legendary Sloba Konjević called “Vibracije”. He was not playing full albums, but was talking about the albums and playing a few songs from them in a way that you want to search for more. I knew some Talking Heads songs from previous albums, but “Remain in Light” was the first one that got me as an album (maybe because it was the first one of the group that I got). Rock band, but with so many influences from the music from elsewhere (it was not called “world music” then). I played this album so many times, danced alone or with friends, and dreamed of seeing the band in the concert. Which I never did – they were in Belgrade in 1982 and people are still talking about how spectacular and emotional it was, but I was serving in Yugoslav army at the time and they did not want to let me go home for that weekend.
Pere Ubu – The Art of Walking (Rough Trade 1980.)
I read about the album in the magazine “Džuboks” and as Aleksandar Konjikušić and I were already talking about the music we liked (and not many around us liked that music), we were so interested to find out those “new” bands. I was lucky to find this Pere Ubu album, their fourth and it was love on the first listen. It was (by our standards) great album for the parties, where we were bring LPs and cassettes we had, but somehow, we were allowed to play only one song before we were asked to play something everyone knows to dance to (David Bowie and Roxy music is the bottom line we never went under ). Few months later Aleksandar bought all other albums of Pere Ubu and we continued to follow them and also the solo career of their singer/composer David Thomas. When they reunited in 1988 we traveled to Budapest to see them at the festival where we also heard for the first time Iva Bittova & Pavel Fajt. Pere Ubu played a great gig at the Ring Ring festival in 2007. and made me happy and proud. For me this is still the best rock band ever.
The Residents – Mark of the Mole (Ralph Records 1981.)
The first album I bought from this fantastic and influential band was “The Commercial Album”, a collection of 40 songs, all 1 minute long. That was a real twist in our heads and we have followed the band for decades. But, even that one was the first and probably very important, the other album influenced me more – it was their 8th album, “Mark of the Mole”. But, it was not the music that changed things for me (and for me it is not among top 5 albums of the band) but it was a search for this one that turned my life into a new direction. I went to London for 5 days after finishing high school. First thing I did was to buy music magazines NME and Melody Maker, to find out which concerts I can see. But, I also found an ad in the back saying that the new album of The Residents is available at Recommended Records. So, I went to Brixton, searching for Wandsworth Road 583, according to the ad. London street numbers are crazy, they are not like in the Blakan one side even numbers the other odd numbers, it was just going number by number on one side and then at the end the numbers go to the other side of the street to the start. I was looking for the number in the order that I thought it should be, but had no luck. Whomever I asked about Recommended records could not help me. After 3 hours I decided to stop and continue the next day. Imagine a young man 19 years old in London, spending 2 out of 4,5 days in London searching for an address! After 2 hours strolling up and down I was thinking of going back to the center when I saw a guy walking by his bike with some packages that are used to send vinyls by post. So, I asked about the address and he said: “Oh, you are looking for Recommended Records! Our shop is at Wandsworth Rd 387.” He asked me to pull his bike while he was reading the mail and we got to the shop (the other address was where Chris Cutler, label owner, was living). And in the shop he told me that the album is still not in London and they expect it in a month. But, he gave me a catalogue of Recommended Records and that has changed my life. Chris Cutler was writing short reviews in this catalogue about all the bands and records that they released or they distribute and that opened the whole new “Recommended” world. For decades we were ordering albums from them, became friends with Chris, exchanged albums. I think that no other single person influenced my music listening more than Chris Cutler. And for sure, I am not the only one.
This Heat - This Heat (Piano 1979.)
One of many reasons why we found Recommended Records, as the label and distributor of the music from all over the globe (which was mostly not world music), so important was the match between the lines written in the catalogue by Chris Cutler (drummer, member of Henry Cow, Art Bears, Cassiber and many more important groups) and the albums we have already listened. His lines were short, but so precise and full of deep understanding. And he praised some of the albums we liked a lot. One of the most important was the debut album of London trio This Heat. They worked for 3 years on their album, but the result is still considered as one of the most important and influential albums. So many details in compositions, recording, audio picture, texts… The band did few tours, released one more (great, too, “Deceit”) and one EP with 2 songs. One of those, “Health and Efficiency” was so moving, danceable, but when you also catch yourself that you listen to small nuances and forget to move. We used this song as an intro for our radio show “Pomen Crvenom Patuljku” for 10 years and the title was also a refrase from the song lyrics.
Skeleton Crew – Esta es la victoria (Nikad Robom 1985.)
Fred Frith was a familiar name for me, either from his albums on Ralph Records and his groups Henry Cow, Art Bears, as well as guitar improvisations. But, when I found out that he will be performing not one, but two concerts in a day with his new duo Skeleton Crew with cellist Tom Cora, in Ljubljana in October 1984, that was very strong reason to take a train from Belgrade and even stay overnight in Ljubljana. Later when we were going to Ljubljana (real concert mecca for us) we were taking early morning train, arriving to Ljubljana in the afternoon, checking the nice city, then go to the concert and after that taking the first night train back home (at the time there were 3 trains during the night, now there is none between former Yugo capitals – long live “green touring”). I have to admit there was another strong reason to go to Ljubljana for 2 days – album of Slovenian group Begnagrad, probably the best piece of music from Yugoslavia, which we were exchanging for other albums with Recommended Records (I found 10 copies). Both concerts of Skeleton Crew were in small venues, as I thought at the time. But, that was why they had 2 concerts on the same evening. Both sold out. After a few months listening to the recordings we made there the idea came to innocent minds – why do not we release it as an audio cassette? That way we will promote “our thing – that crazy music we like so much”. Remember, cassettes were pretty popular then as releases as well. We have used photos our friend made at the concert, he used some basic computer program for lettering, so we just had to find blank cassettes to make enough copies. The first print was 10! The label was named Nikad Robom, after a popular comic about two young partisans in World War II. But also the meaning was “never a commercial item”. The name of the album was wrongly understood from one of the songs, which in fact was “Hasta la victoria”. Did we ask for permission?. Yes, after few years when Fred played in Belgrade his first solo gig (which we organized).
Ground Zero – Consume Red (Creativeman 1997.)
Ring Ring festival had a great first edition in 1996, people were really hungry for events, due to the culture embargo that lasted 3 years. The virus quickly spread around the world and BAM! here comes an offer from Ground Zero, a mighty Japanese band, to perform at the festival. And, not one concert, but 3 different ones – one from the band, the other Altered States, a trio and a solo shamisen concert by Yumiko Tanaka. Otomo Yoshihide, the band leader, sent me two fantastic albums by the group. “Ground Zero Plays Standards”, which they mostly performed on that (we found later it was their last tour ever, they performed only 3 concerts after Belgrade) concert, but the other “Coonsume Red” – 60 minute epic imro, noise, jazz, contemporary whatever, took me the other dimensions of the music. Music for the rage, contemplation, deep listening, again full of details, the same impressions as I had with This Heat, but very different. Ground Zero concert at the festival might be one of the best I have witnessed (like 25 best of ) and we had a full house – some 600 people, hard to repeat it with improvised/avant-garde music. Otomo is such a fantastic composer and arranger, but also an improviser on turntables (in an interview for a German magazine some years later, in order to announce my first ever official Balkan/Gipsy music DJ set in Dortmund, I said that he is one of my favorite DJs and had big smile reaction from Francis Gay who booked me for that set out of the blue).
Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares - Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares (4AD 1986.)
Those of you who know how much I am involved in world music might already start asking, where is world music, enough of this experimental whatever is this music? Where is the Balkan? Beside regular Fela Kuti fascination, who still is one of my big heroes, there was some folk stuff that made my ears tuning into that direction. But, nothing struck me as much as this album. Again, this came via Recommeded Records distribution few months after the release. When I played it at home for the first time my family and friends were shocked, trying to make fun out of me, claiming this is typical “quassi folk”. I had my deep affection already, tried to persuade them, but, as many times before with experimental music they could not be reached and I was fine with that. Fantastic compositions, singing coming from other spaces, arrangements, such a perfect album. The whole album had fantastic story, from Celllier family doing the recordings for their radio show, to the small label (Disques Cellier) which originally released the album in 1975 and how the recordings came to the ears of Ivo Watts-Russell, the MAN in charge for great indie label 4AD. Later I reached out for many other Bulgarian voices albums, many were great as well, saw their concerts and was so happy to distribute JARO albums, mostly because of Bulgarian voices and Huun-Huur-Tu.
Huun-Huur-Tu – 60 Horses in My Herd (Shanachie 1993.)
Via ReR I also heard the great Basque folk rock group Oskorri in the 80s and that was also a record that I played so many times, but another album with voices from the other world took me completely in 1993. Those were the days that Serbia has been heavily involved in the separation of Yugoslavia, war in Croatia and Bosnia was taking many innocent lives, disintegration of my country was very painful and music was one of the main sources of daily regeneration. Cultural embargo meant that we cannot order albums from abroad, but then the home cassette tapping was the solution. Radio shows on B92 then lasted 90 minutes once a week and world music started to get some space there. One of the friends, not much younger than I am, left the country, like many others searching for a normal life. He was influenced by the collection Aleksandar and I had at the time, and in California he started to buy CDs a lot. When he came back for holidays to Belgrade he brought with him 50 CDs that he would like his few friends to listen to and eventually copy them on cassette. When I played Huun-Huur-Tu for the first time wearing headphones the voices blew me away. Then all the songs, the instruments and the whole story about Tuva from the booklet. I knew I would have to see this live to be able to believe it. Luckily I did, many times on different stages. These people are nice, friendly and humble and if you ask me, I will organize another concert of this great quartet at some of the festivals in Serbia.
Boban Marković Orkestar feat. Lajko Felix – Srce Cigansko (X-Produkcio 2000.)
Brass bands have been for a long time, at least in the urban areas like Belgrade, considered as the only popular folk music that deserves attention. I had a few cassette releases and enjoyed the music, but as I am not a kafana party type that was not my main interest. Then the first international brass band release that I got was “Blow Bešir Blow!” on Globestyle. The same year I got the record Jova Stojiljković Bešir was performing at MIMI festival in Southern France, where we were heading for some years already. A nice surprise from Ferdinand Richard, festival director. That was my first real contact with a brass band. They came there for a lot of money, but complained that due to long travel from Serbia to France they have lost engagement on a few big weddings back in Serbia. Also, their manager/booker could not speak any French and in English he could say “hello” and “goodbye”. I helped them by asking Ferdinand, as a friend, to find a few more gigs, so they were happy. Bešir, a real gentleman by the way, came to me after the festival, asking if I want to become their manager for the weddings in Germany!!! As I just started to be a lawyer and as I am not a person who is a fan of weddings, “no, thanks” was easily coming from my mouth. Poor Bešir soon died quite young, the war broke out in Yugoslavia and it seemed like the end of my brass orchestra story.
But, life had other plans with me and trumpets (in Serbian tradition it is flugelhorn, due to the Austrian origin of the instruments). Aleksandar went to Guča in 1991 and for our radio program he prepared a great report from the Brass band festival, with lots of music recorded there. Knowing that it was 1991. and on Radio B92 (very urban and alternative), the reactions were hilarious – people were calling to the program asking what had happened with Radio B92, if the Milošević regime took the radio from the original crew!!! It did not happen of course. For long period B92 stood as independent media and its music program was always something different, but with strong statements.
In 1993 I had a chance to talk more with Boban Marković when he played at a restaurant in Belgrade, we exchanged home phone numbers, just in case. Already on that restaurant performance I was mesmerized with the playing & discipline of the orchestra. When Nikos Valkanos, a great Greek guy who organized the massive Balkan festival in Thessaloniki in 1995 asked me for a brass band suggestion – I put him in contact with Boban, so his career in Greece started. At the same time his musicianship was already being part of Kusturica’s movies. Two years later, the same Nikos invited me to Greece for a Brass band festival and the symposium. There I met Boban again, saw them on the concert stage together with other delegates. But, more important for me was meeting Ben Mandelson, who gave me a WOMEX brochure and said :”You have to go there!” So, I did. Went to Marseille for my first out of 23 WOMEX appearance so far. There I have been asked many times about Gipsy brass bands from Serbia, why are they not on the international market where others like Kočani and Fanfare Ciocarlia are? So, I have started thinking about it. As it happens several things have been happening at the same time: Bernard Kleikamp from Paradox agency was asking for a brass band for Millenial New Years eve celebration in Belgium and Lajko Felix, young great violin player who already performed at the festival twice was looking for the brass band to join him doing music for the movie “Wheels”. My suggestion was, take Boban, he is professional and great to work with. And the local festival needed something new and I recommended Felix with Boban Marković Orkestar and this concert went great, they liked each other a lot. Hungarian producer, Laszlo Horvath, understood the potential, he asked me to arrange with Boban to travel to Budapest to make a record and have a few gigs in Hungary. That recording from early 2000 with Lajko Felix as guest star became such an important step for me. Not only is it a really great record, but Boban asked me to become their manager. That CD was such a hit in Hungary and in the summer 2000 Boban played in front of 15.000 strong crowd at Sziget festival. The world was turning its ears towards Vladičin Han. The orchestra was great and professional, Boban had a vision and had complete trust in me. I used the contact I made through the Ring Ring festival and at WOMEX and already in 2002 Boban and the band played 126 concerts. I was lucky to travel with them a lot, see them mesmerizing the audience worldwide. That does not mean I have seen a lot, touring is not a tourist excursion, especially when you have 13 babies depending on your language knowledge and understanding of their demands. So, at the end I became a manager for Gipsy brass band and still am, but over the last 10 years working and enjoying with Džambo Aguševi Orchestra from Macedonia.
Sun Ra – Disco 3000 (El Saturn 1978.)
Every Sun Ra album was unique. Not only for the music, but also for the design, printing and pressing. Sun Ra released most of his albums on his own label El Saturn, really rare in that time. It was difficult to choose only one album from the huge collection, but the influence Sun Ra made on the jazz and experimental music scene is still to be fully revealed. For me he is bigger than any other jazz giant. This album, together with another masterpiece, “Media Dreams”, was recorded in Italy early 1978. Albums are also unique for the line-up. This time Sun Ra was without his Arkestra and you can hear only a quartet. Even the album “Nuits de la Fondation Maeght'' was the first one I got, “Disco 3000” is jazz and completely non-disco. Obviously, many would think that Sun Ra was inspired with then very popular music, but try to find a disco influence there, apart from the album title. Which, by the way, I have been using for more than 20 years as the title of my world music radio show. Someone might say the circle is closed with this, but for sure not, like many many others I can make several lists like this, but Emir asked for only 10 and he had better understanding of his audience. Therefore, I will stop here.
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