OneBeat Balkans

Macedonian Mountain Song & Other Flying Tales from the Balkans

We’re excited to announce that the OneBeat Balkans Mixtape will be released on Thursday, July 18th. Above is screen shot from the upcoming video “Ka Se Zaljubile” or “When They Fell in Love.” Today, we are releasing “More Zablejala Vkla Ovca” (“Oh Dear, a Sheep Bleated”), a Macedonian mountain song that tells the story of a young girl who is anticipating the sacrifice her beloved sheep on St. George’s Day. The performance, led by Serbian vocalist Minela Bogdanovic, was captured via drone by Ora Dekornfeld in the Rugova Mountains in Western Kosovo, with additional help from Fisnic Dobreci. OneBeat Balkans is an initiative of the U.S. Department of State Department of Educational and Cultural Affairs, produced by Bang On A Can’s Found Sound Nation and Balkan Art Zone, with additional support from U.S. Embassy Pristina, Kosovo, U.S. Embassy-Tirana, U.S. Embassy Belgrade, and U.S. Embassy North Macedonia.
Alumni

Dahlak Brathwait Launches Go Fund Me Campaign for “Adapting History”

2013 Fellow Dahlak Brathwait has launched a GoFundMe campaign along with producer Amadeu Gocalves to help fund the development of an educational music performance for young people in the Sacramento area. “Adapting History” is an oral telling of American music through history and American history through music. Dahlak uses spoken word poetry and hip-hop sampling techniques to narrate and re-imagine the complex history of the United States. The project was created in collaboration with the Mondavi Center at UC Davis, and received support from the U.S. State Department and Found Sound Nation. Read more about “Adapting History” and how you can help support the project here.