Syntheziers? Romani Music? What?

AMZA-ALIOSHA-I SASHKO BIKOV

For anyone that has listened to a lot of live Romani music from Bulgaria (and other parts of the Balkans), probably the fist thing one notices is the lack of large bands and the prevalence of the synthesizers. So, what's the deal with the synthesizers and Bulgarian Romani Music? Well, simply put, its about money. Some of the best bands in the Balkans, such as Taraf de Haidouks and the Kocani Orkestar, have huge bands with around 10 people. For the most part, Roma musicians in Bulgaria make money from live performances and actually aren't musicians full time. They do construction work on the side or seasonal migrant work in Europe. So this leaves them with weddings, birthdays, christenings and festivals as stable forms of income as musicians. Please, if you can, put the image of the Wedding Singer in your mind with Adam Sandler.

These gigs pay at a flat rate and musicians can charge anywhere from 300 t0 2000 dollars. These are great prices for one day of work but this all depends on the number of musicians and the distance required to travel to play.

An Little Economic Analysis (without econometrics):

For every new member of the band, that new member improves the quality of the band marginally less. This Diminishing Margin of return (I knew those words would come in handy some day!) for wedding music helps explain first why most bands are smaller and also why people have started using synthesizers. One person can play the saxophone, keyboard, clarinet, brass and steel guitar all at the same time. And he only needs to learn how to play the piano/keyboard to master all of these instruments. So, why would someone make a huge band when they could have a smaller band and collect more money? Its pretty logical. Of course, there is a point where the quality of the music (supposedly shown by more musicians that have more specific specializations: saxophone, clarinet, guitar, etc.) out weighs the economy of less players but I don't really know where the line is in Bulgaria. Obviously in America, this line of economy versus quality is rather low; basically anyone that is touring professionally and has a large record deal doesn't have to worry about such considerations.

It has become interesting because most Americans would look down upon a person "playing" the clarinet or saxophone through a synthesizers but most Bulgarian and Romani see this as a legitimate talent and like the sound/style. Now, someone that is capable of playing a synthesizer is in great demand, not only as part of a band but also for music events from large fanbases. The synthesizers, I would say, is the the base of almost all Romani and Bulgarian Folk Music bands in Bulgaria (doing live events on a regular bases, not necessarily for records).

But its Got to be Live:

Most Americans are comfortable with the Walkman and then Ipod society that emphasizes higher quality playback over live music. For whatever reason, live music is in greater demand in Bulgaria than playing back music from CDs or Mp3s. Possibly this has something to do with the relative cheapness of the musicians; costing as a minimum about 15% ($40) for small celebration to about a month's salary $300. It could also be cultural. Especially for Romani events, live music is probably the most important aspect. But cultural preference between live and DJ'd music is hard to determine, so its just something to think about.

One interesting question is whether the synthesizer was introduced first as a economical solution or as a stylistic modification. I've noticed that some bands, even though they are some of the most famous in Bulgaria, still choose utilize the synthesizer as a focal point (giving solos and keeping the melody in some cases). What would have been solos by musicians playing a clarinet or saxophone is now dominated by synthesizer solos.

Perhaps Balkan People have less qualms about the introduction and usage of new music mediums to their repertoire? I'm not sure. If you ask most Bulgarians (including romani Bulgarians) there are traditional instruments and only those instruments can play Bulgarian folk music; but somehow the synthesizer has slipped into this also. All I know is synthesizers are here to stay in Bulgaria and they play both economical and musical roles in the live bands in Bulgara. For those of you that have seen a lot of YouTube Clips, start watching for the synthesizers; they are almost always there.

Here are some good examples of the synthesizer:

Amza & Cita (Cheetah) (Filmed in Macedonia)




Orkestar Kristali

One of the most famous Romani bands in Bulgaria, yet they choose to keep the synthesizer at part of the band; playing a leading role. This, ironically, was shot at a political campaign event for NDCB which is the political party of the son of the last Bulgarian King.


Orkestar Univers, 2008



Ork.Pit Bull & Malkia Boril


The is just sampling of the different bands. Notice that the synthesizer can be the whole band (Amza and Cita) or can just be the backbone of the band (Kristali, Univers). Anyway, its interesting to think about.