The album ˮIglikaˮ is a collection of nine original compositions by the famous Bulgarian saxophonist Vladimir Karparov, each of which is an invaluable part of a mosaic, recounting personal experiences and life events that have marked his path over the past few years. The music, which is a colourful blend of contemporary jazz and Bulgarian folk elements, is bright, expressive and full of witty melodic twists and metrerhythms. As Vladimir says, some of the pieces reflect contemporary topics. Like "Refugee", for example, in which the composer literally imagines himself being one of the people he sympathises with wholeheartedly - refugees fleeing aggression, violence and poverty and looking for a new home. „Berlinsko Horo“ (Berlin Horo Dance) is dedicated to the German capital, where Vladimir has lived and worked for more than 20 years. ˮThis city has an incredible number of faces and cultures that I wish one day could join together in a big horo chain dance,ˮ he says. As for the opening composition and its extraordinary story, we learn from Vladimir Karparov's interview with Radio Bulgaria:
"I had to play at a New Year's Eve party for people I didn't know, invited by a DJ whom I didn't know either. I had to play along with pre-recorded music. I'm pretty experienced in different genres, but that night something kept not working out. No matter how hard I tried, one of the organizers was still not happy. They paid me and I left before the end of the party. On the way out a few ladies did say though how much they enjoyed it. Completely shocked, I went home to my family, and in the end, this unfortunate event turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because then I wrote this piece and it came to me in the car on the way home, while I was thinking that maybe I shouldn't take this kind of jobs anymore and that I had a lot more to give as a musician."
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