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Released on Beatport , Soundcloud, and all other major platforms from late September - early November on Trndmsk Records.  See CALENDAR for more details.

 

This EP is a true labor of love and made with all my heart and soul, many years in the making with regards to the vision, the dream, and the desire. In this EP I am joined by SoulPacifica, eXtreme4,

Ivica Postolovski, with remixes by MI.LA for a

thrilling tale of legends that will inspire listeners

of all types to seek the deeper journey.

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🎶🌾🌲⛰️🌲🌾🎶

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It is time to only retain those conventions that are

worthy and timeless. All the rest matters not. Every

sound that comes out of my soul and from the souls

of my brothers and sisters in my own global music 

family has been made from the very first moment of 

the creation of time and space. All has been deeply 

discerned and weighed against the eternal.

 

We humble, broken mortals, with immortal souls, are simply blessed to have been given the opportunity to bring this life energy into the world in these dark times, in this desperate day and age, to bring light in the darkness. We must go back to the beginning, back to the roots of our people, back to the lines of our ancestors. We must re-awaken the age of heroes, by awakening first the heroes within us.

 

In my epic two-part musical story, the "Ljudi EP", I explore a once bright world that was the world of our ancestors. Told in the spirit of old Slavic mythology and legends. We arrive at the dawn of our ancestors, born at the roots of the great tree of life. This world, idyllic and unpolluted by tragedy, villainy, and bloodshed, has, through time and loss of innocence and reverence for life, become drowned in shadows. The people tearfully go to bed, losing all hope, but, during a fateful night, a father and mother, fearing for the lives of their children, pray to the gods, to send them heroes of old, to save them from the ancient evil that has arisen again. The gods hear their prayers and send them mighty warriors from the heavens to smite the evil once and for all and usher in a new era of light for the people.

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Old tribal traditions and religions meet Christian era meet modern era....Russian, North Macedonian, and Croatian sounds that evoke the entirety of all Slavic sounds, invoking the Pan-Slavic ancestral roots and identity. Echoing tales of heroes and monsters. Legends are true histories given a greater spirit in order to give us meaning, identity, and hope. A total of four amazing musical journeys of the soul. You can dance or drift into misty paths through ancient forests and across the vast steppes of the Slavic lands of Europe and Asia...or both! Truly epic storytelling evoking old Slavic mythology and history, with sounds blended from several Slavic cultures, and authentic recordings with sounds from North Macedonia, Russia, and Croatia. Dedicated to the healing and peace of the Ukrainian and Russian people and to that of the entire world. Love conquers all.

 

PREDKI:

 

In Russian, "predki" means "ancestors", close to all other Slavic languages, and this song has a very, very familiar traditional spirit to all Slavic people.  Clothed in Russian, Macedonian, and Croatian sounds, it has a very folkloric feel, reminiscent of spring and autumn festivals of planting and harvest seasons.  It opens with beautiful vocals of Croatian women chorus and a lovely floating butterfly in the kaval.

 

The vocals are sung in Croatian, as follows (Croatian in bold), as shared by SoulPacifica:

"bila je na putu (bila je) - She was on her way (she was)

ooo stribare"  - (something like a random name call..the folk tale Šuma Striborova (Stribor's Forest) by Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić came to mind..so like a name call for O Stribor)

Na polje je bila mjesecina - (On the field there was the moonlight)..but one must say "na polju"

Do je zoro - (doesn't mean anything..but specifically dawn (zora)"

 

More moje isla je sve do preko zore - my sea, she went on until dawn

iza sela, iza svijeta nista nije donijela - behind the village, behind the world, she brought nothing (in one aspect this could sound like negative talk about people who traveled on out of their land but on the other hand one can interpret that there was already so much value in their midst that anything brought from the outside was not good for them)

Ni zdravo cvijece uvenulo - even healthy flowers has not withered.

 

Suddenly sad, low chant and then wailing of the male vocals, representing the old man, the patriarch, whose memories of good times and great wars and bloodshed and sorrow bring us out of sweetness into a big world, full of suffering.  The balalaika solo immediately pulls the listener DEEP into the soul of the people, their culture, and history.  The kaval then changes into a guide, beckoning us, leading us down the path of sorrow and at the same time hope.  The balalaika climbs in an arpeggio softly and steadily to pique the mind and heart, to spur the imagination.  Next comes the violin, in the voice of the old babushka, wise matriarch, reminding us of our deepest emotions, which hold our memories and suffering, which recalls how we found our identity in the hardest of times, giving us faith. 

 

Far back in the dawn of the ancestors of the Slavic people, it gets VERY deep in the jam, with psychedelic slowtech vibes and a powerful groove.  Gorgeous and fiery synths of various flavors, percussion, and strings.  The spirit of the ancestors is in us.  We are now one and living today as yesterday, yesterday as today.  May the earth, the sky, the water, the fire be alive and speak to us and through us.  The gods meet God, when the people become Christians, then move on into the modern era, where the future is uncertain.  No matter the day and age, these roots run deep, back to the beginning, where our patriarchs and matriarchs, the original tree from which we branch from.  We are THE PEOPLE, who have always been, who are, and who will be!

 

XEROI:

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"Xeroi" means "heroes" in Macedonian and in all other Slavic languages.  Now that we are in the spirit of our ancestors, we live in their epic stories of when the people emerged out of dark times, through the help of mighty heroes, who saved the people from great evil, which came in the form of witches, trolls, goblins, wights, dragons, demons, sorcerers, and more.

 

The opening with a flute/tube synth evoking innocence and playfulness of children.  Next follows the voice of the parents, male and females reminding the children of the legends and heroes.

 

In Macedonian:

 

"Našite legendarni heroi živeat vo slava na nebesata, no tie dojdoa od nas, tie dojdoa od luǵeto ovde vo ovaa zemja"

 

In English:

 

"Our legendary heroes live in glory in the heavens, but they came from us, they came from the people here in this land."

 

Suddenly, the tone transforms into an expansive, cloud world in the heavens, with ominous pads and a steady, strong Macedonian bass line accompanied by the melancholy of the kemane's strings.  A ghostly synth weaves a haunting spell, along with a pluck synth recounting the beginning of the legend, far back into the dawning of the age of the ancestors. 

 

Ever onward, every forward towards earth, to save the people, descending from the light of heavens to the darkness of the earth world below, the heroes, both male and angel, almost angelic in nature, in their armor of light and gleaming swords and spears seek the enemy...and they find the enemy.  Thunder and lightning boom and crash.  The battle of light and darkness commences.  Good and evil clash!  BIG bass drop setting MASSIVE mood, with Slavic women chorus singing as epic mood setting, sad, but rising in urgency.  A glorious arpeggio on the synth.  The chorus sings higher and higher to the climax...the battle ensues...titanic power released in the battle for peace and life for the people or for the cruel reign of the enemy...

 

At last, the heroes triumph in GLORY!!!  Slava Xeroi!!!  Glory to the heroes!!! The uplift and change of key from minor to major is incredibly captivating and liberating.  A beautiful vibe/bell synth creates the most angelic mood.  Even the kemane has found its way home from the dark times.  Now, we see, at the end of the great Age of Heroes, we are in the modern age.

 

We must not forget the heroes, for they came from us!!!  

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🎶🌾🌲⛰️🌲🌾🎶