Kaloyan Kumanov takes us on a “Walk” through Bulgaria’s musical landscapes

Recognized as a skilled storyteller using the expressive tools of instrumental music, Kaloyan Kumanov takes us through different musical territories in his new composition “Razhodka” (“Walk”). This is the fifth single from the upcoming album of his Kaloyan Kumanov project.

While it carries a range of influences, the piece presents original music developed primarily on a folk basis. Kaloyan Kumanov has more:

“I haven’t done a fusion like this before—the foundation here is folklore. It’s no coincidence that I named it ‘Razhodka’ (A Walk)—because we are literally walking through the folk regions of Bulgaria. We start from the Macedonian region with its characteristic 7/8 rhythm, then move through the Shopluk with the Graovo style, and on to the Pazardzhik region with the Kopanitsa. Thrace is also strongly represented. There is also a lot of improvisation based on folk music. But here there is also a lot of jazz, a lot of funk, and even rock elements. Everything in this piece is beautiful, but there is one particularly beautiful element introduced by Aleksandra Borisova, who uses her voice as an instrument. In general, it is particularly difficult to create something with so many elements and still make it sound stylish and elegant—that was the hardest part.”

Kaloyan admits that there are not many musicians who can guide listeners so stylishly and elegantly through all these different styles. In addition to Aleksandra Borisova and her vocals, a number of other renowned musicians also leave their distinctive mark on “Razhodka”: Stoyan Yankoulov – Stundzhi on drums, Radoslav Slavchev – Riverman on bass guitar, and pianist Alexander Vasev, with whom Kaloyan collaborated on the arrangement to bring together all the themes presented in the piece.

Translated by Kostadin Atanasov