We'll Never Forget April 30 2023 - The Makedonium Band
Photo by Søren Lynggaard of The Makedonium Band in front of the Makedonium monument in Kruševo.
We returned home a few days ago, still smiling inside and outside from an unforgettable experience at the Makedonium monument in Kruševo, North Macedonia.
Our entire trip was an adventure that we're deeply grateful for. When the three of us arrived in Skopje on April 24th, all we had with us was a bass guitar. In the following days and with the help of our hosts at the local venue MKC and an open call for musicians, we managed to assemble 6 amazing local musicians and an 18-piece female choir to join The Makedonium Band,
Together, we created a 50-minute concert of mostly new Efterklang songs, along with a few older tracks and some local Macedonian songs and jams in dizzying time signatures. Then, on Sunday, April 30th, we all boarded a bus from Skopje to Kruševo, where we set up our instruments in front of the awe-inspiring Makedonium monument. As the sun began to set behind the mountains, we played a concert that surpassed our wildest expectations. It felt like much more than a concert, it was a happening, a magical gathering, and a beautiful statement of collaborative creativity. We'll cherish the memory forever.
Photo by Søren Lynggaard
Efterklang & The Makedonium Band
Martina Barakoska: drums
Dina Jashari: vocals, ukulele
Iva Damjanovski: theremin, reading and vocals
Jane Trajkovski: guitar
Stefche Stojkovski: kaval, gajda, tambura and tapan
Dejan Spasovic: oud and kemane
The Youth Female Choir of MKC.
The concert was recorded and we hope to be able to share it with you in the future.
We would like to thank:
Grga and everyone at MKC who made it all possible.
Irina Tosheva for in no time finding us beautiful local clothes to wear.
Nenad Trifunovski for amazing sound mix.
Sasho Tatarchevski, the maestro of the choir.
Andreas Johnsen, Søren Lynggaard, Dragan Spasov for documenting everything.
All photos below by Søren Lynggaard
The Makedonium Band is supported by Ministry of Culture of North Macedonia, The Danish Arts Council and Culture Moves Europe - Funded by The European Union.