Alternative Kosovar Band!

Alternative Kosovar band! : Asgje Sikur Dielli


Musical area in Kosovo is well developed. But if in Former Yugoslavia the 70’s and 80’s were Rock music period (especially in the 80’s in Kosovo), now rap but also local and international popular singers have reach the top of hit lists of radio stations.
However there are still rock bands that young people listen! As Asgje Sikur Dielli , famous rock band in Kosovo, formed in the middle of the 90’s. Asgjë Sikur Dielli (ASD) is indeed one of the most wanted and active band on the rock music scene of Kosovo. With metaphoric lyrics and they have created an authentic music atmosphere and became a typical example of an alternative band in Kosovo.
It’s in Gjilan/Gnjilane that I’ve heard about this band. They were actually playing on gig in one bar, and at the end I came to them as they seemed to be famous and loved by the youth audience. So simple they gave me their contact and we made agreement. After that during one concert in Pristhinë/Pristina (capital city), at the Reception Room (a former hostel transformed in a bar) we had more time to discuss about their band, about the situation of music, art, and youth in Kosovo. Nice and friendly.

ASD, it’s a story about friendships and meetings of alternative people passionate by art and techniques. At the beginning Alban Nimani (singer) from Pristhinë/Pristina and Bujar Hundozi (Guitarist) from Rahovec/Orahovac first met and they decided to work together. Alban was playing in many hard rock school bands while he was studying at High School of Classical Music in Pristhinë/Pristina. Bujar was interested in alternative acoustic and electric music. In 1996, they formed Asgje Sikur Dielli with Visar Qeska (bass player).
During the 90’s, Albanian school were forbidden by Milosevic’s government. At this time, Alban has studied two years in United Kingdom Graphic Design and he is now a Graphic Teacher at the University of Pristhinë/Pristina. Visar also get an experience abroad in Sarajevo, at the Faculty of Veterinary. Before he joined Alban and Bujar, he was playing with a Death Metal band and also freelancing with some local rap bands. Then, several years after, Fatos Berisha (Drums) and Pellumb Ballata (keyboards) joined them. And as “it’s hard to live from music”, each member has a second profession: Alban, 29 is thus Graphic Designer, Visar Qeska, 40, is Veterinarian, Pëllumb Ballata, 30, is Sound Engineer, Bujar Hundozi, 29, is Mechanical Engineer and Fatos Berisha, 40, is a well-known in Kosovo Theatre-Film Director.



Two successful albums
“We recorded our first album called “1” in 1998 just before the war in Kosovo, explains me Alban. When the war began in 1998, we were forced, like many other people, to leave everything and become refugees”. After the NATO bombing ended the war in Kosovo on 1999, they came back and published their album. "1" is a mix of conventional rock and modern alternative music ambiences.
Asgjë Sikur Dielli became very famous to the young audience of Kosovo with their first hit song "Mendoja çdo gjë merr fund pa ty" (“I thought everything ends without you”), which reached the top of the hit lists of the main TV stations in Kosovo RTK and KTV , and also on the main radio stations. “It’s a lyric and classic song, successful one; it’s a remake from the 80’s song “Gjurmët” says Alban. In Kosovo, it’s quite easy for a young and new band to broadcast on radio and TV stations what they produce, and thus to be listened by the audience.

According to Bujar and Fatos, if young people listen to them, it’s because “we bring alternative rock, with electronic and mixed sounds.” They belong to what it’s called “the alternative music world of Prishtinë/Pristina.” But it’s not the only reason. “Our songs, our music are a kind of
highlight of society, kind of social and metaphoric lyrics, about politics, life, people… We talk inside about social problems. We’ve got good feeling with the youth audience”.

But ASD is famous in all Kosovo - they are indeed playing on various festivals, concerts and gigs around the region, and not only in Prishtinë/Pristina - but also in Albania and Macedonia (FYROM).In summer of 2005, ASD published the second album: "Ndodhemi". Thanks to their creativity, they did a kind of multimedia album video clip of the song: "Ku ka më mirë se me qenë shqiptar (kush m'ka faj që jam shqiptar)", four projections, photo gallery and lyrics. This song means “There’s nothing better than being an Albanian (who is guilty to be Albanian!)”. “It’s connecting to the history. It’s totally ironical. It means that you don’t choose where you come from. But Albanian people don’t really get the irony. They take it as a national song!”
At the 2006, Videofest in Prishtinë/Pristina, ASD won "The best video post-production" prize with the video clip of this song.

The youth?
The main change, since the war according to Fatos Berisha, is that “youth is much more open minded, and much more open to the West European Culture than the old generation. But in the same time, the borders are much more closed than before. It was easier to travel before. Today it’s too hard to get visa. People can only go in Albania, Macedonia and without visa , which are so closed to Kosovo!”
And Vesra adds that “young people need to escape from the everyday life, they keep too much bad energy.” “Thus we need to open the borders, to give them a chance to travel abroad” concludes Fatos.
That’s also the wish that they make for their own carrier. They would like to play on international festivals and to get famous abroad, above Balkans region.

www.myspace.com/asgjesikurdielli


Clara Guillaud