The Albanian music (or Albanian chit-chat :))

tedinkyyy · 07-18-2009 03:13 PM

Here u can discuss about Albanian music.Which singers do u like/dislike, suggest some songs, tell about new songs

.
And anything else concerning Albania of course

cortom · 07-19-2009 03:29 PM

I propose we broaden the topic to include the whole Balkan? I for one would be very interested to learn about Bulgarian music, and its relation with Albanian. From my point of view (I live in Belgium) the music of these two countries is very closely related. Maybe you are more sensitive to the differences.

If you are interested in my favourite Albanian artists (I have lots and lots of them) you might like to visit my Albanian music blog. You won't understand the text, but you can view the titles, artists and YouTube video's for my very own selection of nearly 200 Albanian songs, most of them among my all-time favourites.

I'm very interested in hearing about your own favourites, in so far as they are new to me.

tedinkyyy · 07-20-2009 04:09 AM

Hmm, yeah, Bulgarian and Albanian music are close if it is about sounding.But the Bulgarian "chalga" (as we call turbofolk) which sounds like Albanian folk often has stupid texts... espeacially in recent time I can't stand them.There are many good ones too but they're mostly old ones.Some Bulgarian singers take Albanian songs and sing them in Bulgarian.I can tell you: Ivena - Neshto malko,cherno/Shpat Kasapi - Do te fal nje rruze; Alisia - Cherno kafe/Shpat Kasapi - Pa ty s'jetoj; Galena - Znam diagnozata/Bleona Qerreti - A le-le-lejm ( actually that song had about 6 different versions in 5 countries!)... Also some Albanian singers take from Bulgaria - Anila Mimani - E ta dish/Gergana - Gubja te bavno and there were some more but I don't know the Albanian names of the versions.I think Shpat Kasapi had a version of Elena Parisheva - Tuk i sega.

What about my favourites... recently I discovered Elvana Gjata and liked many of her songs.I like her style of sounding.Little before that I discovered Mirsa Kerqeli from Kosovo because she turned out to sing the original of a Serbian song I liked (Mirsa - Djaloshi im/Sladja Delibashich - Hipnoza).I found many other songs of her and liked them really.Some months ago I discovered the Albanian version of Gubja te bavno and liked it too.Also Big mama's Jo jo nuk te dua is sang in Bulgarian too - Stefani - Izdaj me.I mean that were the first Albanian songs I liked.But the very first Albanian singer I liked was Olta Boka last year with her amazing song Zemren e lame peng.That was the first time I heard a singer from Albania and the Albanian language at all

So I can say I like mostly Elvana Gjata,Mirsa Kerqeli,Shpat Kasapi (some songs, Adrian Gaxha ( some songs too) and Olta Boka.

cortom · 07-20-2009 04:40 PM

I suggest you try Poni. She's really special and can bring the tears to my eye. E.g. Laj Fustanin (Washing the dress): "I'm washing this dress, sir", she sings, "now with water, then with tears". Now, how much sadder can a lyric be? All her songs are at least interesting, and often superb, but you have to like 'old style' music.

Another one you just must learn about is Nora Istrefi, technically maybe the best singer around. You can disagree with me if you like, since I haven't had any musical schooling whatsoever. Her songs have a more modern flavour, but, for a Belgian listener, they still seem very different from the average anglo-saxon popsong that we are hearing all the time on our radio's. I warmly recommend 'Pse të dua'. It was one of the very first Albanian songs that I learned to know, and it hit me like a thunderbolt.

If you want male artists: Nexhat Ismaili has a very warm voice. His songs are mostly traditional. Has some very touching duets with his sister Remzie, e.g. 'Oj nane' (Oh mother). Sinan Hoxha really rocks (try 'Do veç do', with remarkable violins).

Do you know any sites where I can find mp3's of Bulgarian artists? I would be glad to buy them legally (the ones I like that is), but that seems impossible here in Belgium. I have tried everything possible to find a legal copy of 'Te dy' (with Elvana Gjata) but to no avail. And please name a few of your favourites. That makes searching YouTube a lot more efficient.

tedinkyyy · 07-20-2009 05:25 PM

Hey, thank u for the suggests

I know Poni and Nora Istrefi as names but I don't remember having heard their songs.
Sites about Bulgarian music? I mostly use www.data.bg ,it's free. Legally u can download from www.mp3-bg.com ... it contains not only Bulgarian but some other Balkanic music. But I'm not sure if they have versions in English... but what can I advice you: in data.bg you just have to look for " търсене" (searching) and there it appears a blank line where u write the name of the song.
Hmm I saw your blog.Really many songs.Some of them I know, most not.I'll check them.I saw you have there a song of Mira. Let me share my opinion: bad choice

Mira used to be popular some years ago but now her fame is blown down. If your taste is oriented toward "folk" style, in Bulgaria there's a great choice... I really wanna recommend you only songs with meaningful texts...
I mostly listen to Galena from the folk. But she's actually a very scandalous one lol ... you may try Gloria, she was the pioneer of folk in Bulgaria in the middle-90s. Most of her texts are good. Also Toni Dacheva was one of the first to introduce folk music. Ivana has very good texts that really can make you cry but actually most of her songs are covers.
If you wanna the most trendy ones - Preslava,Galena,Andrea, Dzhena... well I may offer you some which I consider the best ones from our pop-folk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzHwE04Dx0E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzHwE04Dx0E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5y5QlGRdBs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oI-XyuPT39Q

some of the trendy folk

Korcare19 · 07-21-2009 05:00 AM

Ahh i like this thread! I unfortunately however have a very negative opinion on Albanian music

lol. I apologize in advance for my long post but i'll explain why. (And then ill post a list of my favorite songs/artists).
OK soo

1. TurboFolk - I hate it. I know its fun to dance to at weddings when youre drunk, but when you take the whole traditional/folk side of music and you throw in that fast paced club beat with stupid words ...youre ruining it.

2. Tallava - It's really not relatable to anything truly Albanian. I don't understand where it came from and its silly.

3. I feel like in Albania especially (Kosovo as well where a lot of our singers come from) anyone can become a singer with a little money. I see most of our "pop" singers prominent right now as garbage and with no real talent.

I can name soooo many famous singers at the moment that just dont have vocals or range. Ciljeta and Ingrid Gjoni are two of my most hated and the fact that they made a song together just kills me a little.

Also Nora Istrefi (sorry Cortom

) i see her as an extremly average singer. I like 1 song of hers thanks to the artist shes in a duet with. Her songs all sound the same to me and im 99% sure she can't hit any note that would make you says wow shes good rather than eh shes ok.

Now that im done putting down my country's music :P ...ill get to my favorites and ill try to include from different styles.
(ps. my own albanian friends hate my taste in albanian music cause its so old school and i dont expect you guys to like it either lol. also i just realized after making my list that all my traditional songs are from the south and i guess its cause its what i grew up with. but its not that i dislike the sounds from the north)

Mihallaq Andrea & Flori - Ta dish ti cpesoj kjo zemer

(Mihallaq Andrea is a legend and a half he sings Serenades which are very popular in my city "Serenata Korcare" hence my name :P)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkl6oFT8eh4

Sami Kallmi - Pogonishte

(These 2 songs are traditional from Southern Albania, from a city with a Greek minority (Pogon) but i love the text and instrumentals)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Dwvj5DzPAk & http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5G4AaPj61M

Gena - Sa Lot Kam Derdhur

(Also a "Serenate Korcare". The lyrics melt me a little

lol Me mire me ty dhe fukura se sa pa ty i varfer = Better to be with you and poor than without you and rich. It has a Greek vibe to it though some people are not into that.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDWUZsPGaWo

West Side Family - Ne krahet e tua

(The lyrics just give me chills)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NvmVIvfpMM

Aurela Gace - Hape Veten

(One of the greatest vocalists in Albania her voice is very powerful)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzRwI3pru24

Kthjellu & Alban Skenderaj - Dicka

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPUin44MnOA

Djemt e Vjoses - Jam nje djal nga Laberia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzvj5ymkXsU

Ylli Baka & Marjana Leka - Djemte e debores

(Just beautiful it makes me cry)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaWWiRpKjU0

Adelina Ismaili & Elita 5 - Sajzeze

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fKv-zLNCzQ

Flori - Me Sy Mbyllur

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT9mAaUWlKI

Other Songs/Artists i recommend:

Flori and Soni Malaj - Fluturimi 3470
Endri & Stefi
Eli Fara - Sonate
Nertila Vreto
Ardit Gjebrea - Ja ku jam
Babeta Shahini & Rati - Si Karamele (nice text)
Pirro Cako - Engjell apo djall
Sinan Vllasalliu - Mos ja falni / and his song Pa Fat with Nora Istrefi
Mariza Ikonomi - Ste kam haruar
Devis Xherahu
Anxhela Peristeri

Last words: Hope you like them and dying to see BalkanEuros preference in Albanian music.

tedinkyyy · 07-21-2009 09:55 AM

Korcare19 what do u think about Olta Boka? I like her voice.

Balkaneuro · 07-21-2009 11:03 AM

Originally Posted by cortom

I suggest you try Poni. She's really special and can bring the tears to my eye. E.g. Laj Fustanin (Washing the dress): "I'm washing this dress, sir", she sings, "now with water, then with tears". Now, how much sadder can a lyric be? All her songs are at least interesting, and often superb, but you have to like 'old style' music.

Another one you just must learn about is Nora Istrefi, technically maybe the best singer around. You can disagree with me if you like, since I haven't had any musical schooling whatsoever. Her songs have a more modern flavour, but, for a Belgian listener, they still seem very different from the average anglo-saxon popsong that we are hearing all the time on our radio's. I warmly recommend 'Pse të dua'. It was one of the very first Albanian songs that I learned to know, and it hit me like a thunderbolt.

If you want male artists: Nexhat Ismaili has a very warm voice. His songs are mostly traditional. Has some very touching duets with his sister Remzie, e.g. 'Oj nane' (Oh mother). Sinan Hoxha really rocks (try 'Do veç do', with remarkable violins).

Do you know any sites where I can find mp3's of Bulgarian artists? I would be glad to buy them legally (the ones I like that is), but that seems impossible here in Belgium. I have tried everything possible to find a legal copy of 'Te dy' (with Elvana Gjata) but to no avail. And please name a few of your favourites. That makes searching YouTube a lot more efficient.

i think you means nexhat osmani not ismaili : ) it's all good. lol

Balkaneuro · 07-21-2009 11:45 AM

balkaneuro is shocked that korcare16 doesn't like turbo folk. ahah. I agree, the whole overpowering techno beat ruins the song, but when it is subtle with the original beat of the song it suits it well and makes it more modern sounding.

i listen to many genres, in many different languages because i think music is so great but i have to say though, i don't like slavic music, sorry tedinkyyy, i have honestly tried to listen to macedonian or bulgarian etc. music but something about it is not amusing to me. but i'm sure it is very good to those who like it.

i also like old fashioned music, i guess we can call it, from singers like eli fara, poni, irini qirjako (don't like her voice though, but good songs usually), i also like nertila vreto, when her producer doesn't add the heavy techno beat.

poni - jap e jap, hopa hopa, baluket a ballit
nertila vreto - kollazh 1,2,3, hapi syt e zeza
irini qirjako - dy lule te bardha
eli fara - aman aman, kur me zbret nga voskopoja, ra debora

if you're albanian you know these songs are very very old, but they are defiantly classics, and remastered by these singers

so those are a few of my favorites for the jug/southern Albanian music.

as for kosove, some really great and talented singers come from kosove. such as sabri and his son ermal, i think they're songs are actually really well produced and have good lyrics. adelina ismaili is very famous, and im not sure why, but, she is very famous. ahaa, she has nice songs though, but is not one of my favourites, i bought her sisters album, zanfina ismaili, i thought it was 'okay'.

back to the old fashioned music from kosove,

i really like singers such as aferdita demaku, nexhat osmani, remzije osmani, shyhrete behluli. (i hope they all are from kosove) to be honest with you, i think the songs they sing, as well as the beat, their voices, the music and everything in general sounds more 'albanian' to me. rather than the music from the south, which always sounds somewhat greek inspired, but if your albanian, we like to think it was our own ancestors who originally introduced these customs of song, so that's what i'll continue to believe lol.

aferdita demaku - e more vallen tone, qile zemren
nexhat osmani - of of sa mir ta bana, zemer
remzije osmani - kjo dashnia eshte kismet, sa te deshta, vec per ty
shyhrete behluli - pse (kush je ti), dashuria jone, te kerkojne (Ft. mahmut ferhati)

as for this pop music deal, some artists have really good songs, and other have really bad songs. and it is true, it seems like if you look okay, and your voice is okay, you can become a singer, which is sad ahah. but i'll just list a few of the songs i like from singers: and mostly all of these singers, have songs that sound albanian at times, sometimes sound oriental sometimes sound like westernized pop, they're all over the place, so i really can't say they follow a certain structure, i guess they just go with what sounds good, probably why its a pretty dominant genre in albanian music.

shpat kasapi - te une se te une, ty te mendoj, goc tirane, kush te ndau prej meje
flori and soni - fluturimi 3470
leonora poloska - i pa njohur, syri i zi (Ft. Labi), do te digjem
blero - zemer bosh, mos me refuzo
genta ismaili- hajde bukuri, pse te dua ty, dridhem
leonora jakupi - o beqar,
nora istefi - pse te du, a kam faje, vetem mua
nrg band - moj shqiptare (ama aman), shehide
bertan asllani - akoma te du, fukara pa dashuri, ky eshte fati im, po-jo (Ft. Big Mama)

not sure if sinan hoxha and duli count as pop or tallava, but they are okay singers as well however, most of their melodies are taken from the east.

and on albanian rap, not a big fan, if you've seen any albanian rap arists on tv, or youtube, in music videos, they try extremely hard, and i really don't get it. there is probably a couple songs in all of albanian rap that i think are okay.

b2n - si cunami
west side family - Tirona,
kaos - mos fol (Ft. Nora Istrefi)
etno engjujt - proud to be albanian

that's about it lol

Korcare19 · 07-21-2009 12:23 PM

Tedinkyyy - havent heard any of Oltas songs except the Eurovision one, and she can obviously sing and i too like her voice.

Balkaneuro - it shocks me how many people loveeee turbofolk. it really is fun to dance to at weddings when drunk though hahah. but yeah youre right when its subtle its ok. i guess poni would fall under that eh? i defently dont mind her.

I also cant listen to slavic music =/ just cant get into it. I only like one (i believe it's Serbian?) Dragana Mirkovic & Danijel Djokic - Zivot moj.

I like your list Balkaneuro.

Minus very few. Totally digging leonora jakupi - o beqar..had never heard it before but its going on the ipod now thanks

tironaaaa ne zemrat tona hahah sorry

haydee · 07-21-2009 01:52 PM

Hey guys, thank you all! Such a big list to listen to))

As for me.. I like music while it has good melody and good voice) So I like both modern pop-songs and, as you say, "old-fashioned" folk songs.

My faves are:

Alban Skenderaj - nje thirrje e deshperuar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bj8M7wBqSkM

Adelina Ismajli - Hero i Tragjedis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUtzRXh7jw4

Poni :
Dale Moj Dale
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUQRFr7FM9w
Laberi Moj Laberi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5llvztwR-BE

Leonora Jakupi.. many songs really)
Ende Te Dua http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwu72POp6hs

Mihrie Braha - Ti Nuk Je Shtepia Ime
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8pyz__-sbI

Rovena Dilo - Ne Shkoder te vish
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xglhKRfjp8

Troja:
Amaneti i Clown-it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMFpZLxGlkI

Karafili Edhe Zamaki (how old is this song? it's so sweet)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ik_DcWUlOf8

But what is Tallava? Never heard of it. Can you give examples?

tedinkyyy · 07-21-2009 02:14 PM

Originally Posted by Balkaneuro

i listen to many genres, in many different languages because i think music is so great but i have to say though, i don't like slavic music, sorry tedinkyyy, i have honestly tried to listen to macedonian or bulgarian etc. music but something about it is not amusing to me. but i'm sure it is very good to those who like it.

hehe no problems actually recently I don't listen too much to blg music too becuz so much trash appeared ... so I switched to Serbian and Albanian (wow what a combination lol), I can say Serbian music really amuses me ( and I'm studying Serbian so..) but the second for me is Albanian.Actually to be honest one of the singers I mostly admire (at least from our region) is Olta Boka, great voice+ very good songs(only 2 for now but they both touched me so much) and she really doesn't think of herself as a star... she's well grounded which is incredible for a girl at her age... I mean they tend to think that they're some kinda superstars and behave like that but she doesn't.So I wish her luck with her singing carreer

Balkaneuro · 07-21-2009 02:22 PM

Originally Posted by haydee

Hey guys, thank you all! Such a big list to listen to))

As for me.. I like music while it has good melody and good voice) So I like both modern pop-songs and, as you say, "old-fashioned" folk songs.

My faves are:

Alban Skenderaj - nje thirrje e deshperuar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bj8M7wBqSkM

Adelina Ismajli - Hero i Tragjedis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUtzRXh7jw4

Poni :
Dale Moj Dale
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUQRFr7FM9w
Laberi Moj Laberi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5llvztwR-BE

Leonora Jakupi.. many songs really)
Ende Te Dua http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwu72POp6hs

Mihrie Braha - Ti Nuk Je Shtepia Ime
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8pyz__-sbI

Rovena Dilo - Ne Shkoder te vish
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xglhKRfjp8

Troja:
Amaneti i Clown-it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMFpZLxGlkI

Karafili Edhe Zamaki (how old is this song? it's so sweet)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ik_DcWUlOf8

But what is Tallava? Never heard of it. Can you give examples?

Tallava is a genre that with the growth of Albanian artists began to evolve. It is not strickly "popullore" nor "argetues(pop/entertaining)" or any other genre, but rather a mix of these, but i would say it most closely represents pop(sometimes sounding oriental, more traditional(use of certain instruments e.x. cifteli) but the style can entirely change due to the lyrics. I don't know what the word means exactly. Some artists which you have probably hear of that are popular in this genre are Duli, Labinot Rexha, Xheni, Zyber Avdiu etc.

Balkaneuro · 07-21-2009 02:25 PM

Originally Posted by tedinkyyy

hehe no problems actually recently I don't listen too much to blg music too becuz so much trash appeared ... so I switched to Serbian and Albanian (wow what a combination lol), I can say Serbian music really amuses me ( and I'm studying Serbian so..) but the second for me is Albanian.Actually to be honest one of the singers I mostly admire (at least from our region) is Olta Boka, great voice+ very good songs(only 2 for now but they both touched me so much) and she really doesn't think of herself as a star... she's well grounded which is incredible for a girl at her age... I mean they tend to think that they're some kinda superstars and behave like that but she doesn't.So I wish her luck with her singing carreer

she does have a nice voice, i like her rendition of "e lumtur te dua". The way she was spotted was by winning first place, or second :S on a show in Albania called "Ethet" e se premtes. ethet means fever, so together it is like fever on friday or something like that : P

it is comparable to like "american idol" i think didn't watch it much

tedinkyyy · 07-21-2009 03:49 PM

aha^^ in Bulgaria we have it too..it's called Music Idol... yup I've watched that performance in Ethet. It's nice they gave her chance for Eurovision.It's been probably not so easy to go to a not too friendly country and present your country in the best possible way. But I think she really did it.

Hey do u know there were some Bulgaro-Albanian duets of Kati ( a bg singer) and Sabiani?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJPAN1VSVmo Alb: Me thuaj te dua/Blg: Kazhi obicham te/ both: Tell me"I love you"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yusL-Jq8D24 Blg: Misijata nevyzmoznha ( alb transc. Misijata nevëzmozna) --> Mission impossible

jao in the second one he's singing in Bulgarian in the chorus

he only has some problems with the word "shtastliva"/happy but the other stuff is acceptable

Balkaneuro · 07-21-2009 03:54 PM

Originally Posted by tedinkyyy

aha^^ in Bulgaria we have it too..it's called Music Idol... yup I've watched that performance in Ethet. It's nice they gave her chance for Eurovision.It's been probably not so easy to go to a not too friendly country and present your country in the best possible way. But I think she really did it.

Hey do u know there were some Bulgaro-Albanian duets of Kati ( a bg singer) and Sabiani?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJPAN1VSVmo Alb: Me thuaj te dua/Blg: Kazhi obicham te/ both: Tell me"I love you"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yusL-Jq8D24 Blg: Misijata nevyzmoznha ( alb transc. Misijata nevëzmozna) --> Mission impossible

jao in the second one he's singing in Bulgarian in the chorus

he only has some problems with the word "shtastliva"/happy but the other stuff is acceptable

yes i have heard these duets, they are catchy, i think the second song is called 'ik more djal' in albanian.

cortom · 07-21-2009 04:04 PM

Originally Posted by Balkaneuro

i think you means nexhat osmani not ismaili : ) it's all good. lol

Yes, of course! I feel so stupid. But me, and names, I think it's something I was born with. So for the record: OSMANI, yes! (What's in a name? A rose by any name would smell as sweet! Or something like that anyway)

Balkaneuro · 07-21-2009 04:18 PM

Originally Posted by cortom

Yes, of course! I feel so stupid. But me, and names, I think it's something I was born with. So for the record: OSMANI, yes! (What's in a name? A rose by any name would smell as sweet! Or something like that anyway)

ahaha nice one shakespeare

cortom · 07-21-2009 04:34 PM

@Korcare: you don't like Nora Istrefi, so I don't talk to you anymore. But hey, we actually seem to agree on Poni, and Flori/Soni - Fluturimi! So I forgive you after all.

@Haydee: if you want to learn more about Tallava: try anything by Meda. At first I wasn't too wild about him. Thought all his songs were a bit too similar. But they really get hypnotic after a while and now I can listen easily for hours to his songs. Two suggestions: Hajde me mu or this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHu7Jd1rIIA

Other very nice tallava-songs: Mentor Kurtishi - Vdis me and Labinot Tahiri - Kjo unaze. (This song can be found in many versions)

@BE: at first I didn't like Adelina Ismajli very much, with the exception of her song Amaneti. But now I think she's one of the very best performers. I mean: look at her version of Shota. Who can stay cool when watching this? If you ask me, she is the Albanian Madonna, only much better and much more interesting. But like her American colleague, she seems to like shocking her audience a bit.

@Tedinkyyy: thank you for the links. I tried Toni Dacheva and Ivana. They made a fine first impression. Any male artists you can recommend? Not that I object to the female ones: they look gorgeous, every one of them. So gorgeous in fact that I forget to listen from time to time. And do you know an mp3-site with english interface? These cyrillice characters are a major stumbling block to me. Albanian music was hard to learn to know, because of the language, Bulgarian will be even harder I'm afraid.

@everybody: thanks for all these suggestions. I've been discovering Albanian music for two years now, but it seems I still have a lot to learn. I'll try them all in time.

Balkaneuro · 07-21-2009 09:38 PM

Originally Posted by cortom

@Korcare: you don't like Nora Istrefi, so I don't talk to you anymore. But hey, we actually seem to agree on Poni, and Flori/Soni - Fluturimi! So I forgive you after all.

@Haydee: if you want to learn more about Tallava: try anything by Meda. At first I wasn't too wild about him. Thought all his songs were a bit too similar. But they really get hypnotic after a while and now I can listen easily for hours to his songs. Two suggestions: Hajde me mu or this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHu7Jd1rIIA

Other very nice tallava-songs: Mentor Kurtishi - Vdis me and Labinot Tahiri - Kjo unaze. (This song can be found in many versions)

@BE: at first I didn't like Adelina Ismajli very much, with the exception of her song Amaneti. But now I think she's one of the very best performers. I mean: look at her version of Shota. Who can stay cool when watching this? If you ask me, she is the Albanian Madonna, only much better and much more interesting. But like her American colleague, she seems to like shocking her audience a bit.

@Tedinkyyy: thank you for the links. I tried Toni Dacheva and Ivana. They made a fine first impression. Any male artists you can recommend? Not that I object to the female ones: they look gorgeous, every one of them. So gorgeous in fact that I forget to listen from time to time. And do you know an mp3-site with english interface? These cyrillice characters are a major stumbling block to me. Albanian music was hard to learn to know, because of the language, Bulgarian will be even harder I'm afraid.

@everybody: thanks for all these suggestions. I've been discovering Albanian music for two years now, but it seems I still have a lot to learn. I'll try them all in time.

Cortom, i've forgot to mention it, but nice work on your website : )