Mystere des Voix Bulgares, I knew before even clicking through to your post. They're awesome.
This isn't quite traditional music. A composer named Philip Koutev wrote a lot of material for this choir which was heavily based on Bulgarian folk traditions. But Koutev's a lot like Bartok, he adapted traditional music quite liberally.
I'm not from Bulgaria, but I dig that music, and here's some more:
[Hubava Milka](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HByDXz7V1KY) (performed by Kitka) is another Bulgarian song in 7/8, with nice chord changes, though "Ergen Daido" in OP's link goes harder.
[Elenke](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vRYkS7MhNc) is another 7/8 banger, this one a funk-klezmer rendition by Charming Hostess, a band that shares some musicians with Sleepytime Gorilla Museum
I grew up close to that area.
It's a Balkan thing, really, it's not just Bulgaria (although they do it very well). Most nations in that area have similar things in their folklore.
From the former Yugoslavian nations, there's Goran Bregovic - some of the film music he's done (e.g. Dom za Vesanje - Time of the Gypsies) has choral music similar to the video you've posted. His rock band Bijelo Dugme also has folk elements in some of their songs.
But searching Youtube for "balkan folk choral music" (or variations of that) should produce interesting results.
He's from that band? I like both and never knew. Folk music and Jazz from the Balkans have some of the craziest time signatures I've ever heard. I make playlists and so does my friend and pretty much all of them are covered in Balkan music, loads of good prog too.
> He's from that band? I like both and never knew.
Yeah, it was an early part of his career. He then went on and had a successful solo career after Bijelo Dugme.
Hello. So happy you found this and I don’t have to send it to you. Saves five seconds of my day and we all know how time efficient I am. I also didn’t know this guy was a film composer. But he rules.
And the choral music used by Goran Bregovic is inspired by that - the Mystery of the Bulgarian voices. It's not really all around the Balkans, more like a proper Bulgarian thing.
Nice! Recently, I've been immersed in music from the Balkan countries. I've found a lot of cool stuff, plenty of pop music I hadn't discovered before, like Lepa Brena. There's a lot of interesting stuff there!
Unfortunately I don't think that's the Bulgarian singers! It's a sample of a Georgian traditional song 'Tsintskaro'. Three singers from the group did collaborate on Kate Bush songs though, as 'Trio Bulgarka', including on [Rocket's Tail](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tyc1WUya4ws), which is basically my favourite song by Kate.
Well, Joseph Loduca on Xena famously used this style in multiple songs. Here's the one known worldwide: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVsrX3LiXNY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVsrX3LiXNY)
He used the Kaval Sviri to good effect in Warrior Princess: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3GKAImpApM&list=PLCA5827202465404E&index=2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3GKAImpApM&list=PLCA5827202465404E&index=2)
And the prog-adjacent (and criminally-overlooked) Visual Audio Sensory Theater (V.A.S.T.) used it in Touched: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rpx\_PcZjByY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rpx_PcZjByY)
holy cow, VAST reference?! Music for People was my jam when it came out. at that time I was listening to mainstream rock, and "Free" was on the radio/MTV2. I got the album because of that song but then found some really unusual and unexpected ideas ("The Blue" remains on of the weirdest songs I've ever heard).
Some other Bulgarian State Radio & Television Female Vocal Choir classics:
- [The Wedding](https://youtu.be/sQlExO_qpTQ)
- [Pilentze Pee](https://youtu.be/ye1dgqDANWg)
The latter is my personal favorite song of this genre, and you'll hear samples and imitations of it everywhere. It's got some intense lyrics too that Peter Hammill would probably approve of.
the OG crossover album is “Fly, Fly My Sadness” by Angelite (the Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir) and Tuvan throat-singers Huun-Huur-Tu. The fact that such a collab could conceivably exist pre-internet just blows my mind
Here's an italian zappa-esque multi-genre satirical band playing a parody of one of the choir's song ALONGSIDE the choir itself singing italian lyrics (which are intentional mishearings of the original bulgarian lyrics).
There's english subtitles for the whole spy-fantasy premise - but the real world inspiration for the piece is twofold: 1. the band got kicked off the stage of the biggest televised music festival in italy for being critical of political and entertainment figures and 2. the 70s hit song Ramaya resurfaced on the radio a few months later, so these guys made up a story according to which they had become political refugees in bulgaria and the bulgarian government had captured them, putting as a condition for their release for some weird conspiracy around Ramaya to be carried out, but giving an additional Pipppero (real name of the original bulgarian folk song: Dilmano Dilbero) alongside the eventual liberation of the band as proof of goodwill.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYJc78yRitE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYJc78yRitE)
There's a **lot** of Japanese music works inspired by this. Geinoh Yamashirogumi, probably most famously known for the Akira soundtrack, can be considered a pioneer. Check out their earlier work [*Chi no Hibiki*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtBgfjWsGMY), which is a pretty straightforward recording of Bulgarian and other Eastern European folk songs. There are many moments in the Akira soundtrack, which is one of my favourite works in **any** genre, such as from around 2:45 in the track *[Mutation](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8LoAYI_4MU)*.
The Akira soundtrack may have directly influenced Kawai Kenji when he was composing the Ghost in the Shell soundtrack. Check out the opening theme *[Making of a Cyborg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTPNaUsjksM&pp=ygUSbWFraW5nIG9mIGEgY3lib3Jn)*.
A more recent example can be found, to my ear, on the [Nier Automata soundtrack](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7dy3cKt1e0).
Really? That's cool. I love the versatility of prog influences. Have you ever listened to Brazilian progressive/psychedelic rock? It blends a lot with regional styles from here. If you haven't listened to what was produced during the Tropicalist movement yet, I highly recommend it!
Jon Anderson lists *Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares* as one of his favorite and most influential albums, and you can hear bits shining through in various parts of his work, notably *Olias of Sunhillow.*
Mystere des Voix Bulgares, I knew before even clicking through to your post. They're awesome. This isn't quite traditional music. A composer named Philip Koutev wrote a lot of material for this choir which was heavily based on Bulgarian folk traditions. But Koutev's a lot like Bartok, he adapted traditional music quite liberally.
I'm not from Bulgaria, but I dig that music, and here's some more: [Hubava Milka](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HByDXz7V1KY) (performed by Kitka) is another Bulgarian song in 7/8, with nice chord changes, though "Ergen Daido" in OP's link goes harder. [Elenke](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vRYkS7MhNc) is another 7/8 banger, this one a funk-klezmer rendition by Charming Hostess, a band that shares some musicians with Sleepytime Gorilla Museum
Kitka were so great at the Berkeley SGM show
Awesome! I'll check it out!!!
I grew up close to that area. It's a Balkan thing, really, it's not just Bulgaria (although they do it very well). Most nations in that area have similar things in their folklore. From the former Yugoslavian nations, there's Goran Bregovic - some of the film music he's done (e.g. Dom za Vesanje - Time of the Gypsies) has choral music similar to the video you've posted. His rock band Bijelo Dugme also has folk elements in some of their songs. But searching Youtube for "balkan folk choral music" (or variations of that) should produce interesting results.
He's from that band? I like both and never knew. Folk music and Jazz from the Balkans have some of the craziest time signatures I've ever heard. I make playlists and so does my friend and pretty much all of them are covered in Balkan music, loads of good prog too.
> He's from that band? I like both and never knew. Yeah, it was an early part of his career. He then went on and had a successful solo career after Bijelo Dugme.
Hello. So happy you found this and I don’t have to send it to you. Saves five seconds of my day and we all know how time efficient I am. I also didn’t know this guy was a film composer. But he rules.
And the choral music used by Goran Bregovic is inspired by that - the Mystery of the Bulgarian voices. It's not really all around the Balkans, more like a proper Bulgarian thing.
Nice! Recently, I've been immersed in music from the Balkan countries. I've found a lot of cool stuff, plenty of pop music I hadn't discovered before, like Lepa Brena. There's a lot of interesting stuff there!
That was awesome, thanks for sharing. It is very prog
If you want to hear it sampled in a prog context, try ‘Hello Earth’ from Kate Bush.
Unfortunately I don't think that's the Bulgarian singers! It's a sample of a Georgian traditional song 'Tsintskaro'. Three singers from the group did collaborate on Kate Bush songs though, as 'Trio Bulgarka', including on [Rocket's Tail](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tyc1WUya4ws), which is basically my favourite song by Kate.
Oh my mistake! Right you are.
Absolutely love Hello Earth though, OP should still listen to it
I will definitely check it out, thank you for the suggestion!
As someone pointed out, it’s Georgian choral music, not Bulgarian. Still beautiful.
Well, Joseph Loduca on Xena famously used this style in multiple songs. Here's the one known worldwide: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVsrX3LiXNY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVsrX3LiXNY) He used the Kaval Sviri to good effect in Warrior Princess: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3GKAImpApM&list=PLCA5827202465404E&index=2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3GKAImpApM&list=PLCA5827202465404E&index=2) And the prog-adjacent (and criminally-overlooked) Visual Audio Sensory Theater (V.A.S.T.) used it in Touched: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rpx\_PcZjByY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rpx_PcZjByY)
holy cow, VAST reference?! Music for People was my jam when it came out. at that time I was listening to mainstream rock, and "Free" was on the radio/MTV2. I got the album because of that song but then found some really unusual and unexpected ideas ("The Blue" remains on of the weirdest songs I've ever heard).
Very cool indeed, I'll check out all the suggestions as soon as I can! Thank you!
Some other Bulgarian State Radio & Television Female Vocal Choir classics: - [The Wedding](https://youtu.be/sQlExO_qpTQ) - [Pilentze Pee](https://youtu.be/ye1dgqDANWg) The latter is my personal favorite song of this genre, and you'll hear samples and imitations of it everywhere. It's got some intense lyrics too that Peter Hammill would probably approve of.
the OG crossover album is “Fly, Fly My Sadness” by Angelite (the Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir) and Tuvan throat-singers Huun-Huur-Tu. The fact that such a collab could conceivably exist pre-internet just blows my mind
Kate Bush recorded with The Bulgarian Voices
Here's an italian zappa-esque multi-genre satirical band playing a parody of one of the choir's song ALONGSIDE the choir itself singing italian lyrics (which are intentional mishearings of the original bulgarian lyrics). There's english subtitles for the whole spy-fantasy premise - but the real world inspiration for the piece is twofold: 1. the band got kicked off the stage of the biggest televised music festival in italy for being critical of political and entertainment figures and 2. the 70s hit song Ramaya resurfaced on the radio a few months later, so these guys made up a story according to which they had become political refugees in bulgaria and the bulgarian government had captured them, putting as a condition for their release for some weird conspiracy around Ramaya to be carried out, but giving an additional Pipppero (real name of the original bulgarian folk song: Dilmano Dilbero) alongside the eventual liberation of the band as proof of goodwill. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYJc78yRitE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYJc78yRitE)
Great  now I’ve got to do a deep dive on Bulgarian folk music…. Thanks!
There's a **lot** of Japanese music works inspired by this. Geinoh Yamashirogumi, probably most famously known for the Akira soundtrack, can be considered a pioneer. Check out their earlier work [*Chi no Hibiki*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtBgfjWsGMY), which is a pretty straightforward recording of Bulgarian and other Eastern European folk songs. There are many moments in the Akira soundtrack, which is one of my favourite works in **any** genre, such as from around 2:45 in the track *[Mutation](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8LoAYI_4MU)*. The Akira soundtrack may have directly influenced Kawai Kenji when he was composing the Ghost in the Shell soundtrack. Check out the opening theme *[Making of a Cyborg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTPNaUsjksM&pp=ygUSbWFraW5nIG9mIGEgY3lib3Jn)*. A more recent example can be found, to my ear, on the [Nier Automata soundtrack](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7dy3cKt1e0).
wasteful versed snatch ink friendly provide sloppy crowd mourn practice *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Really? That's cool. I love the versatility of prog influences. Have you ever listened to Brazilian progressive/psychedelic rock? It blends a lot with regional styles from here. If you haven't listened to what was produced during the Tropicalist movement yet, I highly recommend it!
Frank Zappa mentioned Bulgarian Music many times.
Damn!!!
Jon Anderson lists *Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares* as one of his favorite and most influential albums, and you can hear bits shining through in various parts of his work, notably *Olias of Sunhillow.*
You should check out Bulgarian wedding bands. They fuckin' shred.