Perija

is nominated for the UPBEAT Awards 2023 in Best New Talent category. 

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About the Nominee

A dark folk band from North Macedonia that plays with many music influences, from Macedonian roots Middle Eastern maqam music and some North African styles, to blues, post-punk, atonal and jazz. Their songs are in different languages of the Balkans, in the spirit of equality between nations and ethnicities. Previously the themes of their songs were old, often morbid village songs (some of them collected by friends who travel to villages and record them, some of them found in very old recordings).

Their new material covers what they believe to be important social issues of the present, the lyrics are usually poems or cut-up technique pieces from acknowledged authors and sometimes even newspaper clippings. Perija is a Turkish root word denoting fairy, but also some etymology sources trace it back to a Proto-Iranian word ‘parika’ – a woman of low status, concubine. Both of these aspects are intertwined into the sound and idea of their music, an inspiration flowing from nature, contrasting a society built upon prejudices.

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Best New Talent 2023