Vlatko Stefanovski Trio, Bojan Z., Theodosii Spassov, Gibonni, Manu Katche, Tony Levin
Vlatko Stefanovski was born in 1957 in Prilep / Macedonia in a theatrical family. He started playing guitar at the age of 13. In his late teens he formed the group LEB I SOL which became one of the most important names in the music scene of former Yugoslavia. The band played a particular style of fusion music, a blend of Macedonian traditional irregular rhythms and contemporary rock. LEB I SOL released 14 albums and toured around the world.
Recently Stefanovski has developed a very successful solo career. Already his first solo release ‘Cowboys and Indians’ (1994) showcased his various interests, from deep ethno roots to ambiental moods and classic blues. After the benefit project ‘Sarajevo’ (1996) for the UNICEF Fund for Children in Need he formed his electric trio and released the first Vlatko Stefanovski Trio CD in 1998. Among other releases Stefanovski recorded ‘Krushevo’ (1998) with well known guitarist Miroslav Tadic and made the music for the Turkish film ‘Journey to the sun’ directed by Yesim Ustaoglu, which won two awards at the Berlin film festival in 1999.
In the last several years he has played and recorded all around the world with many top artists like Bojan Z., Theodosii Spassov, Gibonni, Manu Katche, Tony Levin and many others. His recent work also includes music for films, theatre and ballet. His latest release ‘Thunder from the Blue Sky’ is a magnificent blues record with guitar legend Jan Akkerman (Focus) contributing his part and perfectly complementing the almost dizzying playing of the 6-string virtuoso from Macedonia. The extensive joint tour of the two exceptional guitarists through Southeast Europe in summer and autumn 2008 was an absolute triumph.
Stefanovski is well known for his incredible guitar technique. He creates rich soundscapes with imagination, fluency and ease. His Vlatko Stefanovski Trio has recently played in Macedonia, in the USA, Canada, UK, Austria, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Croatia, Greece, Slovenia, Bosnia i Hercegovina, Serbia, Bulgaria etc. In 2007 Stefanovski was honoured a doctorate honoris causa in the fields of art at the University St. Kiril and Metodij / Skopje. He lives in Skopje/Macedonia with his family and owns a well-equiped project studio named ‘Esoteria Sound Studio’.
“It was about time for some brave and adventurous guitar amp designer to build something fresh and new," says Vlatko. "All of us guitar players and the whole guitar industry had been trapped in the retro-vintage mythology for years. This is something different… Trying the DV Mark Little 40 amp and C212 Standard cabinet was a great surprise for me. The sound that comes from the small and very lightweight amp and speaker is very impressive. It is clean, punchy and musical, with singing lead tones that are rich and easy to produce… The variable output control knob is a great innovation. When playing at the lowest possible output, like 1W, the sound that I get reminds me of the old radios, where we used to plug in when we did not have real guitar amps. That was the warmest guitar tone. And I keep my DV Mark amp on, almost all day long… like we did with the old radios.”
