The origin of the gypsies goes back to ancient times. Their fatherland is believed to be India, but after the 5th c. AD they migrated to other parts of the world. They came to Europe between the 9th and the 11th c. - first on the Balkans and in the 15th c. they settled in the rest of the continent. Their culture has been influenced to a great extent by that of the other ethnic communities, but even today most of the specific and characteristic elements of their music and dances are preserved in the Balkans. For this reason every gypsy music release of the Balkan region is received with great interest.
There are many outstanding musicians among the Bulgarian gypsies, but one of the best experts and performers of Gypsy music is Angelo Malikov. He is a composer, arranger, conductor, teacher and virtuoso cimbalom-player. He was born in Sofia in the family of the well-known Romany intellectual Yashar Malikov. Angelo first began playing the cimbalom and after that he discovered the violoncello. He finished the School of Music in Sofia and later graduated from the Pancho Vladigerov State Academy of Music. His academic background did not distance him from the Romany music and he continuously created folk formations, collected traditional songs and dances and recorded them as soloist, conductor, or composer. His performances in a number of international festivals in Switzerland, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Russia, the Czech Republic, Hungary have always presented the preserved music tradition of Bulgarian Gypsies. He has also worked as soloist of the Skopje Philharmonic in Macedonia and of the Biel Philharmonic, Switzerland. Angelo Malikov is very active in Bulgaria in polpularizing the authentic Gypsy music. He is one of the organizers of the prestigious forum of Romany music in Bulgaria - the Romfest in the town of Stara Zagora. He is also founder of the Youth Romany Ensemble in Sofia, thus involving the young to the Romany traditions.
Angelo Malikov has selected and recorded for the present release popular folk songs and dances, as well as some original compositions. The album incudes lyrics to the songs in Bulgarian, English and Gypsy languages, thus enabling the listeners to feel the poetic content of the songs.