Music that connects worlds
At the crossroads of cultures, traditions, and improvisation, Stracho Temelkovski’s music is an invitation to travel. Drawing on the sounds of the Balkans, contemporary jazz, and world music, he creates works in which memory, modernity, and emotion speak to one another.
THE ARTIST
An identity shaped
by encounters
A multi-instrumentalist, improviser, and beatboxer of Macedonian descent, Stracho Temelkovski learned the basics of electric guitar, bass, percussion, sampling, and programming at a very young age. Captivated by the improvisations of jazz soloists in Balkan brass bands, he formed his first band at 15 and went on to collaborate with Gnawa Diffusion and MIG. In 2003, he stepped in on short notice for American jazz bassist Steve Swallow on a project led by musician and poet Antonio Placer, with whom he developed the instrumental versatility that would become his true signature. In 2019, he released the album The Sound Braka (an FIP pick and a Jazz Magazine “Revelation”).
A strong musical bond with Cuban pianist Omar Sosa led to several concerts and a digital EP, Live in Seynod, in 2020. Committed to building artistic and human bridges, he has teamed up with choreographers François Veyrunes, Sylvère Lamotte, and Kader Belmoktar, sharing artistic direction with them (Ruines and Tout ce fracas with Cie Lamento; Ritam with Käfig) and composing and performing the music for their shows. Since 2023, he has been an associate artist of Jazz à Vienne as part of the three-year artistic residency supported by the Isère Department.
Associate Artists
Every encounter is a source of inspiration.
Collaboration lies at the heart of Stracho Temelkovski’s artistic approach.
Musicians, choreographers, videographers, and visual artists come together around a shared goal: to imagine sensory experiences where disciplines intersect and respond to one another.
Musika Songes
Creating to bring people together
It is the common thread running through the creations of Musika Songes, led by Macedonian-born multi-instrumentalist and beatboxer Stracho Temelkovski. Founded in 2011, Musika Songes focuses on artistic creation as well as music and record production. It also aims to bring people together around musical projects that blend jazz, beatbox, and world music. Stracho Temelkovski is also deeply committed to building bridges with other art forms such as contemporary dance, hip-hop, storytelling, slam poetry, and the visual arts. A demanding approach to creation, a spirit of exploration, and a thirst for artistic and human adventure are the very essence of Musika Songes.
Universal, cosmopolitan, and accessible, this music is shared as widely as possible through performances at renowned venues across France (Bal Blomet in Paris, Opéra Underground in Lyon, the Biennale de Jazz du Centre des Bords de Marne, La Maison in Nevers, L’Estive in Foix, and more) and abroad (the Auditorium in Rome; in Brazil, Teatro Amazonas in Manaus, Quadra da Portela in Rio de Janeiro, and Teatro Sesc 24 de Maio in São Paulo), as well as through outreach programs and creative residencies, such as the one held across the 37 towns of the Vals du Dauphiné from 2017 to 2019 and the one in the Vienne area in partnership with the Jazz à Vienne festival, running from 2023 through June 2026.