Vasko Krupkata-the Patch and his Poduene Blues Band have become the symbol of the free spirit and of the political changes in this country since 1989. He was the first to have sung songs about the end of the communist era like Communism with one foot out of the door and Let there be light. A great deal has changed since that time but many things have remained the same but the songs of the blues musician are still about the freedom of the spirit. For 25 years he has never stopped his quest for the truth. This year, Poduene Blues Band is marking this jubilee with a new album as well as a European tour mottoed 25 years since the fall of the Berlin wall, 25 years free Bulgaria, 25 years Poduene Blues Band.

“I am proud to have worked with musicians of such class all that time,” said for Radio Bulgaria Vasko Krupkata. “In that time we have proved we can make good music. We’ve been living an interesting and full life and I can’t wait to see what will happen in the next 25 years. Now there are two things I am engaged with: I am still looking for a suitable location for a big concert in Sofia. To begin with, I was thinking of doing it at Poduene railway station, but there is not enough room there. I want to find an unconventional location. My other priority is the forthcoming European tour which includes a concert in Brussels. Together with Poduene Blues Band we have had concerts there before, but they have always been at cafes or restaurants frequented by Bulgarians. Thanks to Daniela Gorcheva who lives in Holland, we will now be playing in the concert hall of the European parliament on October 13. This is a step I am eager to take. I am happy Bulgaria has now turned to the free world.”

Poduene Blues Band will be playing in Luxembourg. This will be the fourth time the musicians will be playing there, though this time their concert will be at a jazz club at Neumünster Abbey where Bulgaria’s accession to the EU was signed, after which they will have a concert in Amsterdam. Some years ago Vasko Krupkata was invited to Radio Amsterdam where he played the late Georgi Minchev’s guitar on the air. He also took part in the documentary Emigrants about the emigrants from Eastern Europe, made by Dutch TV in Bulgaria. After Amsterdam, the band is leaving for London, the concert there is on October 10, a dream come true, says Vasko Krupkata.

To mark their 25^th jubilee Vasko Krupkata and the other band musicians are working on a new album and have already recorded eight of the tracks:

“We have a song about the children of the city and we have songs with titles like Wooden rock and Full lip sync. We are never without our sense of humour and irony. The song that gave the name to the whole album is called The Road. I wrote it last summer when I invited my old friend Joko Rosich to record a recitative for it. The odd thing is that after he passed away I can no longer finish the song, so I am still working on it. Still, I end with the words - if there’s no road, we shall build it. The album The Road will be ready by the end of the year.”

English version: Milena Daynova 

The audio file features the following songs:

-  Day after day;

-  Slums dog;

-  No turning back.