One year after the world sales of gramophone records exceeded the sales of compact discs for the first time in three and a half decades, the first Balkan forum of gramophone records is being held in Nis (Serbia), reports Anadolia.
Along with music from vinyl, visitors view, buy or exchange releases exhibited by twenty collectors and owners of record stores from Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.
The increase in the popularity of records is accompanied by an increasing number of events that gather their fans, so fairs and festivals like today’s in Niš are no longer rare. There are guests from Podgorica, Belgrade, Skopje, Novi Sad, Kruševac, Jagodina and Kumanovo.
“This is the first Balkan forum of people who like gramophone records, with exhibitors from Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. DJs take turns at the counter and visitors enjoy themselves. We have been socializing and collaborating with the exhibitors for years,” said Zoran Cekić, organizer of this forum and owner of a record store in Niš.
The diverse genre offer can meet the musical taste of every visitor.
One of the exhibitors is Tošo Filipovski, independent publisher, owner of a record store in Skopje, writer of “Macedonian rock encyclopedia”, “Macedonian discographies – vinyls”, “Macedonian rock time machines” and the biography “Mizar – Okrovenija”.
“I’m a big vinyl collector, it’s my passion. There are similar events all over the Balkans, everyone who loves vinyl gathers. They are coming back, some would say, in fashion, and I say – they are returning to the big door and to their rightful place they once had,” Filipovski pointed out.
It is special, he adds, that on a piece of vinyl the music remains permanently and that it carries a part of history. He came to Niš after the gathering in Podgorica.
“It’s nice when we unite Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Montenegro, sometimes they come from Croatia, and here in Macedonia they often come from Greece and Bulgaria. All of us, vinyl lovers from the Balkans, know how to socialize and offer visitors what we have at cheaper prices than those in stores,” said Filipovski.
The program at the Forum takes place all day, from noon to 8 p.m., with free admission. During that time, six DJs will take turns at the counter, playing music straight from the records.
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