Mizar ( mk, Мизар ) is a
Macedonian rock band from
Skopje
Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and List of cities in North Macedonia by population, largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre.
The territory of Sk ...
. They achieved a status of a
cult band
A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
, especially in
Macedonia and across the former Yugoslavian countries.
The group is notable for its first
self-titled album, as it was the first popular music album in the former Yugoslavian countries in
Macedonian. The album was a major success and it is listed among the top ten rock albums ever released in former Yugoslavian countries.
Mizar was formed in 1981 in the then
Socialist Republic of Macedonia. Because of the band's
avant-garde
The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
sound and image, its
Christian leanings and support for Macedonian
self-determination, they were viewed with certain degree of suspicion by the former authorities. Still, the group received great media attention including numerous appearances on the
national television. The 2014 documentary ''
Mizar: The Star of Hope'' details the band's origins.
Name
The band got its name after
Mizar
Mizar is a second- magnitude star in the handle of the Big Dipper asterism in the constellation of Ursa Major. It has the Bayer designation ζ Ursae Majoris ( Latinised as Zeta Ursae Majoris). It forms a well-known naked eye ...
which is a guiding star for the orientation of travelers in the deserts. The name was given by
Panta Džambazoski.
History
In their long history, Mizar has had 5
Revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities.
Background
Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...
s, all of them with different singers.
The First Revelation (Risto Vrtev)
Mizar were formed in 1981 in Skopje as an instrumental trio of Gorazd Čapovski on guitar, Valentin Zabjakin on bass and Panta Dzambazoski on drums. In late 1981, Zabjakin left the band and was replaced with Ilija Stojanovski. Risto Vrtev joined on vocals soon after. In 1982, the group recorded a demo tape for Radio Skopje. They then sent this tape to Jugoslovenski Rock Moment (also known as YURM), who wrote a short but glowing review of the tape. During 1983, the band then had to break up shortly after due to the members' mandatory army commitments.
The Second Revelation (Goran Tanevski)
In 1985, when the members of Mizar returned from the army, Čapovski attempted to form a band called Inola-X with Vrtev, but it didn't work out. Mizar then reformed with Goran Tanevski-Stapot in place of Vrtev and a new keyboardist, Slobodan Stojkov. They started to use elements of the traditional Macedonian folklore and Byzantine music blended with post-punk, darkwave and gothic rock. This phase of Mizar is known as ' (Mizar - The Second Revelation). Vrtev later founded
Arhangel
Arhangel ( mk, Архангел , ''archangel'') is a Macedonian alternative rock band formed in 1989. The frontman is Risto Vrtev who has also been part of such rock bands as Mizar and Inola X. The original line-up is: Risto Vrtev, Dragan G ...
(Archangel) which was awarded as the best rock act in Macedonia during the 1990s. Arhangel inherited certain features of Mizar but with a more conventional rock approach which is why Arhangel was sometimes referred as ''the Rock Mizar''. In 1986, the band filmed a music video for the song "Stoj".
In 1986, the band played the Druga Godba festival in Ljubljana, but altercations within the band caused Dzambazoski and Stojkov to leave the group. They were replaced by Vencislav Smakjoski and
Goran Trajkovski
Goran Trajkoski ( mk, Горан Трајкоски) (born 21 November 1963) is a Macedonian musician. He rose to international prominence as a frontman of the group Anastasija which was featured on the soundtrack album for the Academy Award-nom ...
respectively. This lineup played at
Festival Omladina
Festival Omladina (English: ''Youth Festival''), also known as Omladinski Festival, is a music festival held in Subotica, Serbia. The festival was founded in 1961 as a competition of young composers of popular music. Their compositions were init ...
, with Vladimir Kaevski on keyboards, and contributed two live tracks to the festival's compilation. These tracks are the first appearance of Mizar on record. Trajkovski would later be replaced by Sašo Krstevski, while Stojkov was replaced by Katerina Veljanovska.
In 1986 they recorded a few demos and were a support act for
Laibach
Laibach () is a Slovenian avant-garde music group associated with the industrial, martial, and neo-classical genres. Formed in the mining town of Trbovlje (at the time in Yugoslavia) in 1980, Laibach represents the musical wing of the Neue ...
and
Disciplina Kičme
Disciplin A Kitschme, originally known as Disciplina Kičme ( sr-Cyrl, Дисциплина Кичме, transl. ''Backbone Discipline''), was a Serbian and Yugoslav and, for a period of time, British rock band, formed in Belgrade in 1981. The ...
on their Yugoslav tour. In 1987 they were awarded for their unique sound at the most significant rock music festival which was held in
Subotica.
They released their first, self-titled album, in 1988 with the following line-up:
*
Goran Tanevski (vocal)
*
Gorazd Čapovski (guitar)
*Boris Georgiev (drums) (ex.
Badmingtons
Badmingtons (in Macedonian: Бадмингтонс) were a prominent Macedonian punk rock band.
Biography
Badmingtons were formed in 1983 in Skopje, then SR Macedonia (now the Republic of Macedonia) by Vladimir Petrovski - Karter (guitar and ...
)
*
Sašo Krstevski (bass)
*
Katerina Veljanovska (keyboards)
The producer was
Goran Lisica-Fox. Besides their own songs, the album also included a cover version of the notable Macedonian folk song
Zajdi, Zajdi under the title ' (Golden Sun). One of the best-known songs from the album is ' (Girl made of bronze).
By 1989, the lineup had stabilised to the following:
* Goran Tanevski - vocals
* Gorazd Čapovski - guitar
* Ilija Stojanovski - bass
* Žarko Serafimovski - drums
* Vladimir Kaevski - keyboards
This lineup's first appearance on record was the ''Demoskop 1'' compilation in late 1990, where they contributed two tracks, "Veligden" and "Glas". Between October and December 1990, the band recorded their second album,
Svjat Dreams, releasing it on 7 September 1991, the day before Macedonia split from Yugoslavia. The title of the record is inspired by the song
Sweet Dreams by
Eurythmics. On this album they covered the traditional song ''1762'' and a song written by Vrtev, the first singer of Mizar titled ' (''Home'').
After the release of the band's second album Tanevski left the group and was replaced by the vocalist Nora, but soon by the end of the 1991 the band split. Tanevski got involved in organising concerts, Kaevski restored his old band
Kiborg, while Čapovski left for
Australia. There he formed
Kismet in 1993 which is considered a sort of continuation of Mizar's work because the musical style was similar. In 1999, Serafimovski and Tanevski reissued ''Mizar'' on CD under the title ''Svedožba'', with bonus demo and live tracks, including a never-before-heard darker version of the song "Svjat Dreams" recorded in 1989 with Tanevski on all instruments and two unreleased live tracks, "Čifte Čamče" and "Samo eden mig". Also included were a live version of the ''Svjat Dreams'' album track "Veligden" and three tracks from ''Svjat Dreams 1762-1991''. The live tracks were recorded at a concert at Kuršumli An in 1990. In 1999, Čapovski returned to Macedonia and contributed two tracks to a
tribute album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...
dedicated to Mizar, which was released in 2001. In 2002,
Kismet released an album called "Dreaming". The band broke up in that year.
The Third Revelation (Goran Trajkoski)
In 2001 a
tribute album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...
named ''Tribute to Mizar'' was released. It was a collection of Mizar cover versions by some of the most notable groups in Macedonia incl. Majakovski, the black death metal band Syniac and others. Two years later the first two albums of Mizar were re-released on
CD solely for the Macedonian market, but the record quickly spread across the countries of former Yugoslavia. Besides the albums, the CD also contained demos and live recordings.
Mizar was reunited in early 2003 with their former member
Goran Trajkoski as a vocalist, with whom, first they released the single '' mk, "Почесна Стрелба"'' (''Gun Salute''). That summer they played at the
Exit festival in
Novi Sad
Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...
and in the alternative club Močvara in
Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...
. The entrance tickets included give-away
records
A record, recording or records may refer to:
An item or collection of data Computing
* Record (computer science), a data structure
** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity
** Boot sector or boot record, r ...
featuring the new single. The following year a new album titled ''Terrible Beauty (is born)'' came out. During 2005 Mizar toured ex-Yugoslavia, August 2005 Mizar toured Croatia together with Croatian gothic band from Zagreb -
Phantasmagoria (Croatian band), with its leader
Tomi Edvard Sega. That was Jadran Tour -
Pula (
Viva La Pola! festival),
Zadar
Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ser ...
(Maya Pub),
Split
Split(s) or The Split may refer to:
Places
* Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia
* Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay
* Split Island, Falkland Islands
* Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua
Arts, entertai ...
(O'Hara Club),
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterran ...
(
Lazareti) and in the beginning of November they visited
Serbia and Montenegro playing in
Pančevo,
Belgrade and
Kragujevac.
After Trajkoski
During the summer of 2006 the former Mizar vocalist
Goran Tanevski replaced Goran Trajkoski. In the beginning of November that year Mizar played in Belgrade and announced their new album featuring Tanevski as a vocalist. The album ''Pogled na cvetnata gradina'' was completed and released in 2007.
The Fourth Revelation (Harmosini)
In 2010, Tanevski left Mizar again and was replaced by the Byzantine choir
Harmosini. The album ''Deteto i beloto more'' was released in 2010. The album contains a re-recording of "Hoden že" from Mizar's debut album.
In 2014, they were selected as the support band for
Simple Minds' concert at the Kale hall in Skopje. Their new album, at the time entitled ''Šarena Krava'' (Coloured Cow), was announced at that concert. ''Šarena Krava'' returns the band to its punk rock roots, removing all traditional Macedonian instruments and patriotic lyrical themes.
Harmosini has been replaced with
Jana Burčeska
Jana Burčeska ( mk, Јана Бурческа, ; born 6 July 1993) is a Macedonian singer. She represented Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Ukraine, with the song " Dance Alone". Burčeska first came to prominence in her native c ...
, the second female singer in the history of Mizar since
Nora Stojanovic's brief tenure with the band in 1991. One song intended for the album, "Nebo", was released on the ''Balkan Under the Radar vol. 2'' compilation in 2014.
The Fifth Revelation (Viktorija Ivanovska)
On 26 June 2015, the documentary ''Mizar: The Star of Hope'' was released, featuring interviews with members of early Mizar lineups and discussing a hitherto-unknown period in the life of the band: its beginnings in 1981 until 1986. Before the documentary, it was believed Mizar formed in 1983.
To this day, Čapovski has remained the only constant member of Mizar since its formation in 1981.
On 12 December 2022, Mizar's sixth album, by then retitled ''Večna praznina'' (Eternal Emptiness), was released.
Musical style
Mizar's musical style is
post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad music genre, genre of Punk Music, punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde s ...
,
darkwave and
gothic rock. Besides influences such as
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris.
Sumner and Hook formed the band after atte ...
for instance, Mizar also uses elements of
traditional Macedonian folklore and
Byzantine music. Another main part of their music is Tanevski and
Trajkoski's vocals, which are based on
Christian church chants.
Band members
Current band members (2014)
*
Gorazd Čapovski (guitar)
*
Zoran Origjanski (drums)
*
Pece Kitanovski (bass guitar)
*
Jana Burčeska
Jana Burčeska ( mk, Јана Бурческа, ; born 6 July 1993) is a Macedonian singer. She represented Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Ukraine, with the song " Dance Alone". Burčeska first came to prominence in her native c ...
(vocal)
*
Vlatko Georgiev (keyboards)
Former band members
*
Valentin Zabjakin (bass) 1981-1982
*
Ilija Stojanovski (bass) 1982–1987, 1989-1991
*Boris Georgiev (drums) 1988-1989
*
Žarko Serafimovski (drums) 1989-1991
*
Vladimir Kaevski (keyboards) 1987, 1989-1991
*
Slobodan Stojkov (keyboards) 1985-1987
*
Panta Džambazoski (drums) 1981-1986
*
Risto Vrtev (vocal) 1982-1985
*
Goran Trajkoski (bass) 1987 (vocal) 2003-2006
*
Vencislav Smakjoski (drums) 1986-1987
*
Sašo Krstevski (bass) 1988
*
Harmosini (male Byzantine choir) 2009-2013
*
Goran Tanevski (vocal) 1985–1991, 2006-2009
*
Katerina Veljanovska (keyboards) 1987-1989
*
Eleonora Stojanovic (vocal) 1991
Discography
Albums
*1988 -
''Mizar''
*1991 - ''
Svjat Dreams (Light Dreams)''
*2004 - ''
Kobna Ubavina Terrible Beauty (is born)''
*2007 - ''
Pogled Kon Cvetnata Gradina (A View to the Flower Garden)''
*2010 - ''
Deteto i Beloto More (The Child and the White Sea )''
*2022 - ''Večna Praznina (Eternal Emptiness)''
Singles
*2003 - "Juda"
*2014 - "Nebo"
*2015 - "Kajmos"
See also
*
Arhangel
Arhangel ( mk, Архангел , ''archangel'') is a Macedonian alternative rock band formed in 1989. The frontman is Risto Vrtev who has also been part of such rock bands as Mizar and Inola X. The original line-up is: Risto Vrtev, Dragan G ...
*
Anastasia
Anastasia (from el, Ἀναστασία, translit=Anastasía) is a feminine given name of Greek origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe, particularly in Russia, where it was the most ...
*
Padot na Vizantija
*
Goran Trajkoski
*
Music of North Macedonia
The Macedonian music refers to all forms of music associated with ethnic Macedonians. It share similarities with the music of neighbouring Balkan countries, yet it remains overall distinctive in its rhythm and sound.
Folk music
The ethnic Macedo ...
External links
Official site
{{Authority control
Macedonian gothic rock groups
Macedonian new wave musical groups
Macedonian dark wave musical groups
Macedonian post-punk music groups
Musical groups established in 1981
Musical groups disestablished in 1991
Musical groups reestablished in 2003