“Aggressive… a band rocking out with exotic sounds….gorgeous voices…The best moments happen when the [vocal] harmonies meet with the band’s rolling thunder.”
About Blato Zlato:
Hailed as a band with “galactic ambitions,” Blato Zlato is a powerhouse Balkan music collective that weaves the magic of traditional Eastern European folk music with contemporary textural majesty. The group captivates listeners with dark and haunting three-part vocal harmonies and thunderous odd-metered rhythms. As a part of the Balkan musical diaspora, Blato Zlato explores the immigrant experience and seeks to build meaningful cultural and musical bridges between continents, with particular focus on Bulgarian folk songs and Bulgarian language-based compositions.
Based in New Orleans, Blato Zlato has gained a loyal international following after touring in both the U.S. and Europe. The group has been featured several times on Bulgarian National Television and Radio and has appeared on Folk Radio UK, NYC Radio Live, and the Village Voice. In 2019, Blato Zlato released their anticipated sophomore album, In The Wake, which charted at #33 on the Transglobal World Music Chart’s 2019-2020 Top 100 Albums. Other highlights include an array of diverse musical collaborations with such artists as Nels Cline (Wilco), Binky Griptite (Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings), Leyla McCalla, Carl LeBlanc (Sun Ra Arkestra), Helen Gillet, and Wendell Brunious (Preservation Hall Jazz Band All Stars).
Members (L-R): Ian Cook, Ruby Corbyn-Ross, Annalisa Kelly, Lou Carrig, Boyanna Trayanova, Janie Cowan.
In The Wake (2019)
Blato Zlato released their anticipated sophomore album, In The Wake, in late 2019. The album pays homage to the band’s dual musical homes of New Orleans and Bulgaria, featuring modern interpretations of Balkan folk traditions as well as new, original compositions written in Bulgarian about the band’s lives in New Orleans: the omnipresence of water, the intense-yet-magical stormy periods of light and darkness, and about having one’s heart torn between two places.