The Mitrovica Rock School, which the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Prishtina has supported for two years in a row, has been featured on January 25, 2012 in articles in the free Serbian national daily newspaper 24 Sata (English translation below) and the paid daily Blic (English translation below).
The Mitrovica Rock School is a project of Musicians Without Borders, in cooperation with Community Building Mitrovica. The project strives to restore rock music culture to the ethnically divided city of Mitrovica, Kosovo. The school has two branches, in the north and south of Mitrovica, where experienced local musicians train the region’s future rock stars. Every year, the two branches come together for the summer school in Skopje, Macedonia. There, the youngsters form interethnic bands and perform together at a big outdoor concert.
The articles in the two daily newspapers focused on the school’s permanent band, The Artchitects. The band was created in 2010, when five of the six members met at the Skopje Summer School. In 2011, they recorded their original songs, which the members had written through the internet. Since the members live on the two sides of the Ibar River, they do not meet regularly and are not able to have regular band practice. Instead, each member records their part and afterwards all the parts are mixed in the studio. The Artchitects are preparing for their tour in the Netherlands in May, and preparing to record their first album.
The project manager, Wendy Hassler-Forest, said that “the Rock School aims to rebuild ties between young people from north and south Mitrovica, but any fundamental change needs popular support. Positive press like this from Belgrade and Prishtina media make our work in Mitrovica much, much easier, and is crucial to our ability to have an impact on the situation in the city and the wider region.”
Article in 24 Sata (Translation by Embassy staff)
Serbian-Albanian rock bend breaks barriers in Kosovo
R.Bulatović, 25.01.2012, front page and p.5
In Kosovska Mitrovica, for four years now, a rock ‘n’ roll school for youth has been functioning successfully, but because of security – in two separate branches. As the Ibar divides the city into the north and south part, the students are separated in the same way. However, this did not prevent them from setting up a six-member multi-ethnic band “The Artchitects” which is made up by the top three Serbian and Albanian musicians.
BORDERS – Through the school that works successfully despite the political situation, so far more than 250 students have passed, aged 11 to 26 years old.
- The original idea of Musicians Without Borders from the Netherlands and CBM (Community Building Mitrovica) was to create a school that would be close to the bridge, but students did not want to cross the bridge to attend music classes. Since we work with minors, we are very mindful not to jeopardize them – said for “24 sata” Nikola Radičević, coordinator of the school in the northern part of Mitrovica.
Majority of the students are willing to work with colleagues on the other side of the river, which proved to be very much feasible. The result of that is the band “The Artchitects” (builders of art) which was formed in 2010 in Skopje, where each year, with the teachers, 24 students are gathered, 12 from the northern and 12 from the southern branch of the school.
- This band is made up by three best students from the northern and southern side. Five out of six members met during the summer school, and the bend was brought together by the trainer from the Fontis rock academy because they got along very well on the stage and off it. They stayed in touch through Facebook and Skype and in 2011 they decided to make their first original songs – said Nikola.
They are preparing for the May tour in the Netherlands, and an album, and what makes the band unique is the fact that the members in Kosovska Mitrovica do not meet and do not have rehearsals.
- Internet opens up various possibilities, and recording music is much cheaper and simpler than before. The bend records and exchanges ideas through the Internet, and they function in the way that they each record their part which is then mixed in the studio. They have a couple of recorded songs and many things are in preparation – said Nikola.
The students of this rock ‘n’ roll school have a chance to show that they learned every year at the Skopje Summer School, which is a “neutral” ground.
- In every society, musicians always break the borders, even national ones. Everything is in perfect order and it will remain that way as long as we keep politics outside of the school – said Nikola.
Article in Blic (Translation by Embassy staff)
Serbian-Albanian rock bend breaks barriers in Kosovo
R.Bulatović, 25.01.2012
In Kosovska Mitrovica, for four years now, a rock ‘n’ roll school for youth has been functioning successfully, but because of security – in two separate branches. As the Ibar divides the city into the north and south part, the students are separated in the same way. However, this did not prevent them from setting up a six-member multi-ethnic band “The Artchitects” which is made up by the top three Serbian and Albanian musicians.
Through the school that works successfully despite the political situation, so far more than 250 students have passed, aged 11 to 26 years old.
- The original idea of Musicians Without Borders from the Netherlands and CBM (Community Building Mitrovica) was to create a school that would be close to the bridge, but students did not want to cross the bridge to attend music classes. Since we work with minors, we are very mindful not to jeopardize them - said for “24 sata” Nikola Radičević, coordinator of the school in the northern part of Mitrovica.
Majority of the students are willing to work with colleagues on the other side of the river, which proved to be very much feasible. The result of that is the band “The Artchitects” (builders of art) which was formed in 2010 in Skopje, where each year, with the teachers, 24 students are gathered, 12 from the northern and 12 from the southern branch of the school.