The imagination is a powerful instrument.  Oppressed and disparate cultures have long used it to rise above social conditions; thoughts of utopoian wishes, for many, save grace.  The challenge is to allow imagination and reality to coincide: be uplifted by a change in scenario but not become so attached as to overlook the everyday.  Indescribable beauty has arisen of such hopes, while failed expectations have killed many a dream.

Jony Lliev's music is rather dreamlike.  Dubbed a purveyor of "Roma Sound," this Kjustendil (a gypsy town 150 Kilometers removed from Bulgaria's capital Sofia) native exudes troubadour native on his debut Ma Maren Ma (Asphalt Tango/Piranha).  From the moment the CD opens- with the clarinet-strewn "Arizona"-Lliev's gruff voice captivates, similar to the airy homeland he loves deeply.

"Godzilla" is a monster of a different sort- moving past the opening  calm, the band chimes into the Roma-Sound with a track perfect for the tanchaz (dance house).  The album then maneuvers through a breadth of danceable tunes against acoustic soundscapes.  Tracks like the instrumental "17:50" allow the band to flex, while the title track is suityed best for late-night dinners that full-out floor-stopping.  An instrumental reprise closes of that song closes out the album, as vaporous as the intro.

Listening to Lliev's sonic spectacle, you'd be suprised it's his first record.  Solid musicianship encompasses Romani vocals, a penetrating force itself.  Drawing intelligent snippets of Eastern European classical sound (accordian, double bass, clairnet) into a folk/jazz pallette, Lliev's lyrical voyage through gypsy life createds a sonorous meditation.  Residing in an area where more than 20,000 gypsies, ofeten douwncast forom society "proper" reside, Lliev transforms this cultural ail into rolling reflective rhythms.  With an imaginative application of artistry and poetry , he has created an album of hope on many levels.

Receiving positive accolades from press and equal affirmation from fans, Lliev walks that fine line of imagination and reality masterfully.  He has taken the exotic nod of gypsy culture and grounded it, all the while keeping the mystique of his culture alive.  A male export from the land of female voices (Galina Durmushliyska, Bulgarian Women's Choir), Lliev finds himself in great company.  in a dream at age ten he became a grand Pjevatsh (famous singer); Ma Maren Ma puts him one step closer to realization
-Derek Beres