Macedonian music is so deeply rooted in our genes, we can almost feel our ancestors' pain

Marija Janev is a musician from Melbourne, a grant winner from Multicultural Arts Victoria for her song Awakening, in which she intertwines the 7/8 Macedonian beat with drum and Latin sounds. She also created the project - Power of M - Music Mindfulness Movement, music workshops in a natural environment with which she wants to raise awareness of mind, soul and nature in children, young people and adults.

Marija Janev, a Macedonian musician from Melbourne Source: Wildhardt photography

Born in Skopje four decades ago, at the age of 13, Maria was among the first waves of Macedonian immigrants to New Zealand, where she moved with her parents. Due to not speaking the language and not having friends, her personal identity was temporarily lost, but music was what brought her back to herself when she joined a former Yugoslavian rock band of young musicians at the age of 16.

A decade later, she and her husband moved to Melbourne, where he formed a family, but left the music temporarily aside. In 2019 she received a grant from Multicultural Arts Victoria for the song Awakening, a theme based on the 7/8 Macedonian beat, and mixed with drum and Latin sounds.

In the honest interview with the SBS Macedonian, Marija confessed how she cries every time she hears the sound of gajda (bagpipes) and drums, how the Macedonian music is the basis of the music she creates and what she wants to achieve with the workshops on self-awareness aimed at children, young people and adults who want to make personal and social change.