The recent years have seen a remarkable dynamism on the pop music scene. Some of the newcomers, desperate to grab the attention of audiences instantly, opt for behavior meant to disturb often coupled with obscene lyrics. Others stand away from all this: for them immediate success is not that important. One of them is Plamen Zafirov who has remained strongly attached to his favorite music style. He is more popular with his pseudonym Zafayah and has emerged as one of the pioneers of reggae music in Bulgaria. „I have a passion for experimenting with other styles like soul or hip-hop. In my new project I have put together world music with other styles”, Plamen explains.

At age 7 the future musician had a try composing music under influence from his father who used to play the guitar. He spent a few years in Sweden witnessing the heyday of the reggae culture there, and took part in the reggae festival in Uppsala. „For the first time I met musicians that I longed to watch live”, Zafayah recalls.

There are people who argue that reggae is not a mere style in music, but a culture and a philosophy. Does it have the potential to become part of the Bulgaria pop culture or is it likely to remain confined to a small but loyal audience?

„Originally reggae is the music of the crowds” Zafayah says. “The more people listen to this music, the happier I am. It comes across with a meaningful social message and I am glad that it has made a breakthrough in the media. Indeed, some of my favorite musicians are trying to change our world and this makes me happy.”

At the end of last year pop celebrity Maria Ilieva teamed up Zafayah for the song Condition No. 1 that soon topped local music charts. Zafayahsays more about this project:

„It turned out that both of us, Maria and I, had worked with the same producer, Nasko Yankulov. He was the one to come up with the idea for a joint project. Later, I found out that Maria liked my music and would readily join me. In fact, many people have discovered my music thanks to Condition No. 1. I don’t think I have strayed away from the course I keep. I am keen to see reggae music entering more homes, because this is precisely the idea behind this music."

On 20 June, the festival Wake Up begins not far from Plovdiv. It is unique in Bulgaria with its strong focus on reggae, Zafayah says. He will appear on its last day. Next, more from him about his plans:

„My new video features one of the leading reggae artistes today, Jahcoustix. He comes from Germany but is a citizen of the world. He has lived in Africa, South America and the United States. Thanks to our efforts and to Goethe Institute Bulgaria we have finished work on a project that will be launched in September. Its pilot jingle is titled The great forgettin. The video is very nice with plenty of animation. Besides I am currently working with the producers from the Platform Label on a project that is entirely new to me. It is focused on the dubstep style.”

In 2006 Zafayah met another ambassador of reggae in Bulgaria, Sen I,and joined his band Root Souljah. Together, they founded the label Roots Rocket and a band of the same name. Zafayahhas been working on the band’s album that is going to include guest-performers from Jamaica, USA and Bulgaria. „We are working on a track with Italy’s leading reggae band Mellow Mood. I hope we will shoot a video to it in September”, Zafayah concludes.

English Daniela Konstantinova

The audio to this story comprises the following soundtracks:

1/ Bun Vampayah,ZafayahandJahmmi Youth

2/ Condition No. 1, Zafayah

3/ Glorious children, ZafayahandSen I

4/ Jump up, Zafayah, Jahmmi Youth, Sen