Jova Radevska

We want to introduce you to Macedonian musician, Yova!

She grew up in Bogdanci, and her career as a singer started when she went to sing at the first year of the childrens festival “Kalinka” in Gevgelija where she performed the song “Da peeme za mir”.

At the age of 16 she took part in the “Tins Fest” in Prilep where she got the chance to meet and work with Macedonian hitmaker at that time, Tose Pop Simonov and she performed a song called “Ekskurzija”. She was also invited to take part at one of the band's “Zijan” concerts in Negorski Banji.

After finishing high school she went to the United Kingdom, where she got a diploma in popular music performance at the highly acclaimed “Vocaltech”. It was then when she started working on a project with two great songwriters and the album is now nearly finished.

One of her songs “Be happy” has been finding itself on the popular Billboard European quarterly compilation of 2004 and has been the “Record of the day” in March of 2004 on the record of the day website (a website that's launched some of the big names in the industry, such as Damien Rice, Keane & Nizlopi.

She even got a comment on her myspace from a member of the internationally known band “Dire Straits”. Mr. David Knopfler complimented her on her song “Here & gone” saying that it has the potential to become a movie soundtrack. She has had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Knopfler & finding out more about his latest solo releases..

Recently she has been working with top Los Angeles music producer, Ken Rose. And they have even spoken about a collaboration on a song to compete in next year's Macedonian eurovision songcontest! And Macedonia Daily has the privilege to bring out this news first!

Her album will be finished soon and now she is working on the artwork.


Hi Yova! Thank you for having this moment with MD.
We listened to some of your songs on your website and we must say they are really good. Most of the macedonian singers do R&B, HipHop and pop, so we were very delighted to see that there is a Macedonian who makes this style of quality music in english! Your album is coming up, what will it be like?
Thank you for your interest in my music.
I must say with living abroad it’s not always easy to stay in touch with what's going on back home, but I definitely didn't know that the style of music I do is not that present on the Macedonian music scene. Maybe.. we can change that in the future. The material on my album is pretty much acoustic, emotionally intense at times and I can even say it's looking to pull some heart strings.

Your song, "Here and gone" is beautifull and when listening to it we got some special feeling, maybe even emotional. Is that also what you wanted your listeners to feel?
I'm glad you like "Here & Gone", it has had a great response..As well as when performed live it's been greatly received on my "My Space" page too. (www.myspace.com/yovamusic). It is without a doubt a music piece that carries strong emotion and looks to connect with the listener. It has had quite a few comments saying that it would be perfect as a movie soundtrack. Maybe one day it will be :-)

Do you write the lyrics yourself? And are the songs about your personal life?
The material on this album has been co written with two other writers and some of the songs have definitely been influenced from my personal experience.

Which song are you most proud of?
I have to say that all of the songs are dear to me but.... "Growing Pains" seem to be the one I always go back to....Regardless I love them all.

You have been in the UK for a long time now, do you ever visit Macedonia? Just for vacation or do you also perform there?
I've been in the UK for about 8 years now and although I would love to visit Macedonia on regular basis it's not always possible. I try and see my family and friends at least once a year.......
As for performing, I haven't been on stage in Macedonia for a very long time, but I plan that to change in the near future.

Are you doing anything besides singing?
Although a lot of my time is taken by making music, I do Multimedia studies as well, that is Graphics & Animation. It is also a very creative. One can produce great results by combining the work from different programmes.

How does your typicall day looks like?
My days tend to be slightly different every day, but they mainly revolve round my Multimedia studies, making music of course, some part time work in a Music department of a Big Retail Company and going to the gym.

You want to compete in next year's Macedonia national eurovision contest, can you give us some info on what kind of song it will be? Are you also thinking to add folk elements as many previous Macedonian and foreign eurovision participators did?
The idea of entering the national Eurovision contest in Macedonia came about only recently. A friend of mine Ken Rose who is a very respected musician in the business recently suggested that we team up for such a project & it would also be a challenge for both sides. He would be working on something that will be interpreted in a completely different language, where on my part I would have to convey that message in the best way that I can by singing in my home language, and it's definitely been a while since I've had the chance to do that. Although it's still very early stages I will make sure I do my research & who knows maybe even add some folk elements. Whatever happens I'm sure it will be great.


Finally, what do you think of the Macedonia Daily website?
Brilliant idea! And great work on the website. Good design, easy to navigate and above all it does a great job to keep every Macedonian in touch with what is going on in Macedonia wherever they may be.


MD: Thank you Jova very much for this interview, we enjoyed it, and we want to wish you much luck and succes with your music career and of course with your proposal for the Eurovision next year! We hope you will create a great song, so Macedonia can have some real succes at the Eurovision sometime, we really need that!

Thank you very much!
It's been my pleasure! Hope I do everyone proud. :-)
- Macedonia Daily

The music of Jova Radevska from the Republic of Macedonia in the Balkins was featured here on the front page of MusicLoad before the blog was moved here. Totally fell in love with her sweet voice upon first listen of her track titled Se Raduvam i Taguvam, and had a phone conversation with her from London, where she presently resides. She was a delight to speak with. Wondered what language she was singing and eventually learned it was Macedonian, of course. Much of her music she is working on, however, is in English. She is a sweetheart. I love her spirit. - Peace Love Groove, GC - Music Load