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By:
Sinan Berisha
- June 17, 2025 21:52
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The first night of the “FemArt” festival has started with lively energy and an electrifying atmosphere from “Electronic Shkodra”, which has brought not only a concert, but an event that transcends the boundaries of music. “Free your mind” is the motto of this year’s edition of the festival, and what the duo that represented Albania in “Eurovision” with “Zjerm” has unveiled has been a fiery spectacle as a fusion of the old and the new, songs of Albanian tradition dressed in modern electronic rhythms.
At a time when voices often remain imprisoned in old mindsets, the feminist festival “FemArt” has come as an invitation to break the silence and free the mind. With the motto “Free the Mind”, the international feminist festival in its 13th edition brings through art – in all its forms – a call for freedom, equality and boundless imagination. In this space where the stage becomes a place for resistance, reflection and collective growth, artists and activists from different countries have joined forces to reshape the way we think, feel and act.
The first night of the “FemArt” festival kicked off with vibrant energy and an electrifying atmosphere at the “AMC Hall” in Obiliq, where the audience gathered to experience not just a concert, but an event that transcends the boundaries of music. The performance of “Electronic Shkodra” brought a juxtaposition of the old and the new, songs of Albanian tradition dressed in modern electronic rhythms, transforming the stage into a poetic journey through sound, memory and revolt. The audience reacted with enthusiasm, giving the festival a powerful start worthy of the mission it conveys.
"Freedom is not just an ideal – it is a painful, but beautiful process. It is confronting oneself. It is returning to who we are before we were told how we should be. It is the act of creating amidst the ruins, of speaking when everyone is silent," said founder and executive director Zana Hoxha, in her opening remarks at the 13th edition of the international feminist festival "FemArt".
And as a way to give a strong voice to this initiative, in cooperation with the Municipality of Pristina, to mark the Liberation Day of the capital, a concert was held on Monday evening by this year's representatives of Albania in "Eurovision", "Shkodra Elektronike".
The opening of the first night has been transformed into a spectacle of burning emotions, where the archaic voice of Albanian polyphony has merged with the contemporary rhythms of electronic music, creating a unique experience for the audience. The festival has started with the Albanian Isopolyphonic Choir, to be followed by a "theatrical" introduction by Beatrice Gjergji, a member of the duo, who with a black veil and a strong poetic voice has opened the concert with the verses "Po ti, po ti skhelqen si gjak i zi".
The evening continued as a musical journey between new songs and elaborate traditional motifs, where the sounds of songs like "Turtulleshë", "Po t'jemi skështë ne të dy", "Pasha atëtë e ballit, m'u dogj zemra për djalin", "Vaj si kenka ba dynjaja", "Taksirat qe m'ka xanë mu" and up to the rhythmic anthem "Jam malësor elektronik", have brought a new spirit to Shkodra and its musical heritage. In a careful combination of women's voices, the sound of stone, the storm of emotions and modern technology, "Shkodra elektronik" has aroused not only enthusiasm, but a deep awareness of the power of heritage when it is liberated from new forms.
In addition to the elaborate Shkodra songs, the duo also performed the Eurovision representative song "Zjerm", as well as songs from the new album, some of them unreleased and sung for the first time for the public in Kosovo. Among them are songs like "Askund", "Stuhi", "Ipkida" "Deri n'fund" and "E lirë", and at the very end, by the loud request of the audience, they performed the song "Zjerm" once again.
After the electrifying performance of “Electronic Shkodra”, emotions were also shared verbally by organizers, guests and the artists themselves. Zana Hoxha, executive director of “FemArt”, described the opening night as a breaking of the prejudices that often surround feminist festivals, calling the concert a powerful example of collaboration and diversity.
"A spectacular opening, that is, unimaginable, because feminist festivals have their own prejudice and we broke it tonight, of course with a band that shares very similar messages to us. I am extremely happy that we had the privilege of having 'Electronic Shkodra', but also to mark this day of the liberation of Pristina together with the Municipality of Pristina and 'FemArt'", said director Hoxha after the concert. For her, it is very important to cooperate instead of divide, so she showed that she is very grateful to the audience that chose to spend Monday evening with the sounds of "Electronic Shkodra".
"I am a believer and a great supporter of partnerships. I do not believe in division, I believe in unity and unity and diversity are the values of 'FemArt', so tonight this night was truly the best example of diversity and cooperation and 'Electronic Shkodra' honored us, but the audience honored us immensely, it was an audience that chose to spend Monday here, so it is not an audience that comes for fun, as happens at the opening of festivals," she added.
He indicated that this edition will feature more concerts than previous ones. Among the series of concerts was the one by the Liburn Jupolli Ensemble, which was held on Tuesday at the National Theater of Kosovo, which came as a European premiere, after the one in South Korea.
"A show called 'Tales of Scapes' is coming here, then we have conferences, discussions, we have a concert at the end of 'FemArt' at 'Hani i 2 Robertëve', a punk-rock concert with two super-talented French artists," said Zana Hoxha.
Meanwhile, the members of "Electronic Shkodra" themselves have expressed their longing for the hospitality and reaction of the Kosovar public, who, according to them, understand and sing every word with love, making the night an unforgettable gift.
"The Kosovar public has always surprised us for the better, it has always been better than we imagined before, a love and a gift that we will not forget," the members of the musical duo, Beatriçe Gjergji and Kolë Laca, told KOHËN. For them, the synchronization of the public with the songs is "very fantastic." "Electronic Shkodra" was in Pristina in December 2022 and in the summer of 2023 also at the "Autostrada Biennale" in Prizren.
"Yes, some songs are not yet on the list, we will publish them towards the end of the year, a couple of them, and tonight we have performed songs from Shkodra plus new songs. A fantastic thing that happened tonight is that the boys and girls who were there with us did not only sing 'Zjerm', but they also sang songs that came out a few weeks ago and this was fantastic", they added. For them, the performance in Pristina is different from the performances they had during the "Eurovision" period, because the audience here is Albanian.
"It's normal that in Pristina it has a completely different value, because the people we have in front of us understand it word for word and sing the words with great love," said Beatriçe Gjergji.
From the public, Vatra Abrashi, co-founder of "Autostrada Biennale", who introduced the Kosovo public to "Electronic Shkodra", recalled her previous collaboration with the duo and praised the duo's stability and originality, especially after participating in "Eurovision".
"We were lucky enough to get to know 'Electronic Shkodra' much earlier and see how conceptual they are, how extraordinary they are. We had them at the opening of the fourth edition of the 'Autostrada Biennale'. Seeing them again in such a format with new songs and after participating in 'Eurovision' is also very unique, they remain the same, always very unique, extraordinary with their voice and music, so it was a great pleasure and I enjoyed it a lot, I danced a lot, I had a lot of fun and I wish the organizers of 'FemArt' for a successful festival, as well as 'Electronic Shkodra' a lot of success", Vatra Abrashi told KOHĖN.
The "FemArt" festival will continue until June 21 and will bring concerts, premieres, workshops and discussions on the concept that a free mind is people's strongest weapon.
