Vlatko Stefanovski

Vlatko Stefanovski is a Macedonian guitarist and composer, born Vladimir Stefanovski on 24 January 1957 in Prilep. A founder of Leb i sol, he is credited with helping to invent Yugoslav ethno-rock, and his own music mixes instrumental rock, jazz fusion and blues with Macedonian folk tunes. He grew up in a theatre family: his parents travelled for their work, and he soon moved to the Taftalidže neighbourhood of Skopje. His older brother was the dramatist Goran Stefanovski. He got his first acoustic guitar in 1965.

With Bodan Arsovski he played in Skopje bands such as Jegulje, Iris and Breg, and at the start of 1976 the two formed Leb i sol together with Kokan Dimuševski and others. He was the band's guitarist, singer, composer and lyricist. Their first single came out in 1977, when he was 19, their first big concert was as the opening act for Bijelo Dugme, and between 1978 and 1991 they made 13 albums, with songs such as "Nisam tvoj", "Talasna dužina", "Kumova slama" and "Čekam kišu". He also played the guitar solo on "Za milion godina", YU Rock Misija's contribution to Band Aid.

In 1990 he and Arsovski released the music for the rock ballet Zodiac, described as the first Macedonian compact disc. His first solo album, Cowboys & Indians (1994), had Goran Bregović among its guests and videos for "Kiselo-veselo", "Kandilce" and "Open Road". Sarajevo (1996) grew out of music for his brother's play in Antwerp, and the score for Stole Popov's film Gipsy Magic (1997) gave him "Gipsy Song", a hit across the Balkans that later appeared on Putumayo's Gypsy Caravan compilation.

In 1997 he recorded Krushevo with the guitarist Miroslav Tadić, traditional Macedonian songs in acoustic arrangements, and the two later released Live in Belgrade (2000) and Treta majka (2004) with Theodosii Spasov. The Vlatko Stefanovski Trio made its first album in 1998. He has written music for films such as Journey to the Sun, Sky Hook and Serafim, the Lighthouse Keeper's Son, recorded Thunder from the Blue Sky (2008) with Jan Akkerman, and in 2012 formed Kings of Strings with Tommy Emmanuel and Stochelo Rosenberg. He has guested with Film, Željko Bebek, Vlado Janevski and Gibonni, and worked with Oliver Dragojević and Arsen Dedić.

On 4 April 2014 Vlatko Stefanovski presented the album Seir at the Universal Hall in Skopje with guests including Bajaga, Gibonni and Karolina Gočeva. Majčin jazik followed in 2017 and Taftalidze Shuffle on Croatia Records in 2020. In 2026 he received the Porin for Special Contribution to Croatian Music, and Croatia Records presented two new albums: Guitar Sings, ten compositions by Đorđe Novković recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios, and the studio album Muscle Memory.