While Sasho Kompira sings in a restaurant, the mutes shoot a carriage near the stage

The “Voice of Bulgaria” participant regrets that there are no more valuable texts

He began singing at weddings only at the age of 8, and his name quickly became known not only in his native Samokov, but also outside of it. After a while there is no longer a popular club he is not invited to and his rates drastically exceed those of most of his colleagues. Recently, however, he appeared on the stage of “The voice of Bulgaria”. Only Galena turned and gasped in her surprise, because Alexander Marinov, whom people know as Sasho Kompira, stood in front of her. Not only have they known each other for a long time and are friends, but Galena often went to listen to him sing Serbian songs because he was second to none. “Actually, I play all kinds of styles. From pop music, I like Grafa and Georgi Stanchev the most and I really like performing their songs,” says Sasho Kompira. “And I appeared in” The Voice of Bulgaria “because, even though I’m a famous name, I want even more people to learn about me,” he adds. BTV viewers will also watch it in musical duels.

He inherited his singing talent from his mother Sonia, who passed away at the beginning of the year. At the time, however, women who wanted to be singers were frowned upon among the Roma and she never attempted a career. But every time she went somewhere at a wedding, everyone insisted that she sing something. In such celebrations

also began the first performances of Alexander Marinov, who was only 8 years old at the time

In the family, he was the youngest of a total of three brothers and a sister.

In addition to Sasho, his father Biser also had exceptional singing talent. “He was much better than me. Shaban Šaulić and Miroslav Ilić wanted to come and see him and listen to him live because he was famous. But they never succeeded,” says the musician sadly. While in the barracks, Biser often ran to sing at various events. After capturing him for the first time, they locked him up in the disciple for two weeks. “After the second escape, his commander made him get on a plank with nails. After the last one, when he went to sing in Sandanski, they immediately went to get him. But instead of taking him back to Sofia, they took him to the barracks. and his commander shot him. They said it happened during an escape attempt. In that case, he would be in the back and he would have a bullet in the leg just for example. What about him

they shot him in the heart, head and leg. “

says the singer. He will never forget the thousands of people from all over Bulgaria who gathered at his brother’s funeral.

It was Biser and occasionally a cousin who accompanied little Alexander when he was invited to sing somewhere. During the day he went to school, in the evening to a baptism, a wedding or some other celebration. For a stake, he earned as much as people’s salary at that time for a full month. Since he was a little boy and didn’t know what to do with so much money, he gave it to his mother and thus helped the family budget.

He managed to study up to the 7th grade, but then stopped because his performances were already all over Bulgaria and there was no way to combine lessons with singing. He was 11 years old when he was accepted into the Kyustendil “Rumen and Pautalia” orchestra, where he too sang his brother. They also released two albums with gypsy songs. 14 years old, already moved to Sofia, where his first performances were in a tavern. Very quickly around the capital they found out about him and started inviting him to all the clubs where there was live music, he sang in “Gypsy Camp” in Knyazhevo, in a popular pub in Bankya, in the “Havana” Bar. on “Vitosha” Blvd.etc. The shows were every night, without interruption.

In those troubled years there were extreme experiences. She was 16-17 years old, she sang in a pub where there was a carriage near the stage. “The bastards liked to shoot him because he was made of wood and there was no danger of bouncing. But when the shooting started, all the musicians ran away because they were right next to the carriage. Luckily there were no accidents,” recalls Sasho Kompira.

At that time, all well-known names such as Tony Storaro, Azis, Konstantin and others made their first appearances. With Sofi Marinova they sang together in “Super Express”. There was another artist with them: Dinko Mihailov. It is he who performs the hit “Old Wounds” with Sofi Marinova. Although most people think the voice is Sasho Kompira, the truth is that he

acting in the video without singing

The song had already been recorded and the video needed to be done quickly. However, Dinko returned to his native Kozloduy because he had an upcoming operation. The producer and Sophie Marinova insisted that Sasho Kompira take his place in front of the camera. “I didn’t want to because it’s not fair. I suggested that if I was to film, I should sing it, they refused. We negotiated for two hours because it wasn’t fair to Dinko, but the contract I had with the music company obliged me to do of the photos. I had no right to refuse, “says the singer. Later, however, he met Dinko, who showed sympathy and did not hold a grudge.

In those years there were both friendships and a lot of malice and envy among folk singers. Kompira tried to work with some of the music companies, but colleagues continued to water him down. They decided to sing for less money to make their own videos instead of her or to take her place in some performance. “Also, the various producers wanted to take between 50 and 70% of my royalties. I had a lot of appearances, people invited me personally to sing and the companies expected them to take my money. They did nothing for me. so I didn’t see the point of paying them “, explains the singer.

And now it continues to be an independent contractor. He often travels to sing in Spain and Germany. “Unfortunately, people now like simplicity. And vulgar lyrics are a mockery of music. I love serious lyrics that can touch the heart. I prefer ballads because they are the real singing. I hope that at least pop music is preserved, because the chalga went to hell “, adds the singer.