After seven albums and many concerts (and an increasing number of fans) not only in Bulgaria, but all around Europe, to put it mildly the band can be defined as "successful". They have also participated in musical projects with big names such as producer and composer Goran Bregovich and jazz musician and pianist Milcho Leviev.

I caught Angel Ticheliev in his hometown Sliven (a town in southeast Bulgaria) just before the departure of the orchestra for their one-month tour in Austria, Germany, Hungary and Belgium. As always, they are ready to surprise the audience by doing something new and interesting - like a live performance on a 100-year old tram in the streets of Sofia. This was the opening of the second edition of the festival Jazz+. But no matter how busy the schedule is, Ticheliev is pleased to talk about music as a lifestyle.

How was Karandila established?
Until 1994 I worked as a musician in the army. During all these years it was my dream to create a brass orchestra where I could play my own music. So, when I retired from the army I decided to found a new, younger generation of brass orchestras in the family. Before that my father had one of the biggest and the best brass bands in my hometown Sliven. It all started as a joke after two days of rehearsals. At that time my father was still alive so there were two orchestras in the family - the old one run by my father and the new one, Karandila, led by me.

How did you choose the name Karandila?
I named the orchestra Karandila in memory of my father. He died in a car accident while I was on stage, playing with my orchestra. But I remember his words - he used to say that if the new orchestra was successful I should name it Karandila. So I did after his death. Moreover Karandila is a very beautiful mountain park in Stara Planina (mountain range), near Sliven.

You have received many awards for your music. Which one is the most valuable for you?
I appreciate all of our awards. For example, I remember the first prize we won. It was just two weeks after the band was formed when we participated in a national festival in Stara Zagora. It was our first competition as an orchestra and we got the third prize which is an accomplishment for every newly born orchestra.

But to me, as a conductor and founder of the orchestra, the greatest award is the fact that after twelve years my band is still alive and it's playing. The reason for that is we didn't stand still, we have developed during all these years. We're using traditional the motifs of gipsy music but we're also trying to modernise the sound, to add new elements like jazz, classical, etc. In this way I want to make Karandila different from the other orchestras, with its own style and handwriting.

What is the recipe for becoming a good musician?
My experience shows that first of all you have to have the talent. If you're not gifted, if God hasn't give you the talent, no musical education and musical academies will do. But if you have, let's call it the musical plate, inside, you have to use every way to develop it.

How do the audiences in Europe like Roma music?
People from Western Europe like gipsy music because it's different and interesting for them. I remember one of our performances in Stockholm. We were playing in a club where the public is very conservative and usually just sit at the table listening to the music. About twenty minutes after the beginning of our concert most of the people who were there were dancing and having fun. This was a surprise even for the manager of the club. We performed five encores there. It's a unique experience I wish every musician to have.

Where has the audience welcomed you the most?
As I already said, I can't forget some of our concerts in Stockholm. If we talk about the audience in Bulgaria people from Sofia neighbourhoods like Faculteta, Filipovtsti and Hristo Botev just love us. We are always greeted there as kings. These people show deep respect for our music and it's a pleasure to entertain them.

Some people say that the music runs in the Roma blood. Do you think that's true?
My son is so anti-music orientated that he proves not every gipsy is meant to be a musician. There's no chance he'll continue the family musical tradition. But maybe people like him are the exceptions which prove the rule. I know some gipsies who have the music inside them but haven't chosen music as a profession and they burn outside when they can't release the musical pressure.

How do you like Bulgarian folk music?
I cannot live without Bulgarian folk music. I'm Angel Ticheliev, I'm a gipsy, I play gipsy music, but I love Bulgarian folk music. To be honest, when I hear just a chord of Bulgarian folk song it makes me all goose-flesh.

Is there such a thing as racism in the field of art?
No, definitely not.