You know what kaynak means? In Turkish it means spring, source, where the water comes out. They say: “Go to kaynak to fetch water.” So it means source, and in the bagpipe tradition in the Rhodope Mountains they say: “This is his kaynak, this is his source.” And it describes the state of the musician when he plays his own things, and he plays really well, and you recognise him by hearing only this aspect - this is him. Often that they are really fast tunes, really from the soul and he is just a transmitter, and he receives it and it is transmitted through the fingers – the kaynak. This is a musician.
Sounds Come Before Light: A Conversation with Ivan Shopov
The most important part is the whole picture, the journey, the people, the stories you hear, the stories you tell them, they way the people approach you, the way people see the world through their eyes. I like to explore these little details because I come from a really small place, so for me the beauty is in the detail.”
