Gjurmët

History

The band Gjurmët came together in 1980, founded by Migjen Kelmendi, who handled vocals and rhythm guitar. He was the son of writer and journalist Ramiz Kelmendi, and the group was inspired by the growing Yugoslav new wave movement. The first members were Armando Gjini on piano and synthesizer, Tomor Kurshumliu on vocals and bass guitar, Gazmend Hasbahta on lead guitar, Petrit Riza on drums, and Bekim Dyla on lead guitar. That same year, they cut their first track, which is recognized as the first new wave song ever recorded in SAP Kosovo.

In 1982, they recorded "Karrigat" ("Chair"), but Radio Television of Pristina refused to air it because of its politically charged lyrics. They followed up with "Mikrofoni" ("Microphones"), which also had political themes but was accepted by the station. Armando Gjini officially joined as the keyboardist in 1984. That year, the band laid down the tracks for their first album, but it wasn't released until 1985.

The delay came from a controversial cover design showing dancers performing the traditional Albanian "eagle dance," which formed the shape of a double-headed eagle. The album, simply titled Gjurmët, was eventually put out by Radio Television of Pristina on compact cassette only. The front cover featured a photo of the band, with Kelmendi looking at his wristwatch as a comment on the hold-up. The music blended new wave, post-punk, reggae rock, and folk.

Post-breakup

The band split up in 1986 after Kelmendi was called up for mandatory service in the Yugoslav army. They briefly reunited in 1988 to record just one more song, "Heroi i Qytetit Pa Lum" ("Hero of the City without a River"), as a tribute to their hometown. After music, Kelmendi moved into journalism. He was head of editing for the program Contacto on Radio Television of Pristina from 1988 to 1990, executive producer for Victoria Television of New York in 1996, and for Programme Albanian Satellite from 1997 to 1999, and director of television for Radio Television of Kosovo from 2000 to 2001.

He founded the weekly magazine Epoca in 1991 and the literary magazine MM in 1996. He is now the editor of the weekly newspaper Java, which he started in 2001. He has also written four books, including To Change The World: A Short History of The Traces, which covers his music career.