Biography Koshanin - a pianist, composer and a veteran on the music scene whose career stretches well over 20 years, acquired his formal music education at the early age and had his first public performances with youth choirs at the age of 10. With the onset of the new wave of pop music in the '80s, he jumped into the Yugoslavian music scene to play and tour with several groups and finally, with all the turmoil unfolding in the Balkan region in the ‘90s, he moved to the USA to continue his musical journey. He has performed extensively on festivals and stages throughout the USA and Canada with various groups playing Pop, Rock, Blues, Funk, Reggae & Afrobeat. After focusing on more private studies Koshanin developed an interest in reed instruments and gradually shifted to new directions. He continued recording and performing with new groups playing Latin, Jazz, Afro-Cuban, Samba & Rumba Flamenca. New projects followed and by this time all the collaborations and side work amounted to over 30 albums. Meanwhile Koshanin found himself returning to his first love in music - piano, and this, coupled with a revived fascination with Balkan folk music from his childhood, laid the foundation for a new body of work. Koshanin’s new self-titled solo piano project blends musical traditions of his native Serbia and Mediterranean sensibility with contemporary western music styles. Material for this project consists of original compositions complemented with Koshanin’s unique piano adaptations of select traditional folk tunes. Instead of looking at piano exclusively as a classical instrument, Koshanin treats it predominantly as a modern-day folk instrument. This approach allowed music to flow freely, develop gradually and it yielded unrestrained, unconventional forms and song structures resembling old times' folk music. Characterized with abundance of odd time signatures, classical and jazz techniques, and a minimalist compositional approach, these delicate musical tales stand at the meeting point of the East and West, reflecting Koshanin’s own journey. Koshanin is currently based in Portland, Oregon.
