" Youth composer ", Agim Krajka, who passed away yesterday, left behind a precious musical legacy, which may never have existed due to the circumstances of the time.

Although raised among his father's musical instruments, Agim Krajka could never have gotten into music if Skënder Gina, the then Head of Culture on the Executive Committee, had not insisted. In the 1960s, the artist simply wanted to provide some money for the family.

"The 1960s were the years when light music took off. Tirana was also influenced by Russian music. At that time I was playing the accordion in a garden in Tirana. We are talking about the time, or rather 1961, when a certain liberalism had entered Albania [...] At that time I had other worries and I could never think of school. It was the time when I had 6 sisters at home and I was thinking about how to take some money home and help the family. I wanted to help my sisters. I did not pay much attention to him, but he insisted several times emphasizing that I was a talented boy and should be educated. Inspired I made a vain request without thinking what would come out. I just wanted to continue working and bring some money home. And one evening, as I was playing the accordion again in the bar, a friend comes to me and tells me that my name was on the list to compete [...] To my surprise I won to compete in the Conservatory, that was the name, and do you know how old I was? "I was 22 years old when I entered the school," he said in one2020 interview for BotaSot.

The way he played the accordion was very much liked by Vaçe Zela, who asked him to compose a song for her. And so the famous "Lemza" was created.

"My first debut at the festival was with the great singer Vaçe Zela. She heard me play the accordion and pushed me to compose a song for her. Thus began my journey. So, my first festival and my first composition was the song "Lemza" and it was sung by the great Vaçe Zela. Do you understand what it means to have the song Vaçe Zela in your first appearance as a composer ?! ”

The youth liked the song very much, but the state authorities banned it for several months, but the slogans on the walls, where it was written "Lemza", made it be broadcast again.

“Rinia e pëlqeu shumë atë këngë dhe pse menduan se e kisha kopjuar nga këngët e huaja. Të kapte tmerri kur ndalonin një këngë. Të bënin të mendoje thellë. E ndaluan tre muaj dhe njerëzit nisën të shkruanin parulla nëpër mure me emrin “Lemza”. Ka qenë një protestë rinore shumë e këndshme. Më pas e lejuan të transmetohej dhe ishte një kënaqësi e madhe për mua. Kjo këngë më hapi shumë dritare. Filluan kërkesat, një shikim më ndryshe nga instancat e larta. Fillova të kompozoj sërish.”

Ishte pikërisht “Lemza” ajo që frymëzoi edhe një sërë kompozimesh të tjera.

“Nuk doja të rrija me aq. “Lemza” më dha shumë energji. Kështu lindi apo kompozova si këngë të dytë këngën e “Gjyshes”. Edhe kjo këngë u pëlqye, ndoshta jo sa e para, por pati jehonë. Tashmë kisha fituar një siguri në vetvete. Kompozimi i tretë ka qenë “Djaloshi dhe shiu” dhe me radhë në çdo vit.”

Festivali i 11-të i Këngës duket se u përpoq të thyente disa korniza të kohës dhe është një nga festivalet më të diskutuar. Në atë periudhë, Krajka kompozoi “Kafe Flora burra plot”, një këngë që e vendosi jo pak në rrezik.

“Mund të them se ky Festival ishte më i vështiri në jetën time si kompozitor, pasi krijuesi në atë kohë ishte gjithmonë në luftë me atë që do dhe me atë që mund të bëjë. Ishte një kënaqësi kur merrje çmim të parë, por do të prisje se çfarë do të thoshte një tjetër se e kishte të drejtën mbas një jave të qortonte, se mos të bëhej ndonjë plenum etj. Shumë shokë të mi ikën, u syrgjynosën nëpër burgje, u larguan nga muzika, i çuan në fshat me punë në bujqësi, disa i internuan. Rrëmujë. Fshesë. Ankth! Ç’po ndodh? Kush e kishte radhën?!”

In the interview for BotaSot, the Grand Master said that representatives of the Interior had considered his song immoral, but fortunately, no action was taken against him.

"I said I would not eat any internment. So, in a word, this has been the pleasure of Albanian composers. So at first you felt the pleasure of the name, the new song, the praise of the people, but you always had the bitterness behind you. Nothing was certain. Everything had to be within the party axis, otherwise… ”

His countless compositions have not been faded by time, nor the feeds of the new generations, nor by contemporary music trends. A list of the most famous songs of the Grand Master can be found here .