Oda 3 Albania is a team of music researchers and specialist producers led by Albanian artist, music lover- promoter Edit Pula(j), UK-based professor, radio presenter and award-winning music producer Lucy Durán, and BBC sound recordist Martin Appleby who specialises in on-location live recordings. Since 2011, when they first got together in Albania for recording a series of acclaimed BBC Radio 3 “World Routes” programmes, featuring traditional acoustic music from around the country.

This remarkable experience drew their attention to the rich diversity of Albanian music, which is aptly described as one of “the Balkan’s best kept secrets”. Since then, they have been working intensively to promote Albanian music, creating all-star ensembles, and recording albums featuring different local traditions in Albania’s cities.

Their album Tirana 100 (2019), showcasing an orchestra they put together, Tirana-Tirona AllStars, was selected by UK’s top world music magazine Songlines as the one of the best ten albums of 2021 and the group won the Songlines Music Awards 2022 on the ‘Best group’ category.

Their latest project is the album ‘Like Nightingales in the Spring’ (2022) by Orkestra Shkodra – a collection of the best traditional music from the town of Shkodra in north Albania, with beautiful songs that reflect Shkodra’s heritage as an old city on the crossroads between pre-Ottoman period and European influence.

Peadar Connolly-Davey joined our team in 2021, he is a talented and versatile young Irish singer with experience of performing traditions from different parts of the world and a passion for Albanian music and culture.