Our newest volume in the "Tanz Muzik" series is a philosophical reimagining of the Odessa underworld classic “Liminchiki (“Lemons”), by German Popov, aka OMFO, Our Man From Odessa. In his version, Popov is treating its melody as a fragment of cultural memory and transforming it through the modal language of the Near East.

Rooted in Odessa’s Jewish and Black Sea folklore, “Liminchiki” became associated with the shpaner / ganif, the legendary thief hiding his stolen “lemons,” or millions. Popularized by Odessa-born Leonid Utyosov, it became a swinging cabaret anthem of the Soviet stage.

OMFO´s „Budjak Shpaner“ transforms this heritage through Maqam Niqriz, whose augmented fourth lends the melody a darker, more unstable character. The swaggering Odessa rogue gives way to the austere landscape of the Budjak steppe, creating a dialogue between Jewish folklore, urban mythology, and Levantine modal traditions.