Neço Muko

Neço Muko (October 21, 1899 – 1934), also known as Neço Muko Himarjoti, was an Albanian singer and composer. His musical style created a new genre of Albanian iso-polyphony music called avaz himariot, or avaz himariotçe, that became identified with the music of his home region Himarë.

Life and work

Muko was born on October 21, 1899, in Himarë, southern Albania (then Ottoman Empire). After attending primary school, he travelled to the Kingdom of Greece to study in a technical institute. He returned to Albania in 1916, during World War I. Muko learned by himself to play the violin and the mandolin and, in 1923, he started composing vaudevilles.

In 1932 Muko was diagnosed with tuberculosis of which he died, two years later, on 12 December 1934.