Amira Medunjanin | Bosnia-Herzegovina
“ It is not easy to find a single word in English that can encompass the Bosnian concept of sevdah, although longing may come closest. Like the Spanish duende, it encompasses multiple meanings – love, hopeless love, endless love, a longing that both chills and gives the lover a fever like malaria, and like malaria you can never shake it off. When it comes down to it, sevdah is a way of life – a story that asks history for itself. ”
The great sevdah voice from Bosnia
Amira Medunjanin grew up in Sarajevo at a time when traditional music in the former Yugoslavia was in full bloom, and sevdah held a big place in her heart from an early age. During the Bosnian War, her fascination with sevdah deepened, after she experienced the siege of Sarajevo, sought refuge in a coal cellar, and lost family members. Experiences that deeply shaped the themes of her music - love, loss, and resilience. The oral tradition of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Balkans gripped her so strongly that she has spent her entire career developing her own voice precisely to be able to convey all the feelings and expressions that lie within sevdah .
Amira Medunjanin is the finest exponent of sevdah, the melancholic and emotional folk music from Bosnia. She is distinguished not only by her clear and expressive voice, but also by the way she balances respect for the past with experimentation. Music journalist and author Garth Cartwright nicknamed her “Bosnia’s Billie Holiday.” He saw the similarity in the way Amira turns sevdah inside out and puts a centuries-old tradition into a new context.
The first thing Amira Medunjanin did on record was as a guest artist on A Secret Gate (2003) with Mostar Sevdah Reunion ( Førdefestivalen 2006). Then came her own debut album, Rosa , which made her known throughout Europe. In the years that followed there have been many more albums, all with sevdah as a cornerstone. In 2018 she marked 15 years as an artist by releasing the album Ascending , recorded with the Trondheim Soloists.
Amira Medunjanin - vocals
Leopold Stašić - fiddle
Antonio Vrbički - accordion
NN - bass