After the magical autumn performance by Damir Imamović, we’re happy to announce another jewel of Bosnian “neo sevdah”. Alongside Imamović, Amira Medunjanin and Božo Vrećo, the Divanhana group is one of the most important ambassadors of the contemporary fusion of Bosnian music tradition, jazz and pop. Returning to Kino Šiška, they will present their latest album Zukva.
Already with their debut Dert (2011), recorded with renowned world music producer Walter Quintus, Divanhana charmed audiences with its exploration of ethnic music. It wasn’t long before the fusion of traditional music, particularly the so-called sevdalinkas, with jazz, pop and 20th century classical music took Divanhana around Europe. Along the way, they wrote songs for their follow-up album Bilješke iz Šestice (2013), completely spontaneously and carefree. The record established Divanhana as a regular guest at various music festivals – among others, they played four times at Brussels’ Trafik Festival due to the audience’s exceptional interest.
Experimenting with its own expression, Divanhana invited a Slavonian tamburica orchestra, various musical virtuosos and the talented sevdah singer Naida Čatić, now a full-time member of the group, to collaborate on its new album. The group found inspiration for the album title, Zukva, in the orchards of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The sour zukva apple, as a symbol for splicing and crossbreeding, as well as always tasty fruits, is what the band members themselves feel in their music – the blend of traditional sevdalinka with strong musical influences from other genres, always to the listener’s delight.
Organisation: Kino Šiška.
