Ljiljana Buttler : Od Kako Sam Tudja Zena (5mins 30secs) Album: Ljiljana Buttler, The Mother of Gypsy Soul Snail Records/Connecting Cultures CC50010 Web Link 1: www.snailrecords.com Web Link 2: www.mostarsevdahreunion.com
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Amira & Mostar Sevdah Reunion: Kraj Potoka Bistre Vode (5mins 27secs) Album: Rosa Snail Records/Connecting Cultures CC50020 Web Link 1: www.snailrecords.com Web Link 2: www.choicemusic.nl
BACKGROUND
Bosnian music may be little known in the UK, but Mostar Sevdah Reunion have done much to rectify that. Their own recordings display their extraordinary musicianship, and their work with some of the great sevdah singers, old and new, have brought them to new audiences around the world. Sevdah itself is a melancholy, tragic, defiant music borne out of Bosnia's history and diverse cultural influences - it's been around for some 300 years - yet it's as universal in its appeal as folk, fado or the blues. 'Psenicica Sitno Sjeme' (Tiny Seed of Wheat) is a beautiful instrumental featuring the accordion virtuoso Mustafa Santic with backing vocals provided by the internationally acclaimed 'Queen of Romani music' from Macedonia, Esma Redzepova. 'Od Kako Sam Tudja Zena' written by Ljiljana Buttler is a beautiful song of yearning - 'Now that I'm another man's woman my heart can't stay still' performed by MSR and Ljiljana Buttler, the great legend of sevdah music in Bosnia and Herzegovina, sought out by MSR after the war to record some of the songs that had lived in memory since the 60s and 70s. 'Kraj Potoka Bistre Vode' is a traditional Bosnian song of lost love 'Come back to me, my brave young hero...let me die upon your breast', sung by young sevdalinka singer Amira, again featuring Mustafa Santic on accordion and Slobodan Stancic on slide guitar.