Not long ago I wrote about Sevdah and Bosnian folk group that cherishes and continues to promote this ancient music tradition - the biggest names associated with Sevdah are mostly long gone singers who recorded during last 50 years but there is one fantastic singer who still sings this old music exactly the way it was supposed to be performed and her name is Amira Medunjanin. Her voice is so beautiful and soulful that she definitely belongs to a class with any of her predecessors. Pictured above is Medunjanin in conversation with Croatian rock goddess Josipa Lisac and it is a great picture because its like a clash of titans, two completely different music genres together. I love them both.
"Rosa" by Amira Medunjanin (2004)
This to my knowledge was the very first recording by young Bosnian singer and no wonder she eventually built a large cult following - not only that she cherishes and continues ancient tradition of music genre that is soaked in national history and culture, but she does it with such grace and style that results are quite irresistible. In a stark contrast with current singers who often over-sing and show off, Medunjanin singing style is very simple - she is gifted with naturally beautiful voice and uses it with great sincerity, making a point that this kind of music does not need histrionics but real emotions. The whole album is filled with famous folk songs from bygone era and is probably her most successful in a sense that is closest to its roots - later albums might have bigger production and better promotion, but with time her backing musicians would somehow insist to jazz up their playing which did not appeal to me anymore. Medunjanin will continue to sing like a dream (she reminds me of young Jadranka Stojaković very much) though the later music direction moved too far for me so I still stick with this, her very first album.
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