Anthems of Yearning: Five Centuries of Bosnian Tradition Coalesce into Elegant Songs on Amira Medunjanin s new album. Singer, humanitarian, and global ambassador for the culture and music of her native Bosnia & Herzegovina and the wider Balkan region, Amira Medunjanin has been described as '...one of the great voices of her generation, and almost certainly the finest from eastern Europe' (Observer); an artist with a 'voluptuous voice (which) hovers enticingly between East and West' (Uncut). With her latest recording Damar, Amira again draws deep from the wellspring of Sevdah the beating heart of Bosnian music with revivifying new arrangements of ancestral songs, whilst for the first time introducing new compositions to her artistic palette. A particular emphasis on acoustic guitar brings a subtle Iberian piquancy to Damar and once again the great Serbian pianist Bojan Z bestows his musical and production skills upon the endeavour.
Review

5 STARS 'Damar is a truly great, indelible work. Like the finest of musics, its revelations are slow-drip, conceivably until the listener cannot believe that this music wasn t always in their life. It is that inspirational big word and impressive.' --fRoots, Ken Hunt, Dec 2016

'…powerful and passionate traditional material, including an exquisite old song from Sarajevo and jaunty Serbian folk tunes…she takes on a new musical personality, now singing in a deep, breathy style against edgy and jazzy piano chords.' --The Guardian

'... her most satisfying yet a set of songs from the Balkans with an ear that listens more widely... Medunjanin s voice is controlled and expressive throughout, and the thrill when she drops into a lower register on the title track is palpable.' --The Financial Times

Anthems of Yearning: Five Centuries of Bosnian Tradition Coalesce into Elegant Songs on Amira Medunjanin s new album. Singer, humanitarian, and global ambassador for the culture and music of her native Bosnia & Herzegovina and the wider Balkan region, Amira Medunjanin has been described as '...one of the great voices of her generation, and almost certainly the finest from eastern Europe' (Observer); an artist with a 'voluptuous voice (which) hovers enticingly between East and West' (Uncut). With her latest recording Damar, Amira again draws deep from the wellspring of Sevdah the beating heart of Bosnian music with revivifying new arrangements of ancestral songs, whilst for the first time introducing new compositions to her artistic palette. A particular emphasis on acoustic guitar brings a subtle Iberian piquancy to Damar and once again the great Serbian pianist Bojan Z bestows his musical and production skills upon the endeavour.
Review

5 STARS 'Damar is a truly great, indelible work. Like the finest of musics, its revelations are slow-drip, conceivably until the listener cannot believe that this music wasn t always in their life. It is that inspirational big word and impressive.' --fRoots, Ken Hunt, Dec 2016

'…powerful and passionate traditional material, including an exquisite old song from Sarajevo and jaunty Serbian folk tunes…she takes on a new musical personality, now singing in a deep, breathy style against edgy and jazzy piano chords.' --The Guardian

'... her most satisfying yet a set of songs from the Balkans with an ear that listens more widely... Medunjanin s voice is controlled and expressive throughout, and the thrill when she drops into a lower register on the title track is palpable.' --The Financial Times