Bosnian-Herzegovinian artist Amira Medunjanin released the album "Damar". She announced the project, which she has already managed to promote in Zagreb and Belgrade, with the track "Pjevat čcemo šta nam srce zna", the first composition in her career that is not a cover.
“The song has just been released and I don't have much feedback yet. I'm waiting for the first live performances where I can really feel how people react. But I would like people to hear the album as a whole. I think that only then will they have a clear picture of what this time is all about," Medunjanin told Vijesta.
Until now, she has exclusively sung covers of traditional and some popular hits whose authors are well-known, and the album "Damar" includes two songs specially made for her - "Pjevat čemo šta nam srce zna" and the title "Damar".
"I believe that maybe it's a little unusual for me, but the original songs fit into the concept of the album and I haven't escaped much from my musical expression. I produced the album for the first time with the help of Bojan Zulfikarpašić, so we are very interested in what people will say. And since I am here in the role of arranger and performer, I would like at least one to remain and survive", admits Medunjanin.
The first announced single "Pjevat čcemo šta nam srce zna" is the author's work of Damir Imamović, and the arrangement is signed by Medunjanin in cooperation with Anto Gela. The interviewee of Vijesti, as someone who participated in the creation process, admits how difficult it was to make a track that will resemble what was heard centuries ago.
"It's a very difficult process, you have a lot of options, and when you set things up rationally, you can go into some other story that doesn't match your expression. I'm lucky that I've been working with Gela for a long time and we have similar thoughts about music. I hope we are on the right track", she points out.
The title track "Damar" was composed by Boško Jović, while the lyrics were written by Marija Karaula Krznarić.
"The album is basically a story about love, about all the feelings it causes. And the song "Damar" so "quietly" sings about longing for those most beautiful feelings and it seems to me that it best describes the picture of the whole album. That's why it got its name from her," reveals Medunjanin.
And this time, her edition also includes covers of sevdalinka, traditional songs from Macedonia and Serbia.
"Two songs, which I have already performed in front of the Montenegrin audience, had to be on this album. There is one song that I would like to single out. Namely, it is a cover of the song "Vjetar ružu poljuljukuje" sung by Eda Ljubić", states Medunjanin.
During her successful career, the artist had the opportunity to collaborate with great musicians, so it was also on the album "Damar"
"And this time I collaborated with Zulfikarpašić, who recorded the piano and percussion. Jović and Gelo played the guitars, and Zvonimir Šestak the double bass. We made arrangements together on some songs and I hope that people will like our vision", she says.
Medunjanin is among the first performers who began to dress up traditional songs in a new way, with the aim of bringing them closer to the younger generations.
"It is important that young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina understand the value and need to preserve cultural heritage. I think that greater interest in Sevdalinka helps in the revitalization of Bosnian society as a whole. Each generation has its own view of sevdah and each performer incorporates a part of himself during the interpretation. I believe that sevdalinka regenerates in this way as well. And one should not shy away from experiments and improvisations with other musical genres. All that, of course, depends on how responsible and serious the contractor is. It is important not to disturb the inner being of a sevdalinka", claims Medunjanin.
Many performers in Bosnia and Herzegovina have followed in her footsteps, including Halka, Božo Vrećo, Divanhana, and when asked if she sees them as competition, she answers:
"Here there is no competition, no competition, no winners and no losers. We all cooperate and help each other. Sevdah is not mainstream and as such is freed from the pressures and rules imposed by publishing houses. Freedom is primary and nothing else is important", she is sure.
Due to the expansion of musicians who cover traditional and old compositions, there are fewer and fewer songs that have not been sung by someone. However, it is not difficult for her to find those to breathe new life into.
"A great treasure is kept on this meridian. Everywhere you go, you come across beautiful melodies and lyrics. It is an inexhaustible inspiration for all of us. And it is better to turn to tradition, than to blindly follow some nebulous world trends. We will be more relaxed and happier," concludes Medunjanin.
He does not dare to process Šobić
For every concert of Amira Medunjanin in Montenegro, more tickets are requested, and when asked how long the audience will have to wait to hear her again, the musician answered:
"I will definitely come next year. I would have come earlier, but I have a North American tour coming up that starts on October 28th in Boston and I will be gone for a month. I said at my last concert in Montenegro, last year in Herceg Novi, here I am back quickly, whether you call me or not".
At a concert in Pordorica two years ago, Medunjanin sang Miladin Šobić's hit "Instead of stupidity" and revealed that she adores the image and work of the Montenegrin artist.
About whether there is a possibility of singing one of the songs from his opus, she says:
"He was the poet of my generation. An ingenious opus that he bequeathed to all of us. And I'm not really sure about recording, I don't dare to tell you. After all, it is Šobić".
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