Amira Medunjanin was born on April 23, 1972 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the time, traditional music in the former Yugoslavia was popular, and sevdah fascinated her. Amira’s attraction towards the oral tradition of Bosnia and Herzegovina and wider Balkan region led her to dedicate herself to creating a special voice within sevdah to explore its meaningful capacity to the full. She had spent years searching in vain for to find people who shared her ideas about sevdah, and for the best way to present it.
After guesting on Mostar Sevdah Reunion’s album A Secret Gate in 2003, Amira recorded her debut album, Rosa, (Snail Records, 2005), which received rave reviews in the UK and across Europe.
In April 2009, Amira released the Live album, a recording of a concert held at the Jazz Fest Sarajevo in 2008. At the same time, in April 2009, Amira released the studio album titled Zumra. The album represents the groundbreaking approach to the musical tradition of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Macedonia by mixing contemporary accordion and arrangements to the traditional melody, lyrics and vocal styling.
The album Amulette came out in 2011. Pianist and arranger Bojan Z reinterpreted traditional in new ways.
Silk and Stone was released by Aquarius Records and World Village in May 2014.
The well-received album Damar was released by Aquarius Records and World Village in November 2016.
In 2018, Amira released Ascending. It is an anthology featuring new versions of previously recorded songs plus new and old songs recorded for the first time. Ascending is a collaboration with Norway’s famed chamber orchestra TrondheimSolistene.
Discography:
A Secret Gate, with Mostar Sevdah Reunion (Snail Records, 2003)
Rosa (Snail Records, 2005)
Amira Live (2009)
Zumra (World Village, 2010)
Amulette (World Village, 2011)
Silk and Stone (Aquarius Records/World Village, 2014)
Damar (Aquarius Records/World Village, 2016)
Ascending (Town Hill Colony, 2018)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.