Amira Medunjanin (; born 23 April 1972) is a Bosnian singer and interpreter of

sevdalinka Sevdalinka (), also known as Sevdah music, is a traditional Musical genre, genre of folk music originating from Bosnia and Herzegovina. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sevdalinka is an integral part of the Bosniak culture, but is also spread across th ...

. She holds both citizenship of

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

and

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

Biography

Medunjanin was born in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

and her fascination with the

Music of Bosnia and Herzegovina Like the surrounding Balkan countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina has had a turbulent past marked by frequent foreign invasions and occupation. As a result, Bosnian music is now a mixture of Slavic, Turkish, Central European, Mediterranean, and ot ...

led her to devote herself to creating a unique voice within

. Singer, humanitarian, and global ambassador for both the culture and music of her native Bosnia and Herzegovina and the wider Balkan region, Medunjanin has been described as, ''one of the great voices of her generation'' (

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

) with a voluptuous sound that, ''hovers enticingly between East and West'' ( ''Uncut''). In 2003 Medunjanin recorded her first single "Mujo đogu po mejdanu voda" as a guest singer on

Mostar Sevdah Reunion Mostar Sevdah Reunion is a world-fusion musical ensemble from Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina playing almost exclusively sevdalinka fused with contemporary musical styles. The band is composed of experienced musicians and often collaborates with r ...

album. After guesting on Mostar Sevdah Reunion's album ''A Secret Gate'' in 2003, Medunjanin recorded her debut album ''Rosa'', on

Snail Records A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gastrop ...

in 2005. The album was excellently received in Great Britain and throughout Europe and was among the candidates for the album of the year. In April 2009 she released her ''Live'' album, a recording of a concert held at the Jazz Fest Sarajevo in 2008. In March 2010 the studio album ''Zumra'' was released, which fused contemporary accordion and arrangements to traditional melody, lyrics and vocal styling. The album ''Amulette'' was released by Harmonia Mundi / World Village on October 3, 2011. The next album ''Silk and Stone'' was released by Aquarius Records in May 2014. The album received some good reviews in British media;

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

awarded 4* to the album, noting Medunjanin's "intimate, pained and gently compelling voice" and Nigel Williamson has described the album as a "career-defining third album from Bosnia's finest export" in ''Uncut''''. On her next album ''Damar'' as in all her previous productions, Amira drew from Sevdah, the "beating heart" of Balkan music, reviving ancestral Balkan songs, whilst for the first time introducing new compositions and once again the Serbian pianist Bojan Z provides musical and production skills. The album was ranked among the 40 best in the world for 2017 by Transglobal World Music Chart. On her most recent album, ''Ascending'', Medunjanin is once again attracted to the source of traditional Sevdah with a new revival of the rebellious songs with

Trondheim Soloists Trondheim Soloists ( no, Trondheimsolistene) are a musical chamber ensemble of string players based in Trondheim, Norway. The ensemble was founded in 1988 and has been an arena for professional concert training for string-players at the Music Con ...

, and for the second time introduces a new composition into her visual repertoire.

Discography

* ''A Secret Gate'' (

, 2003) * ''Rosa'' (

, 2005) * ''Amira Live'' (2009), a recording of a concert held at the

Jazz Fest Sarajevo The Jazz Fest Sarajevo ( Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: ''Sarajevski džez festival'' / Сарајевски џез фестивал) is an international music festival held annually during the first week of November in Sarajevo and is the lar ...

in 2008 * ''Zumra'' (

Harmonia Mundi Harmonia Mundi is an independent record label which specializes in classical music, jazz, and world music (on the World Village label). It was founded in France in 1958 and is now a subsidiary of PIAS Entertainment Group. Its Latin name ''ha ...

/ World Village, 2010) * ''Amulette'' (

/ World Village, 2011) * ''Silk and Stone'' ( Aquarius Records, 2014) * ''Damar'' ( World Village, 2016) * ''Ascending'' Town Hill Colony],

Croatia Records Croatia Records is the largest major record label in Croatia, based in Zagreb ( Dubrava). Summary Croatia Records d.d. is a joint-stock company currently led by the chief executive officer Želimir Babogredac, a notable sound engineer. It releases ...

, 2018) *For Him and Her (

, 2020)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Medunjanin, Amira 1972 births Living people Musicians from Sarajevo 21st-century Bosnia and Herzegovina women singers Sevdalinka Naturalized citizens of Croatia Bosniaks of Croatia 20th-century Bosnia and Herzegovina women singers 21st-century Croatian women singers