Odjila (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet (, ), also known as the Serbian script, (, ), is a standardized variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language. It originated in medieval Serbia and was significantly reformed in the 19th cen ...

: Ођила, Serbian Latin: Ođila) is a

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

n and former Yugoslav music band. It was founded in 1983. What they play is generally referred to as Gypsy music, which is the traditional music of the

Romani people {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , po ...

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

. The word Odjila is a compound of two words in the

Romani language Romani ( ; also Romanes , Romany, Roma; ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani people. The largest of these are Vlax Romani language, Vlax Romani (about 500,000 speakers), Balkan Romani (600,000), and Sinte Roma ...

: Odji (oђи) meaning "soul" and djila (ђила) meaning "song"

' Romani Project at Manchester University The band performs in the

. https://www.discogs.com/release/2111678-Odjila-O%C4%91ila

History

Odjila was founded in October 1983 by Igor Dunjić-Zveržhanovski and Slobodan Simonović, who first performed as a

duet A duet (italian language, Italian: ''duo'') is a musical composition for two Performing arts, performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a har ...

. They were almost immediately joined by Davorka Bosnić and Sanja Uzelac, and subsequently by Boris Nikolić in 1986, Andrej Stefanović in 1988 and Nikola Diklić in 1989. The group published five albums. Their third album, called "Odjila − muzika iz filmova" (Odjila - Film Music), featured the music from the films in which they participated − either as musicians or actors. Among these films are ''

The Dark Side of the Sun ''The Dark Side of the Sun'' is a science fiction novel by Terry Pratchett, first published in 1976. It is similar to the work of Isaac Asimov. According to Don D'Ammassa, both this and Pratchett's 1981 sci-fi novel ''Strata'' spoof parts of ...

'' - starring

Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. In a Brad Pitt filmography, film career spanning more than thirty years, Pitt has received list of awards and nominations received by Brad Pitt, numerous a ...

in one of the first main roles in his career),

'Dark Side of the Sun on IMDB ''Drugi čovek'' (Second Man), ''Osmi dan u nedelji'' (Eight Day of the Week - Davorka Bosnić playing the main role) etc. They also took part in the theatre play ''Letimo, srešćemo se'' (We Fly, We Will Meet) directed by

Stevo Žigon Štefan "Stevo" Žigon ( sr-cyr, Стево Жигон; 8 December 1926 – 28 December 2005) was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav actor, theatre director, and writer. Biography His origins were primarily Italian. He was born in Ljubljana, Slovenia, then ...

, as both actors and singers. Odjila was the first popular music band which had a concert in Kolarac hall in Belgrade, and the first band which played in

Maribor Maribor ( , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is the seat of the ...

theatre, ever since it was founded in the late 19th century.

'' Odjila official website They used to enjoy huge popularity in former

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, where they performed all around the country. They represented Yugoslavia in the World Festival of Gypsy Music in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1988. In 1990 some members left the group, with the onset of

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place from 1991 to 2001 in what had been the Socialist Federal Republic of ...

. Dunjić-Zveržhanovski left for the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, while Uzelac, Simonović, Nikolić and Stefanović formed a new band called Romano 4, continuing to play Romani music from Eastern Europe as well as their own music. In 1991, Odjila continues its life. Davorka Bosnic and Nikola Diklic formed a new lineup. A project called “
Ciganska Fantazija
'” (Gypsy Fantasy) was created, involving choir, string ensemble, actors and artists, under Nikola's musical leadership. Premier took place at Kolarac Concert Hall in Belgrade and SNP in Novi Sad. Later in 1994, they published a studio album with the same title, authored and produced by Nikola Diklic. In 1995 Dasha and Nikola moved to Rome, Italy, and with an international lineup, Odjila has successfully performed at festivals, concert halls and TV shows, Teatro Ghione - Rome, Festival Effeto Venezia - Livorno, Festival LENT - Maribor, Universalhall - Skopje, to name but a few, until 1999, when this lineup stopped. Nikola continued his artistic career in Italy and Denmark. In May 2003, the band published another album called ''Odjila in Nederland'', which was published in the Netherlands. The album had all the members of Odjila except for Bosnić, who was replaced by Gordana Svilarević. Odjila was finally reunited in 2007.

' Muzika grupe Odjila, Blic, February 2010 It is now composed of Bosnić, Uzelac, Nikolić, Stefanović and Simonović.

Musical style

Odjila define their style as Gypsy music, based on the tradition of the Romen Theatre from

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and the music from legendary Yugoslav and foreign films dealing with Romani, such as ''

Gypsies Are Found Near Heaven ''Gypsies Are Found Near Heaven'' (, lit. "The Gypsy camp goes to heaven"; also known as ''Queen of the Gypsies'') is a 1975 Soviet Union, Soviet Romantic film, romantic Drama film, drama film by Emil Loteanu, loosely based on short stories "Makar ...

''. In international festivals they were often wrongly announced as a Romani band from Moscow. When asked about their music, Davorka Bosnić described the band in the following words:

Discography

* ''Odjila'' (1984) * ''Odjila'' (1988) * ''Odjila - muzika iz filmova'' (1989) * ''Odjila - Ciganska Fantazija'' (1994) * ''Odjila in Nederland'' (2003)

References

External links

Odjila official website
with detailed info about the band (currently not working)
Daša Bosnić's Myspace Page

Muzika grupe Odjila
An article on Odjila in Blic magazine (in Serbian)
Nikola Diklic - Eutopia2017
{{Authority control Serbian Romani musical groups Yugoslav musical groups Romani-language musical groups from Serbia Musical groups established in 1983 Musical groups disestablished in 1990 Musical groups established in 2003 Musical groups established in 2007