Amira Medunjanin

Amira Medunjanin (Serbo-Croatian Cyrillic: Амира Медуњанин; née Dedić, Serbo-Croatian Cyrillic: Дедић;[1] born 23 April 1972) is a Bosnian-born singer and interpreter of sevdalinka. She holds both citizenship of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Amira Medunjanin
Background information
Birth nameAmira Dedić
Also known asAmira
Born (1972-04-23) April 23, 1972
Sarajevo, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia
Genres
Years active2003–present
Labels
Websitewww.amiramedunjanin.com

Biography

Medunjanin was born in Sarajevo and her fascination with the Music of Bosnia and Herzegovina led her to devote herself to creating a unique voice within sevdalinka.[2]

Singer, humanitarian, and global ambassador for both the culture and music of her native Bosnia & Herzegovina and the wider Balkan region, Medunjanin has been described as, ''one of the great voices of her generation'' (Observer)[3] 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 album.[4]

After guesting on Mostar Sevdah Reunion's album A Secret Gate in 2003, Medunjanin recorded her debut album Rosa, on Snail Records 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 awarded 4* to the album, noting Medunjanin's "intimate, pained and gently compelling voice" [5] and Nigel Williamson has described the album as a "career-defining third album from Bosnia's finest export"[6] in Uncut.

On her next album Damar [7] 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.[8][9]

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

Discography

References
  1. "Fotogalerija : Amira Medunjanin oduševila publiku na Kaštelu | GlasIstre.hr". 9 April 2015. Archived from the original on 9 April 2015.
  2. "About Amira | Amira Medunjanin | official website". www.amiramedunjanin.ba. Archived from the original on 2018-03-08. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  3. Vulliamy, Ed (2013-01-20). "Amira Medunjanin, the Balkan Billie Holiday". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
  4. "Amira Medunjanin - Biografija". Biografija (in Serbian). 13 July 2015.
  5. Denselow, Robin (2014-12-18). "Amira Medunjanin: Silk & Stone review". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  6. "British Magazine Commends the Great Amira Medunjanin - Sarajevo Times". Sarajevo Times. 2015-01-04. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  7. Meinzer, Melissa (2016-11-17). "Balkan Singer Amira Medunjanin Sings In Centuries-Old Tradition of Sevdah". Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  8. "Best of 2017 – Transglobal World Music Chart". www.transglobalwmc.com. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  9. "Amira Medunjanin's "Damar" among the 40 best Albums in the World - Sarajevo Times". Sarajevo Times. 2017-12-12. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  10. "Amira (3) - Live". Discogs.

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