Bosnia and Herzegovina — Soundport Project

A 20-minute instrumental journey across Bosnia and Herzegovina in one continuous arc, from the sevdalinka and saz of Sarajevo to the Krajina kolo of Banja Luka. No vocals; pure instrumental storytelling.

Each track is composed from the music of its place: the sevdalinka of Sarajevo, an Ottoman-Slavic urban love-song carried on saz and accordion through Miljacka river fog; the bridge-between-worlds longing of Mostar, sevdalinka laid bare over the turquoise Neretva; the raw, stone-dry ganga dissonance of Herzegovina at Trebinje; the medieval kingdom and waterfall hush of Jajce, frula flute over Pliva mist; and the Serbian-tinged Krajina warmth of Banja Luka, accordion and tamburica turning a kolo by the Vrbas at evening.

Tracklist

  1. 01 Sarajevo sevdalinka capital, a multicultural sonic palimpsest of saz and accordion 0:00 · 4:23
  2. 02 Mostar sevdalinka exposed, bridge symbolism and the East-West divide over the Neretva 4:15 · 4:54
  3. 03 Trebinje Herzegovina stone, the ancient ganga singing tradition rendered in dissonant strings 9:00 · 4:04
  4. 04 Jajce the medieval Bosnian kingdom, a waterfall city in pastoral mist 12:57 · 4:07
  5. 05 Banja Luka Republika Srpska, Serbian musical influence and Krajina folk warmth 16:56 · 3:35

Photography credits