53.IFF – 2019 “Sevdalinka”

Tuesday, 16. 7. 2019., 21.00 sat
Klovićevi Dvori Gallery Atrium, Jezuitski trg 4

Performed by:
Damir Imamović (Bosna i Hercegovina)

Damir Imamović is one of the most significant performers of sevdah today, introducing a new artistic spirit in the traditional folk music of Bosnia and Herzegovina. His appearance on the music scene in 2005 generated a new wave of interest in sevdah and introduced a new way of looking at the genre. He was named ‘a true sevdah revolutionary’ (sevdalinkas.com), ‘the new direction in Bosnian sevdah’ (fRoots), even ‘the king of Sevdah music’ (The Huffington Post).

Born to the family of sevdah bards Đulo, Zaim and Nedžad Imamović, Damir was exposed to sevdah very early on and adopted a specific perspective that later helped him chart his own course. By 2016, he recorded six albums and the last album, Dvojka, was released by world-renowned label Glitterbeat Records.

Marina Andree Škop made an internationally awarded documentary ‘Sevdah’ on Damir’s understanding of sevdah. The importance of Damir’s approach to sevdah tradition was further validated when he was selected to take part in some of the most important music festivals, such as Druga godba (Ljubljana), Balkan Trafik (Brussels), TFF (Rudolstadt) and Jazz Fest Sarajevo. He was also invited to cooperate with Jadranka Stojaković, Vlatko Stefanovski, Bojan Zulfikarpašić, Eric Vloeimans, Greg Cohen, Derya Turkan et al.

In cooperation with saz maker Ćamil Metiljević and guitar maker Luka Zaletelj, Damir will bring the idea of a new instrument to life. This new sevdah instrument will present a combination of saz and guitar and it will be named ‘tambur’.

At the end of 2015, Damir’s sevdah activism was crowned with a large multimedia exhibition ‘Sevdah, the Art of Freedom’. The exhibition presented a dynamic genre of rich history and brought together not only Damir’s research, but also research of other important explorers of the genre. It served as basis for Damir’s book Sevdah (Vrijeme, 2016) which soon became an essential read for anyone interested in the history of sevdah.