Divanhana

Divanhana performs traditional music with modern arrangements, which are the result of a fusion of jazz, pop and 20th-century classical music.

Divanhana's intention is to present not only the urban traditional music from Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also the traditional music from other Balkan countries, with a particular attention to the so-called “sevdalinka”.

The band was founded at the beginning of 2009 by a group of young students from the Sarajevo Music Academy.

Their debut album, called “Dert”, was recorded in February 2011 at the Fattoria Musica Studio in Osnabrück (Germany), and it was a cooperation with the well-known European jazz and world music producer Walter Quintus. The album was released in May 2012. It is the result of a long ethnomusicologist research, and some of the songs contained in the CD were never recorded or published before.

After the successful experience with their debut album, the band started working more on Balkan traditional music. At the beginning of September 2011, together with a young artist from Sarajevo, Leila Ćatić, Divanhana started preparing their new album. They keep on workingon the new arrangements and dombination of different music styles.

The first single, "Evo srcu mome radosti", which is a forerun to their new project, was recorded in collaboration with the renowned classical guitarist Sanel Redžić. The single was released in December 2012.

Right after that, Divanhana was selected to take part in the prestigious jazz festival “12 points” in Porto – here they were the only representatives from the Balkan area - where the band delighted the Portuguese audience and got extremely positive critics from the European independent jazz media.

After returning to BiH, the band went on working hardly and in April 2012 they arranged the cooperation with the virtuouso Italian pianist Livio Minafra, whom they previously met in Portugal. The result of that teamwork are the singles “Crven Fesić” and “Oj, ovcarče”.

Soon after that, the band had an exceptionally successful summer tour, taking part in different European festivals like: Babel Sound Camp (Balaton/Hungary), Kertem Fest (Budimpešta/Hungary), Keltika Fest (Cerkno/Slovenia), Sarajevo Sevdah Festival (BiH), Banja Luka Sevdah Festival and many others.

Divanhana gradually becomes a widely-known name in the world music field and they crown their work with the participation to the World Music Expo (WOMEX), which took place in Thessaloniki (Greece) in October 2012.

The publishing of their upcoming album is planned for mid 2013.

Divanhana is: Leila Catic, Neven Tunjic, Nedzad Musovic, Azur Imamovic, Rifet Camdzic, Ismar Poric, Danijel Condric, Irfan Tahirovic

The traditional music of Bosnia and Herzegovina, particularly during the Ottoman period, can be divided in urban and rural. The urban music is better known as "sevdalinka", a word which originates from the concept of “sevdah”. This term comes from the Arabic word "sawda", which means "dark gall", but in Turkish it is associated with a melancholic mood. The Bosnian meaning is more like "lust/saudade", "love passion" or "love suffering".

The exact time frame of the first "sevdalinka" cannot be explained, but musicologists assume that the development started during the first centuries of Ottoman domination, as the first town settlements emerged. The establishment of them and their quarters, well known as "mahala", had as a consequence a new and specific way of living. In the "mahala" the houses were usually surrounded by high walls, because privacy was highly valued and respected. The houses itself were divided into the parts for men, the "haremluk", and those for the women, the "selamluk". Women were protected from the invasion of curious men: the way of life was much different from the one which was typical in the villages.

The Ottoman occupation, the rule of the Sultan, the historical battles and the way of life and specific customs brought to Bosnia have been a great source of inspiration for the poets who created the "sevdalinka". The texts and melodies are still echoing lively after many years of intense history.

"Not everything shone so brightly in Porto... Really nice contrast, and in any case, an ink spot in the festival was the "Divanhana" from Sarajevo, with the 18-year-old singer Leila Catic dished melancholy and joyous Balkan folklore."
by JAZZTHETIK

"...Divanhana are a very different prospect... The band build large swirling tones of mystery before turning slyly romantic and hurling the track down a rockier flight of stairs... ...has suddenly stumbled into the room, bleary and boisterous with plenty of rootsy charm thanks to its big choruses and frenetic jigs. ...deliver a spare and beautiful lament full of heartache and defiant resignation that is a stand-out moment in the set, Leila Catic’s vocals allowed to fill the room with plaintive sound... ...here it never breaks out into a sweat."
by Laurence Mackin on IRISHTIMES

Divanhana - Ko se ono brijegom šeće - HD (Official)
Divanhana - WOMEX 12 / Thessaloniki
Divanhana - Evo srcu mome radosti - HD (Official)
Divanhana - Evo srcu mome radosti (Trailer)
Divanhana - Crven fesić (Official)
Divanhana - PORTO 12 POINTS TRAILER

2013
March 8.	Kostelski buk	Bihac	Bosnia and Herzegovina
March 16.	Multimedijalna sala O.I.	Ilidza	Bosnia and Herzegovina
April 3.	Zeničko proljeće	Zenica	Bosnia and Herzegovina
April 6.	BKC	Tuzla	Bosnia and Herzegovina
April 23.	Kino Šiška	Ljubljana	Slovenia
April 26.	Folkan	Lidköping	Sweden
April 28.	Moriska Paviljongen Stora salongen	Malmö	Sweden
April 30.	Södra Teatern, Kägelbanan Västra Salongen	Stockholm	Sweden
May 3.	Konserthusteatern	Karlskrona	Sweden
May 4.	Kalmarsalen, Romanhallen	Kalmar	Sweden
May 7.	Västmanlands Teater, Stora scen	Västerås	Sweden
May 10.	Jazz Time	Prague	Czech Republic
May 21.	Dani Republike Turske - Trg Alije Izetbegovica	Zenica	Bosnia and Herzegovina
May 11.	Lido	Berlin	Germany
May 24.	BBCC	Lukavac	Bosnia and Herzegovina
May 25.	OKC Abrasevic	Mostar	Bosnia and Herzegovina
June 1.	Kulturni centar Zepce	Zepce	Bosnia and Herzegovina
June 14.	Otvaranje vogoscanskog ljeta	Vogosca	Bosnia and Herzegovina
June 28.	Sarajevo Sevdah Festival 3 - BKC	Sarajevo	Bosnia and Herzegovina
June 30.	Festival Lent	Maribor	Slovenia
July 05.	Kulturni centar (kino sala)	Cazin	Bosnia and Herzegovina
July 06.	Kulturni Centar Kljuc	Kljuc	Bosnia and Herzegovina
August 03.	Coloseum Club	Sarajevo	Bosnia and Herzegovina
August 13.	Ljetna pozornica	Kakanj	Bosnia and Herzegovina

2012
Februar 17.	12 Points Festival	Porto	Portugal
Mart 30.	3. Program radio Beograda	Belgrade	Serbia
Maj 31.	International University of Sarajevo	Sarajevo	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Juni 6.	Sarajevo Sevdah Festival	Sarajevo	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Juni 15.	International University of Sarajevo	Sarajevo	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Juni 26.	Belef	Belgrade	Serbia
Juli 13.	Visočko ljeto	Visoko	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Juli 14.	Banja Luka Sevdah Festival	Banja Luka	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Juli 16.	Karusel Fest	Cacak	Serbia
Juli 18.	Babel Sound Festival	Balaton	Mađarska
Juli 19.	Kerten Fest	Budapest	Hungary
Juli 20.	Babel Sound Festival	Balaton	Hungary
Juli 21.	Keltika Fest	Cerkno	Slovenia
August 21.	Ljetno kino	Konjic	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Oktobar 18.	Womex	Thessaloniki	Greece
Oktobar 26.		Novi Pazar	Serbia
Oktobar 28.		Pljevlja	Montenegro
Novembar 30.	Dani bosanskog filma	Zagreb	Croatia