The internationally acclaimed and multi-award-winning sevdah ensemble Divanhana has released its sixth studio album, titled “Radio Sevdah”. Featuring 14 tracks, the album is a powerful fusion of original compositions and reinterpretations of traditional sevdah classics, blended with contemporary musical genres. With this release, Divanhana passionately celebrates love for their homeland while conveying messages of peace, freedom, and unity.
Marking a significant artistic evolution, “Radio Sevdah” sees Divanhana take a bold step beyond their long-standing dedication to acoustic production and instrumentation. For the first time in their career, the band explores modern production techniques and a diverse palette of musical styles. This phase of their creative journey merges ambient music, psychedelic rock, and elements of electronic dance music—seamlessly combining traditional melodies with modern influences, all while preserving the soulful essence of sevdah in a fresh, contemporary context.
“Some of the early sketches for this album were created years ago, but we’ve been intensely working on Radio Sevdah for the past three years,” says vocalist Selma Droce. “Music has always been our primary way of communicating with audiences. This album is our medium for sharing everything that’s been happening within and around us—travel impressions, feelings, thoughts, concerns, and inspirations. Radio Sevdah is a reflection of where we are right now. We’re incredibly proud of the entire process and excited to see how the audience will respond.”
Paying homage to the legacy of the former Radio Sarajevo, the album highlights Divanhana’s openness to experimentation and innovation, solidifying their position as one of the most influential bands on the regional and international music scene.
“We drew inspiration from the heritage of Radio Sarajevo, which lovingly preserved and promoted Bosnia and Herzegovina’s traditional music—especially sevdalinka,” adds Droce.
“One of the tracks features a sample from the original performance of ‘Sa Igmana pogledat’ je lijepo’ by Zekerijah Đezić. We were deeply inspired by various archival radio recordings, and we’re especially grateful to Enisa Hajdarević-Šojko, editor at BH Radio 1, who opened the doors of her archive to us and shared the wealth of stories it holds. She also lent her voice to narrate some of these stories, which appear as intermezzos on the regional edition of the album—a contribution for which we are endlessly thankful.”
The international edition of Radio Sevdah is released by the renowned German label CPL Music, while the regional edition is published by Multimedia Music in Belgrade.
The album was recorded at METRO Studio in Ljubljana and Modra Rijeka Studio in Sarajevo, in collaboration with producers Borjan Milošević, Janez Križaj, and Dado Mušanović. It features acclaimed musicians from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the wider region, and beyond, including Adam Ben Ezra, Antonis Antoniou, Rok Nemanič, Emir Ibrakić, Dino Šukalo, and Boris Šikuljak. A highlight of the album is a duet with legendary Slovenian singer-songwriter Vlado Kreslin, on the sevdalinka classic “Voljelo se dvoje mladih”, as well as a collaboration with former BBC radio host DJ Ritu.
The album’s visual identity was created by longtime collaborator Sallex Perić, while the timeless images of the sky and cosmos were contributed by world-renowned photographer, filmmaker, and screenwriter of Bosnian origin, Harun Mehmedinović.
Radio Sevdah is now available on all major streaming platforms: https://bfan.link/radio-sevdah
