Last February, the Bosnian and Herzegovinian band Divanhana announced a new concert tour to a packed house at the Vatroslav Lisinski Hall in Zagreb. But, as was the fate of most music artists around the world, the unforeseen consequences of the pandemic halted all tour plans. Nevertheless, Divanhana did not stop in their mission of spreading Sevdah, so, in spite of the quarantines, they humbly, diligently, and continuously gave online performances of the most beautiful sevdalinkas from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
After all, the band decided to gather these songs in one place and is releasing them as a Quarantine EP on the increasingly popular music platform Bandcamp. This unusual musical mosaic, recorded mostly with mobile phones from individual homes, brings us 8 songs, which include traditional sevdalinkas as well as original compositions in that style.
“In 2020, all our dear friends around the planet were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, which distanced us from each other and from the places where we would meet to create magic together. With Sevdah, we have at least still been able to bring small rays of light into the everyday gray that has descended on us.”
“As our band members were spread over six different cities across Bosnia and Herzegovina during the worst of the pandemic, the only way to perform music together was with a little help from technology to pull us all together… Each playing from their own corner; note by note, word by word, verse by verse.” said band Divanhana.
Divanhana’s Quarantine EP can be purchased on the Bandcamp app or at the following link:
https://divanhana.bandcamp.com/album/quarantine-ep
