Sarayland

In the 1980s Sarajevo's Sarr e Roma were one of the most prominent Yugoslav Gypsy bands, with a number of hit albums to their name, well known for their highly acclaimed collaborations with pop-folk singer Haris Dzinović. After a period of silence they have reformed – or rather the leader, guitarist Amir Karahasanović, has put together a new, all-acoustic group under the old name. Karahasanović proves he is a fine singer, with a rough, lived-in but flexible voice. Unusually for this music, the keyboard instrument used is neither accordion or synthesizer, but piano, and this alone gives a completely fresh sound to the CD, lending a clean and sparkling texture to a style of music that can sometimes be overloaded with thick chords and elaborate decoration. In fact, one of the factors that binds together the album's 12 disparate songs, taken from all over the former Yugoslavia and Russia, is the transparency of the arrangements and production.

The other is the simple joie-de-vivre and sly good humour of the arrangements. There are out-and-out blackly comic songs like ‘Imao sam Deset Zena, while the late superstar vocalist Saban Bajramovic's optimistic ‘Guglo Kafava’ gets a rocking workout, slipping and sliding between rock and Gypsy jazz. In contrast, the slow and affecting ‘Solnushka’ receives a hushed and spare reading, with the piano dripping notes from the high treble above a deep bass, and an obsessive guitar figure prowling the middle ground.

A number of guest musicians contribute to the CD. One deserves special mention – the noted singer Ljiljana Buttler. She died in April, and her final recorded appearance is heard here on her own ‘Zvonija, Zvonija’.