Ascending

It's been 15 years since the exquisite Bosnian vocalist Amira first recorded on Mostar Sevdah Reunion's A Secret Gate and made her mark as the country's leading sevdah singer. This is her sixth solo studio album and is something of a new departure, recorded with a chamber orchestra rather than the small, often experimental, line-ups she's been in before. It's a kind of retrospective of favourite songs, although there are many that she's never recorded before.

I'm sure it's good to have a fine Norwegian chamber orchestra behind you, but I miss the intimacy that, for me, suits sevdah so well. The popular Balkan chestnut ‘Ajde Jano Kolo Da Igramo’ has both punch and swing. And ‘Što Te Nema’ is a lovely recording of a glorious song with dark, murky lower strings and guitar, but see how you react to the higher strings. If you're new to Amira, I'd suggest one of her earlier albums Silk & Stone or Amulette (a Top of the World in #80).