A Platform for Ethnically and Culturally Inspired Music
ABOUT
Divanhana performs traditional music in new arrangements, which are the result of a fusion of jazz, pop, and 20th-century classical music.

Divanhana's intention is to present the urban traditional music not only from Bosnia and Herzegovina but also the traditional music from the whole Balkan region, with a particular accent on Sevdalinka.

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

The band recorded its debut CD, Dert, in February 2011 at Studio Fattoria Musica in Osnabrück (Germany), in cooperation with Vanja Muhović. The album was produced by Walter Quintus, one of the most acclaimed world music producers, and it was released in May 2011 as a result of a long ethnomusicological research, reflected by the fact that some of the songs on the CD had never been recorded or published before.

After the successful and inspiring experience with the debut album, the band continued to cherish Balkan traditional music and in September 2011 began a new project with a young artist from Sarajevo, Leila Ćatić.

The first single, "Evo srcu mome radosti," which is a forerunner to their new project, was recorded in collaboration with the renowned classical guitarist Sanel Redžić, who is achieving important results all around the world. The single was released in December 2011.

In February 2012, Divanhana was invited to take part in the prestigious jazz festival for young talents, 12 points in Porto - as the only representative from the Balkan area - where the band delighted the Portuguese audience and received encouraging positive critiques from the European independent jazz media. At the same time, the band was selected for the most important world music event, the music fair WOMEX (World Music Expo) in Thessaloniki. During the year 2012, until the first half of 2013, Divanhana was dedicated to creative activities and recording new songs.

After the success with the singles "Crven fesić" and "Ko se ono brijegom šeće," the band took part in festivals throughout Central & Eastern Europe, e.g., Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, and Serbia. At the beginning of 2013, Divanhana started its first European tour, delineated by successful concerts in Sweden, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Turkey, during which the band enlarged its audience and met new friends.

The album was recorded at Studio 6 - Radio Belgrade and features several prestigious collaborations: the Italian jazz pianist Livio Minafra, the traditional singer and contemporary artist from Serbia Svetlana Spajić, the violinist Filip Krumes from Serbia, the accordion player Kenan Glavinić, and the flamenco guitarist Mirza Redžepagić from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The album "Bilješke iz Šestice" crowns two years of touring, traveling, and creative work of the band, proud of 70 successful concerts in 13 different countries.

Most of the arrangements and ideas arose during the tours: in the backstage, on the wheels, thanks to the sincere and close relationship between the band and its audience.

The album was recorded at Studio 6 (Belgrade), Long Play Studio (Sarajevo), P4 (Berlin), and Athens Pro Audio (Athens).

Apart from Divanhana, the album was produced by Walter Quintus, Zoran Marić, Anestis Psaradakos, and Borjan Milošević, who became a band member as a sound engineer and co-producer in the studio.

"Bilješke iz Šestice" was published at the end of 2013 by RSG radio from Sarajevo for Bosnia and Herzegovina and for the Balkan region by Multimedia Music from Belgrade.

It is interesting to point out that the album is made of environmentally friendly packaging, i.e., the album cover is made of recycled materials: the band supports the world standards of ecological consciousness and preservation of the environment.

Divanhana's members are: Leila Ćatić, Neven Tunjić, Nedžad Mušović, Meho Radoović, Azur Imamović, Rifet Čamdžić, Danijel Čondrić, Irfan Tahirović, and Borjan Milošević.