The world and all that it holds

"Damir Imamović [has] dedicated his musical life to researching, performing and making accessible the sevdalinka (aka sevdah) of his childhood. These emotional southern Slavic songs of loss, love and longing find a fascinating new home on his eighth album. Written as a companion piece to his friend Aleksandar Hemon's novel of the same name, it amplifies the story of two male Bosnian soldiers, one Muslim, one Jewish, who fall in love during the first world war. Imamović combines sevdalinka with Sephardic Jewish songs and intricately written originals ... Imamović's moving voice, simultaneously delicate and strong, is given space to breathe throughout, thanks to tender production by Joe Boyd (Fairport Convention, Nick Drake, Vashti Bunyan) and Andrea Goertler. This is folk music that connects lightning-bolt moments of emotion through the centuries, illuminating hidden stories and shimmering with electricity".

Read review

"Unfulfilled and even forbidden love has always been one of the essential themes of sevdah. The Bosnian song form, a distant cousin of fado, rebetika or morna and all the other urban blues, is thus the perfect accompaniment to Aleksandar Hemon's novel ... [Imamović] spins a yarn of longing and running away, with backing from his own tambur, plus bass, fiddle, percussion, and clarinet - so an essential listen if you like Eastern European or Middle Eastern music. The tunes are wonderful and Joe Boyd's production is lovely, but the standout feature is Imamović's voice - an astonishingly beautiful tenor brimming with sadness".