It took a while to figure out which one to directly embed here, but I went with Đelem, Đelem because I love how the bluesy brass instruments lend such a smooth smoky cafe atmosphere. Other songs on the album do this too, and I love her stripped down version of traditional Ne kuni me, ne ruzi me majko at the opening, to contrast as it's a classic, slow, ponderous over pared down instrumentation.
I don't know how I was introduced to Frozen Roses, the third album of Yugoslav singer Ljiljana Buttler, recorded in 2009. It's one of those tragedies that I'm not sure it was at home, where it should have been, but someone sharing her incredibly rich voice on her take on Gloomy Sunday, which made me sit up attentive and yearning in that way likely linked to a mixed diaspora childhood.
"Even before the war, I realised that somehow the joy had vanished and the Balkan men were no longer interested in love stories... It was a time for weapons and hatred." (Source)
I don't know the classic/traditional Balkan songs she uses, but her takes are opening the door to me exploring them on my own terms from this disconnected position, with perhaps more context than what may be available from the closest primary sources.
