Damir Imamović: “The Sevdah song ‘Sarajevo’ focuses on despair and hope”

“… In you are many old songs / about love, about which one must not sing / all your children will be silent / sad days, hours and minutes / they will hate and poison them / teach them to dream about the far distance …” Listening to the words of the current Sevdah song“Sarajevo” by Damir Imamović, the listener is overcome by an infinite sadness, in which a spark of hope can still be found. As in Gnostic teachings, where a spark of light can be released from negative matter in absolute darkness. Certainly, the Bosnian-Herzegovinian music genre Sevdah makes you feel sentimental, because the melody alone touches the soul. This is proven by the tears of the audience, who do not understand the words. The content tells historical stories of the country that are up to 600 years old. They are about love, everyday life and historical events. But this Sevdah is innovative. It is a modern variation that tells about the current political situation in the city of Sarajevo in a traditional context. It is a historically multicultural city in which ethnic politicians and their supporters fight for supremacy by any means necessary. The sufferer is the citizen. This Sevdalinka thus joins the ranks of the country’s important historical testimonies, which should be preserved for future generations and serve as a warning.

During the Balkan war in the nineties of the last millennium, the sevdah faded into the background. Damir Imamović is one of the young artists who has taken it up and reinterpreted it. Sevdah has accompanied the Sarajevo-born artist throughout his life. His grandfather Zaim Imamovic was one of the country’s greatest Sevdah singers. In this interview, he explains why he wrote this song and why Sevdah can only survive by questioning the old tradition.

I’ve always sung Sevdah, but only professionally since 2005. My grandfather is comparable to Eric Clapton for the blues: there’s hardly anyone he didn’t influence. There have rarely been artists like him, whose influence went so far that his personal style was adapted to the mainstream of an entire generation.

Can you remember which Sevdah song you sang first?

Not exactly. It may have been the song “Koliko je sirom svijeta”. A wonderful sevdalinka whose melody can be found in the Sephardic tradition.

What does Sevdah mean to you?
For me, Sevdah is a holistic school of thought, life and art. I am not thinking of the conservative, folk version. Sevdah is a poetic-musical genre that was created through the fusion of worlds.

How would you describe Sevdah to someone listening to this style of music for the first time?

I would certainly use terms such as “melancholy”, “Orient” or similar.

You are very committed when it comes to the sevdah. Not only do you sing it, but you are also committed to preserving this ancient Bosnian-Herzegovinian cultural asset. Is this a difficult task?

I have to correct you: I don’t see myself as a “guardian of a treasure”. I think tradition must be a kind of school: the craft should be learned through traditional forms and questioned again and again. That is the only way that Sevdah will continue to develop as a genre. Hollow “preservation of tradition” that falls back on older generations through constant repetition is short-sighted and infinitely boring.

What prejudices do you have to contend with?

I always joke that I am considered Balkanese in the West and Western in the Balkans. It’s a paradoxical situation that I use to my advantage. I can communicate with both worlds and, in my opinion, that is the future of all art.

Sevdah is popular again. Many new young artists are singing it in a new modern way and bringing it to international stages. Just like you. Was it difficult to gain acceptance at first?

When I started giving my first concerts in 2005, it was difficult to get the audience to take Sevdah seriously. Older genres left Sevdah to the folk musicians. In the beginning, my big challenge was to get the listeners’ attention and make them listen to what this song is talking about, what forms the song takes and how it evolves. Unfortunately, at the time, sevdah was seen as party music, which most Balkan music is. It took me a lot of time and misunderstandings to fight for this position. When I see today that younger artists have an audience sitting at their first concert, listening intently, then I think I’ve done my job well. I am proud of that.

Sevdah tells the story of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Now you have written a new Sevdalinka, which you have called “Sarajevo”. It is new and unusual, as you sing about the current situation in the city. When you listen to the words of the song, you are overcome with fear, because you are confronted with the stark reality. How difficult was it for you to write the song?

It was very easy. I picked up my instrument completely unconsciously and painlessly. It practically wrote itself.

When did you decide to write the song “Sarajevo”?

There was no conscious intention to sit down and write such a song. I came home after a nice evening with friends who told me an alternative history of Sarajevo. The song just came out of me. Certainly the despair was in the foreground but also the hope that things can change for the better. We live in a time of pessimism that is so pervasive that everything degrades to nihilism. We are not building positive traditions of emancipation. We have even left the idea of tradition to the conservatives. We have to change that if we want to do ourselves any good.

How has the reaction to your new song been?

The reactions so far have been very good! The video is getting a lot of views and the comments I’ve received are excellent.

In your opinion, will Sarajevo survive the situation, as it did in the past?

Some Sarajevo will survive. We’ll see which one.

What does Sarajevo mean to you?

Sarajevo is my hometown, the place where I live, where my family, parents and friends live. I travel a lot, so I am not condemned to live exclusively from Sarajevo and what I do in Sarajevo. Nevertheless, the music I play has its origin and place here.