Dunjaluk

“Dunja Bahtijarević echoes the epic nuance of female sevdah singers – like a dignified dam that resists the flood of melancholy. She sings unwaveringly, with an attitude that doesn’t allow for gratification or resorting to melodrama. Luka Čapeta provides a balancing contrast. His guitar clamours and howls, like a beast that can’t speak, a source of pure and propulsive energy that shakes the cage in which it is imprisoned.”
Zoran Stajčić, Ravno do dna, 2023

Zagreb-based duo Dunjaluk are exploring sevdah’s new terrains. Behind the project are vocalist Dunja Bahtijarević and guitarist Luka Čapeta, who have been digging into Bosnian tradition, only to rebuild it from fragments of the present. Their music blurs the lines between intimacy and experimentation, merging sevdah with textures of noise, punk, jazz and classical form. On their latest EP Vrbas, released in May, they join forces with Viennese trio wh/m and Lenhart Tapes, expanding sevdah’s language into something more raw, poetic and contemporary.

This performance is supported by UPBEAT.