Mutual Conquest
Listening Post 344. In the Age of Discovery Portugal was the starting point for explorers, but for Maja Milinković it’s the destination. Like adventurers of old, the Bosnian singer-songwriter thrives in parallel worlds, from the church where she sang as a child and the shelter where she learned guitar during the Bosnian war, between classical studies at the Sarajevo Music Academy and the pop-rock that powered her first two albums, between the fado music that altered her career arc and led her to Lisbon and sevdalinka—fado’s melancholy Bosnian cousin—that together balance her artistic persona. Kaftan D’Alma (Kaftan of the Soul) is a fitting title for her latest work, invoking a garment that migrated from Persia to Turkey, the Balkans and North Africa, like music flowing into receptive cultures through warmth and beauty. The nine-track collection is a journey through the conjoined challenges of life: Joy and sadness, hope and defeat, secret and revelation, fate and resolve. Milinković holds fear at bay in the graceful Não te rendas (Don’t Give Up, video 1); and lives in the intense moment with Ajde Jano (Come On, Jana, video 2), a Serbian song popular throughout the Balkans, urging a partner to dance. In Mistério (Mystery, video 3) she searches for the secret of life, while in Luda vodo stani, stani (Crazy Water Stop, Stop, video 4), she pairs her own Bosnian lyric to a traditional fado melody. And Lijepi li su mostarski dućani (The Shopkeepers of Mostar are Beautiful, video 5) is a mini-novela of seduction. Also included is the double tribute Com Que Voz (With What Voice?), popularized by Amália Rodrigues—the Queen of Fado who inspired a young Bosnian artist—with sixteenth century lyrics by Luis Vaz de Camões, who also wrote The Lusiads, epic poem of Vasco da Gama’s discoveries. Once again, Milinković proves that when great music crosses borders the conquest is mutual. (Croatia Records/SevenMuses)
Maja Milinković: Kaftan D’Alma
Maja Milinković: Vocals
Luís Coelho: Portuguese guitar
Carlos Viçoso: Fado guitar
Carlos Menezes: Double bass
Mirza Hatunić: Classical guitar
Adis Hatunić: Classical guitar
Adnan Teskeredžić: Percussion
Osman Abdelmukaram: Bass
Related post. Maja Milinković: Fadolinka. Listening Post 239. February 12, 2020. https://worldlisteningpost.com/2020/02/12/maja-milinkovic-fadolinka/
Não te rendas / Don’t Give Up
Lyrics & music: Maja Milinković
(From the Portuguese lyrics)
Heart trembling with fear/Wanting to flee into solitude
No:
Keep going!
You think it’s not worth it/That your soul is small
And that’s why:
Believe!
Life reveals itself to those who have courage/There is a greater force in this journey
Spread your wings and fly free as the wind/It’s no use living in regret
Don’t surrender, don’t let your dream die/Don’t leave your soul abandoned
Believe and you will achieve!
No, don’t surrender/Because life is still turning
And luck runs free/It’s time to grab it
Days of lost hope/Without finding an outstretched hand
No:
Keep going!
Life moves for those who venture/Luck is a path revealed to those who seek it
Spread your wings and fly free like the wind/It’s not worth living in regret
Ajde Jano / Come On, Jana
(Popular Serbian song)
(From the Serbo-Croatian lyrics)
Come on Jana, let’s dance the kolo
Come on Jana, come on darling, let’s dance the kolo
Come on Jana, come on darling, let’s dance the kolo
Come on, Jana, let’s sell the horse
Come on Jana, come on darling, let’s sell the horse
Come on Jana, come on darling, let’s sell the horse
We’ll sell it just so we can dance
We’ll sell it, Jana darling, just so we can dance
We’ll sell it, Jana darling, just so we can dance
Come on Jana, let’s sell the house
Come on Jana, come on darling, let’s sell the house
Come on Jana, come on darling, let’s sell the house
We’ll sell it just so we can dance
We’ll sell it, Jana darling, just so we can dance
We’ll sell it, Jana darling, just so we can dance
Mistério / Mystery
Lyrics & music: Maja Milinković
(From the Portuguese lyrics)
My friend
This life we walk through/Is a mystery
And nobody knows where we’re going
And you and I
We live our losses/Sorrows, joys
In the light of day and in prayer/We look for guidance
I asked life if it was an illusion/I asked the Sun and the Moon
The wind said: Life is a great passion/At which your soul only hints
It’s looking for love, when the pain is greatest/And in the darkness for the brightest star
It’s walking without fear, wherever it takes you/Make our life a light that is shared
Between questions and uncertainties/Choose trus
In the pure soul/And in your childhood dreams
And you and I
We live our losses/Sorrows, joys
In the light of day and in prayer/We look for guidance
I asked life if it was an illusion/I asked the ageless Earth
The wind said: Life is a great passion
It is the fate of humanity
Luda vodo stani, stani / Crazy Water Stop, Stop
Lyrics: Maja Milinković; Music: José António da Silva
(From the Bosnian lyrics)
Crazy water stop, stop/Because the days are getting shorter
The faster you run, the worse it becomes/Why are you rushing so blindly?
The sea is waiting over there/Don’t rush to see the end
I used to be crazy like water, too/The delusion gave me wings
Wishing I could get to the sea/I broke my heart in the torrent
I kissed without being loved/A new dawn called me
Oh my life, how I have lived you
In a crazy race and I didn’t see it/Running through my fingers
Now that I am on the shore/Every dawn is sad
Because you won’t come back!
Lijepi li su mostarski dućani / The Shops of Mostar Are So Beautiful
Popular song of Bósnia and Herzegovina
(From the Bosnian lyrics)
The shops of Mostar are so beautiful/The young shopkeepers are even more beautiful
The young shopkeepers are even more beautiful/And the most beautiful shopkeeper is Mustafa
Aj, Suljaga’s Fata took a walk/Aj, she took a walk to the city of Mostar
Fata wandered around the bazaar alone/Looking for shopkeeper Mujo*
She found Mujo in the seventh shop
Hey, Mujo, give me one oka of gold/Hey, Mujo, give me one oka of gold
Aj, I don’t have it, Suljaga’s Fata/Aj, today, Fata, I’m not weighing gold
My friends borrowed my scale/So the scale doesn’t work properly
But come on in, the warehouse is over here/Take as much gold as you desire
Hey, take as much gold as you desire
Aj, Suljaga’s Fata was deceived/Aj, she was deceived, woe to her mother
Fata entered the warehouse alone/Mujo entered after her and locked the door
Fata entered the warehouse alone/Mujo entered after her and locked the door
Hey, Mujo locked the door after her
*Nickname for Mustafa