Kalesijski zvuci

Kalesijski zvuci are a Bosnian izvorna band from Kalesija in the north-east of the country. They play the music of the Spreča valley: songs in two voices over violin and šargija, the close harmony singing known as "na glas".

The singer Hasan Požegić dates the band to 1982. They started from the old mahtar music and added accordion, guitar and a rhythm section to the violins and šargijas, and Požegić counts them among the first to take izvorna music in that new direction. Their first single, released in 1982, carried "Selo moje maleno", written by Jusuf Osmanović; it became a kind of anthem of the genre, sold 100,000 copies and won the band a circulation trophy from Diskoton of Sarajevo. In 1986 they repeated that success.

In April 1991 the British label GlobeStyle recorded them in a small studio in Ilidža, working with the London musicologist Kim Burton, and released the album Bosnian Breakdown in London, with Mirza Hajrić on bass. Its eleven songs include "Oho ho što je lijepo", "Ja te čekam, Milice", "Crven fesić", "Komšinice mila moja" and "Šota". Their records have since been sold in Paris, Sydney, Washington, New York and London.

With Severina they recorded "Made in Bosnia", with words by Goran Bregović, first performed at a Bregović foundation event in Zetra in Sarajevo. Hasan Požegić also played the flute in the introduction of Dino Merlin's "Merjema". The playlist here is Bosnian Breakdown.