Mystery Location Revealed

My recent holiday was spent in Bosnia and Herzegovina - primarily in Sarajevo and Mostar but with side trips to Jajce, Travnik and Blagaj.

I had a great time and would heartily recommend it as a destination to anyone who enjoys one or more of stunning scenery, history (recent and older), art (street and gallery), burek or beer.

Described (by myself admittedly) as "a dazzling mix of ancient and modern, of urban grit and rural charm", my holiday snaps are on Flickr. You probably won't want to wade through all of them so here is a small selection: a view of Mostar, the 16th century dervish house in Blagaj, and the bobsleigh track for the 1984 Winter Olympics that was part of the frontline during the siege of Sarajevo.

I found a few record shops while I was there but none had bargain bins so I restricted myself to a small number of purchases. Some were of the traditional sevdah music which will feature in a separate post. And then there were these two.

Zoster are a band from Mostar who got their name after the singer had a nasty bout of shingles. They describe their style as rock-reggae but I can detect no signs of any reggae on their 2014 album "Srce Uzavrelo". Maybe it is a more recent direction.

I have selected the opening track "Gavrilo" which may or may not be about Gavrilo Princip, the man who kick-started World War I when he assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. The deed was done just outside the pink building in the photo below.

I was on the look out from music by Laka, a man whose performance with his sister Mirela at the 2008 Eurovision remains one of the most delightfully bonkers things I have ever seen, and managed to find his 2011 album "Stvorenje". It is better than I was expecting to be honest. 

From the album I have picked "Pametniji" which Google Translate claims means smarter, although it may just have been the AI boasting.

   

"Gavrilo" - Zoster

"Pametniji" - Laka

  

2008 Eurovision also brought us this classic. Inexplicably neither of them won.