Ljiljana Buttler was born in Belgrade on 14th of December 1944. Her father was an accordi on virtuoso and her mother a Croatian singer. But her father left soon after she was born and her mother had to support herself and her child, singing in bars. They settled in Bijeljina, a small town in Bosnia, but one night her mother fell ill and Ljiljana went to the cafe and said "My mother can't come tonight, she's sick. Please let me sing." She was only 12 but had learned at her mother's side.
A year later her mother left and Ljiljana was on her own she continued singing in cafes to support herself through school. Then she headed for Belgrade. "I started singing in bars in Skadarlia (the famous restaurant quarter, a sort of Balkan Montmartre)", she remembers. "The atmosphere was fantastic. The people laughed and cried during the music. That always inspired me that and strong sljivovica (plum brandy), lots of sad loves and lots of emotion and romance. Sometimes we made recordings for Radio Belgrade. They simply came to the cafes, listened to the music and if they liked it, asked the musicians back to the radio to record".
From 1980 Ljiljana started doing concerts and became well-known on TV until the political and musical mood started changing with so-called turbo-folk providing the soundtrack for the Milosevic era. "Even before the war, I realised that somehow the joy had vanished and the Balkan men were no longer interested in love stories. Suddenly it became important to wear a short skirt and flash your cleavage. The shorter the skirt, the better singer you were thought to be. I realised my time was over. It was a time for weapons and hatred. It affected me terribly and the war that followed has left scars that will last forever." ..
In 1987 she vanished from the Balkan music scene in which she played such a dominant role, leaving music lovers wondering about her mysterious disappearance. In 2002 she decided to return to her homeland and record a new album on the Snail Records label. Her vocal abilities on "Mother of Gypsy Soul" lead us to the depths of Gypsy and Balkan soul. What she is presenting to us is a pure handbook of Balkan Blues. The astonishing reappearance of this lost legend is something to be more than grateful for. .. Her performance on the albums shows why, in the former Yugoslavia, she was referred to as the 'Gypsy Ella Fitzgerald' and the 'Billie Holiday of Gypsy Music', but mostly she was called lovingly the 'Mother of Gypsy Soul'.
Ljiljana Buttler died on 26th of April 2010 in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Ljiljana Buttler - Releases
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The Mother of Gypsy Soul
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The story about the SECOND album , The Legends Of Life ( 2006 )
Dragi felt the time was ripe for a second album and this time she did not take much persuasion. Recording was scheduled for August 2005 in the Pavarotti Center in Mostar of a show by Ljiljana and Mostar Sevdah Reunion. But not only they would be there. To everyone's surprise, Saban Bajramović was there too, the legendary, elusive, unpredictable gipsy singer. A Serbian company wanted to make a film of his life. This included a soundtrack, which Dragi was asked to record with Mostar Sevdah Reunion. Saban and Ljiljana went way back, but there had always been this indefinable tension between them. They felt mutual admiration, respected the other's talents and professionalism, loved to hear the other perform, but, but ….. It had always been sort of a love-hate relationship with both taking a delight in spreading the most unusual stories about the other. As if this was not enough, another musical giant stepped up, who was not particularly known for his amiable, compliant nature: Naat, the celebrated trumpet player of Macedonia. Dragi had succeeded in snaring him to accompany Lilijana in her song "Andro Verka" . And then there was the band: Mostar Sevdah Reunion. Here too, no lack of opinionated views and, justifiably aware of individual craftsmanship, not one of the band members would allow himself to be overshadowed. Only at his arrival in Mostar, proceeding to the Pavarotti Center, Dragi Šestić realized the kind of company he had managed to bring together. He broke out in a cold sweat.
Tight scheduling ensured a strict division of the various recording sessions. Ljiljana felt at ease and determined to give herself entirely. During the studio sessions as well she was the imposing, dominating and amiable personality she was in the theater. A diva, even with only the microphone, fully in control of the situation. The repertoire that had been agreed after endless meetings was designed to fully realize her vocal capacities. Her total vocal pallet was to be utilized. Some songs originate from the sixties, for many the Golden Age of Balkan music. She sings two sevdalinkas " Karanfile Cvijeće Moje" and "Plačem Već Tri Dana" with a score specially made by Mostar Sevdah Reunion with her in mind. Particularly the way in which she interprets "Plačem Već Tri Dana" is proof of the utter equivalence of Sevdah and Blues. Then follow a series of gipsy classics that, as a result of her interpretation, her voluminous voice and her profound empathy, are elevated to a level not seen often seen before. One of the most striking aspects of the album is its mood. Gradually a new type of music grows from the cross of blues and jazz elements and classic Sevdah and gipsy traditions. This development would be unimaginable without Mostar Sevdah Reunion, the only band capable of sensing accurately what is required to bring Ljiljana to her top performance while maintaining an uneven equilibrium between tradition and innovation.
The recording sessions started with Ljiljana and then, after one week, Saban. Ljiljana left for Belgrade. Five days later, the first recording section with Saban almost concluded, Ljiljana returned to Mostar one day early. Saban was taking a break and at that same moment Ljiljana left her apartment on the first floor of Pavarotti Center descending the stairs. She was bored and thought she would see what was happening in the studio. The band had started jamming and having some serious fun. Dragi saw Ljiljana descending. His eyes went from her in the direction of the studio where Saban was taking his break, and he realized that within minutes the two absolute giants of Balkan gipsy music would be together in one room with all the requisite recording facilities. "Rupuni", he whispered to the band members, who started grinning. "Rupuni", a typical Saban song. They watched Ljiljana, who was now standing in the studio door a few feet from Saban. Then they looked over to him and struck the first chords. He straight away picked up the melody, starting to sing in a taunting manner with his eyes riveted to Ljiljana. She froze, closed her eyes for a second, relaxed, awaited the right moment and in a manner no less taunting started her part. This created an unscheduled jam session of over an hour, during which they tried to best one another with ever more ingenious improvisations, idiosyncratic modifications to the lyrics, no longer comprehensible for others but evidently replete with significance for them, and backed by a band fascinated by this musical duel. Abruptly they collapsed in a couple of chairs laughing and relaxed.
Thirty minutes later happened what Dragi had hoped for. The two greatest gipsy vocalists ever, joined in their love for the same music and mutual respect, sang in harmony "Rupuni, Rupuni" which means: don't believe the gossip….
Review written by Chris van den Hoogen.
Accordion, Clarinet – Mustafa Šanti
Arranged By – Mostar Sevdah Reunion
Backing Vocals – Silvana Simić (tracks: 8,10)
Bass [Berde Bass] – Kosta Latinović
Design, Photography By – Pascale van Bemmel
Drums, Percussion – Sead Avdić
Engineer [Assistant] – Armin Mustafić
Illustration – Mea Braun
Lead Guitar – Mišo Petrović
Liner Notes – Chris van den Hoogen
Mastered By – Chris Beckers
Restored & Remasterd for High Resolution Audio By – Wim Bult ( 2015 )
Photography By [Booklet Page 23] – Sandi Durakovic
Producer – Dragi Šestić
Recorded By, Mixed By – Dragi Šestić, Saša Karabatak
Rhythm Guitar – Sandi Duraković
Translated By [Lyrics For The Booklet] – Kim Burton
Trumpet – Naat Veliov (tracks: 6)
Violin – Nedjo Kovačević, Slobodan Stančić (tracks: 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11)
Vocals – Ljiljana Buttler
Review written by Chris van den Hoogen.
Recorded and mixed in the period of June-August 2005 at Studio "Neretva" - Music Center Pavarotti- Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Fully restored, cleaned & remastered for high_resolution (DSD/DXD), by inlinemastering ( Wim Bult ) in 2015.
The Legends of Life
>>
Frozen Roses
REMASTERING NEWS
We are proud to announce that the first album available in all High Resolution Audio formats (pcm/dsd/dxd ) is the Album "The Legend of Life" by Ljiljana Buttler and Mostar Sevdah Reunion. With much attention to detail and sound we cleaned/restored all the audio. Remastered the tracks using a world class tube EQ, and finally captured it back in high_res audio from our high_speed analog Studer A80 tape at 30ips. Using the newest merging/pyramix hardware and software. The album is now available from our online store !
Ljiljana Buttler - Press Reviews
Simon Broughton, Songlines -UK, September/October 2002
Ljiljana Buttler is one of the great re-discovered voices of Eastern Europe. Deep, dark and distinctive. Her recording with the Mostar Sevdah Reunion band, "The Mother of Gypsy Soul (Snail Records) is one of my CDs of the year and impresses everyone I've played in to .”
Garth Carthwright, FRoots Magazine, UK January/February 2003
Ljiljana Buttler's debut CD is delicious: Ljiljana's deep, almost masculine, voice picks out words and tosses them into the air with effortless grace. And the instumental backing by Mostar Sevdah Reunion and legendary trumpet virtuoso Boban Markovic is inspired: the musicians spoon out the notes with a tangilble, almost erotic, delicacy while Ljiljana sails above them, her voice caressing the listener.”
Kim Burton, Songlines,-UK, September/October 2002.
Songlines recommends!!!” ... Something very special indeed!”
Mark Nolis, Roots Town Music-Belgium , 2002
“A master piece in every aspects !”
Zlatko Gall, Slobodna Dalmacija- Croatia, May 2003.
“Gypsy Cosmic blues, 5***** ...Mother of Gypsy soul is simply one more perfect album with signature of Mostar Sevdah Reunion and the best CD released by Ljiljana.”
( Twentse courant, Holland, 03.02.2003)
Beautiful music which breaths sadness, bitterness, melancholy and hope. Beautiful recorded and produced. 5*****
Garth Carthwright, Froots Magazine, UK, june 2007.
The legends of Life is, to me, an even better album than Mother of Gypsy Soul. For a start, singer and band are more familiar with one another so the music rolls effortlessly forward. Ljiljana's wonderfully deep voice sailing above the ensemble's beatific playing... "A colossal Achievement!”
Sunday Times, UK, April 2007.
“Now here is a voice that has been lived in. Once a leading light of Balkan gypsy music, Buttler spent a decade or more in obscurity in exile, at one time working as a cleaner to make ends meet. A comeback album won acclaim a couple of years ago, and this new disc is every bit as atmospheric. Buttler’s voice is surprisingly masculine and bluesy; and, if it is occasionally wayward, she has magnificent support from that Bosnian institution the Mostar Sevdah Reunion, creating a relaxed ambience poised between jazz, folk and blues. Another local legend, Saban Bajramovic, makes an appearance, but this is very much Buttler’s show.”
Jon Lusk, BBC Music magazine proms - BBC Music Choice,
August 2007.
After a Stellar Career in the Kafanas (music bars) of former Yugoslavia, Gypsy singer Ljiljana Buttler fled the Balkan war for obscure exile in Germany in 1990 before intrepid producer Dragi Sestic'rediscovered' her. With the viruoso acoustic group Mostar Sevdah Reunion, they made The mother of Gypsy soul (2003), a breathtaking collection of classic Bosnian sevdalinka - slow, tragic love songs. This 2005 follow - up of Roma and Yugoslav standars is marvellous. Buttlers's deep, sobbing voice is given sterling instrumental support, in particular by Mustafa Santic's accordion and clarinet and quest violinist Slobodan Stancic. A few upbeat dances lighten the mood, but otherwise misery has seldom sounded so musical.”
(Tim Cumming - Independent 2009)
No woman has a deeper , more soulful blues in her voice than this Serbian Roma star; who vanished during the Milosevic nightmare, only to return with Mostar Sevdah Reunion in 2002. Her voice goes deep and sounds old, and "Frozen Roses" is a brilliant, theapeutic hour of Buttler's blues, set to a smoky acoustic backing of subtlety and feeling. The closing wrist-opener, "Gloomy Sunday", makes Lou Reed's "Berlin" sounds like "Barbie Girl""
BBC - WORLD REVIEW MUSIC/Album by Jon Lusk - 2009
The bulk of the songs are traditional, but Buttler's own brooding masterpiece Tesko Je Umreti hangs in the air with a mesmerising power, amplified by sterling instrumental support. The slithering violin of Slobodan Stancic lights up this and several other pieces, as does Mustafa Santic's empathetic accordion and clarinet. A walking bass on Mirisni Cvetak is one example of the subtle jazz influence that colours some arrangements, and the epic traditional song Placem Vec Tri Dana sounds like an inspired Balkan rewrite of Led Zeppelin's blues showstopper, Since I've Been Loving You. There are a few upbeat dances such as Verka Kaludjerka and Andro Verka and even some laughter to lighten things, but it's the slower numbers that really burn themselves into the memory. Misery has seldom sounded so musical.”
Snail Records 2018
Dragi Šestić
Founder/Artistic Director/Producer/Bookings
mail : dragi@snailrecords.nl
Wim Bult
Mastering/Website/Stores
mail : wim@snailrecords.nl
postal address
Snailrecords
De Baander 64 | 3823 VK | Amersfoort |
The Netherlands
Ljiljana Buttler - Press Reviews
Ljiljana Buttler
Ljiljana Buttler - Releases
Ljiljana Buttler - News
Ljiljana Buttler - News
Ljiljana Buttler - Videos
Ljiljana Buttler - Press Reviews
>>
click on album cover
The story about the SECOND album , The Legends Of Life ( 2006 )
Dragi felt the time was ripe for a second album and this time she did not take much persuasion. Recording was scheduled for August 2005 in the Pavarotti Center in Mostar of a show by Ljiljana and Mostar Sevdah Reunion. But not only they would be there. To everyone's surprise, Saban Bajramović was there too, the legendary, elusive, unpredictable gipsy singer. A Serbian company wanted to make a film of his life. This included a soundtrack, which Dragi was asked to record with Mostar Sevdah Reunion. Saban and Ljiljana went way back, but there had always been this indefinable tension between them. They felt mutual admiration, respected the other's talents and professionalism, loved to hear the other perform, but, but ….. It had always been sort of a love-hate relationship with both taking a delight in spreading the most unusual stories about the other. As if this was not enough, another musical giant stepped up, who was not particularly known for his amiable, compliant nature: Naat, the celebrated trumpet player of Macedonia. Dragi had succeeded in snaring him to accompany Lilijana in her song "Andro Verka" . And then there was the band: Mostar Sevdah Reunion. Here too, no lack of opinionated views and, justifiably aware of individual craftsmanship, not one of the band members would allow himself to be overshadowed. Only at his arrival in Mostar, proceeding to the Pavarotti Center, Dragi Šestić realized the kind of company he had managed to bring together. He broke out in a cold sweat.
Tight scheduling ensured a strict division of the various recording sessions. Ljiljana felt at ease and determined to give herself entirely. During the studio sessions as well she was the imposing, dominating and amiable personality she was in the theater. A diva, even with only the microphone, fully in control of the situation. The repertoire that had been agreed after endless meetings was designed to fully realize her vocal capacities. Her total vocal pallet was to be utilized. Some songs originate from the sixties, for many the Golden Age of Balkan music. She sings two sevdalinkas " Karanfile Cvijeće Moje" and "Plačem Već Tri Dana" with a score specially made by Mostar Sevdah Reunion with her in mind. Particularly the way in which she interprets "Plačem Već Tri Dana" is proof of the utter equivalence of Sevdah and Blues. Then follow a series of gipsy classics that, as a result of her interpretation, her voluminous voice and her profound empathy, are elevated to a level not seen often seen before. One of the most striking aspects of the album is its mood. Gradually a new type of music grows from the cross of blues and jazz elements and classic Sevdah and gipsy traditions. This development would be unimaginable without Mostar Sevdah Reunion, the only band capable of sensing accurately what is required to bring Ljiljana to her top performance while maintaining an uneven equilibrium between tradition and innovation.
The recording sessions started with Ljiljana and then, after one week, Saban. Ljiljana left for Belgrade. Five days later, the first recording section with Saban almost concluded, Ljiljana returned to Mostar one day early. Saban was taking a break and at that same moment Ljiljana left her apartment on the first floor of Pavarotti Center descending the stairs. She was bored and thought she would see what was happening in the studio. The band had started jamming and having some serious fun. Dragi saw Ljiljana descending. His eyes went from her in the direction of the studio where Saban was taking his break, and he realized that within minutes the two absolute giants of Balkan gipsy music would be together in one room with all the requisite recording facilities. "Rupuni", he whispered to the band members, who started grinning. "Rupuni", a typical Saban song. They watched Ljiljana, who was now standing in the studio door a few feet from Saban. Then they looked over to him and struck the first chords. He straight away picked up the melody, starting to sing in a taunting manner with his eyes riveted to Ljiljana. She froze, closed her eyes for a second, relaxed, awaited the right moment and in a manner no less taunting started her part. This created an unscheduled jam session of over an hour, during which they tried to best one another with ever more ingenious improvisations, idiosyncratic modifications to the lyrics, no longer comprehensible for others but evidently replete with significance for them, and backed by a band fascinated by this musical duel. Abruptly they collapsed in a couple of chairs laughing and relaxed.
Thirty minutes later happened what Dragi had hoped for. The two greatest gipsy vocalists ever, joined in their love for the same music and mutual respect, sang in harmony "Rupuni, Rupuni" which means: don't believe the gossip….
Review written by Chris van den Hoogen.
Accordion, Clarinet – Mustafa Šanti
Arranged By – Mostar Sevdah Reunion
Backing Vocals – Silvana Simić (tracks: 8,10)
Bass [Berde Bass] – Kosta Latinović
Design, Photography By – Pascale van Bemmel
Drums, Percussion – Sead Avdić
Engineer [Assistant] – Armin Mustafić
Illustration – Mea Braun
Lead Guitar – Mišo Petrović
Liner Notes – Chris van den Hoogen
Mastered By – Chris Beckers
Restored & Remasterd for High Resolution Audio By – Wim Bult ( 2015 )
Photography By [Booklet Page 23] – Sandi Durakovic
Producer – Dragi Šestić
Recorded By, Mixed By – Dragi Šestić, Saša Karabatak
Rhythm Guitar – Sandi Duraković
Translated By [Lyrics For The Booklet] – Kim Burton
Trumpet – Naat Veliov (tracks: 6)
Violin – Nedjo Kovačević, Slobodan Stančić (tracks: 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11)
Vocals – Ljiljana Buttler
Review written by Chris van den Hoogen.
Recorded and mixed in the period of June-August 2005 at Studio "Neretva" - Music Center Pavarotti- Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Fully restored, cleaned & remastered for high_resolution (DSD/DXD), by inlinemastering ( Wim Bult ) in 2015.
>>
click on album cover
>>
click on album cover
Ljiljana Buttler - Releases
Ljiljana Buttler - Videos
Ljiljana Buttler - Press Reviews