Shira u'tfila

“…The main disc is a triumph. Stefan Sablic, the lead volacist has a reedy authenticity and his supporting musicians are all virtuosos.” - Dennis Marks, for “Songlines” July 2010

“They are one of the most interesting bands on the Sephardic live music scene, exploring a little-known musical repertoire on the fringes of Ottoman and Habsburg Empire. Recently they performed in the Sephardic Spring season in Geneva, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and one of the best centres of world music in Europe, Rasa in Utrecht.”


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- Simon Broughton for „Songlines“ June 2010

"This group has the clear mission of reviving the Jewish Balkan music tradition, a goal that is definitely approached with tremendous seriousness. In spite of that, their totally modern improvisation includes not only a punk-rockabilly double bass and the passionate contributions of Filip Krumes on violin, but also the unambiguous and unique sound of qanun played by the renowned musician from Israel, Elad Gabbay.
But, exactly somewhere, in between this area filled with ferments of the chemistry of the 21th century, which also satisfies the wide range of the urban generation, you are suddenly struck by the ancient spirit of the Orient, whose deep melancholy and ecstasy finds its place in the vital harmony of the autonomous branch of eternal reality. Sensual, intoxicating and beautiful, but truly."

- Danas

Cantor of the Belgrade Synagogue Stefan Sablic is involved with a host of side projects. His 2006 musical theater piece, Blonde Jewish Girl, which sets the archetypal Romeo and Juliet feud in early-1900s Bosnia, continues to perform throughout the region, while his prolific Balkan-Turkish Jewish roots ensemble Shira U'tfila is now on tour in Greece. A few months ago, he celebrated the release of Donde Tiyenes Ojos? (Where did you get those eyes?) at Belgrade's Jewish Center for Culture and Art, a vibrant, multi-disciplinary performance space which he founded and continues to lead.

Distributed internationally via cdbaby.com, Ojos is a joint project of Shira U'tfila and Judeo-Spanish musicologist Drita Tutunovic, who learned the disc's various wedding-, birth- and lullaby-themed folk songs from her ancestors. The album is reminiscent of what Israeli post-Balkan jammers Boom Bam would sound like if they didn't have a punky edge. It is at once nostalgic and alive.

Hand percussion rhythms drive the opening song "The Bride is Coming Down," while Tutunovic's own creatively accented oud improvisations close out "The Birth is Approaching."
The title song, a sparse treatment featuring not much more than Tutunovic's vocal and a violin part, provides contrast to tracks like the tongue-in-cheek dowry negotiations of "You Don't Give Her Enough, My Mother-in-Law" and the long-distance love of "In Foreign Land," both essentially group chants.
But the song cycle's strongest presentations take place in the closing act, including the guitar-picked waltz duet of "In Your High Palace" and the mood of intoxicated longing, heightened by a bow-stroked bassline in "Go to Sleep, My Fair Maiden."

Ben Jacobson

- The Jerusalem Post

"...It's refreshing to encounter a group who come mostly from the former Yugoslavia. Led by Stefan Sablic, a serbian, they have an eclectic and accomplished performing style, spiced up by an Indian percussionist. The mainly Balkan backing group adds a wealth of Mediterranean instruments including darabuka, kaval, qanun and riq. Try the heady mix of sacred and profane in the first four tracks on this disc I dare you disagree." - Songlines