Bosnian musician Goran Bregovic is the brightest representative of Balkan folk-rock. In recent years, his performances with the Wedding and Funeral Orchestra ensemble have enjoyed great success. In addition, Goran Bregovic has a reputation as an excellent film composer. In particular, he wrote music for several films by Emir Kusturica.
Early years and participation in the Bijelo dugme group
Goran Bregovic was born in the Yugoslav city of Sarajevo (now the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina) in March 1950. When Goran was young, his parents divorced (the main reason for the divorce was his father's addiction to alcohol), and Bregovich stayed with his mother.
It is known that Goran Bregovic learned to play the violin at a music school, but he was soon expelled with the wording "for lack of talent." In the future, he never received a professional musical education.
In 1970, Bregovich first tried himself as a composer, and soon became a member of the rock group Jutro (Morning). On January 1, 1974, the group was renamed Bijelo dugme (White Button). It was with this rock band that Goran Bregovic gained popularity in Yugoslavia. Over the fifteen years of their existence, the guys from Bijelo dugme have released nine albums (the first was called "Kad bi 'bio bijelo dugme", and the last - "Ciribiribela") and created several memorable videos.
During this time, Goran, who mainly wrote the lyrics and melodies for "Bijelo dugme", became a real rock star. He bought expensive cars, willingly wore Western clothes and shocked the audience in every possible way, creating for himself the image of a bully and a rebel.
Bregovich as a film composer
In 1977, Goran Bregovic wrote the soundtrack for the film Butterfly Cloud directed by Zdravko Randić, and this was his first such work.
But Bregovic got his true fame as a film composer when he created the music for the famous film by Emir Kusturica "The Time of the Gypsies" (1988). This painting was awarded the "Silver Palm" at the Cannes Festival and glorified its creators all over the planet. Kusturica also collaborated with Bregovic on two more of his films (Arizona Dream and Underground). In addition, the music of the Bosnian composer can be heard in the film “Turkish Gambit” by Janik Fayziev, in the comedy “Borat” by Larry Charles and in the Brazilian TV series “Save and Save”. In general, Bregovich's soundtracks are characterized by a fusion of rock style, gypsy melodies and Slavic musical motives.
Performances and recordings of recent years
From 1998 to this day, Bregovich has performed his music at various venues with the Wedding and Funeral Orchestra band. In the small version, this band consists of nine, and in the extended version, it consists of nineteen people. In the spring of 2015, Goran Bregovic, together with the Wedding and Funeral Orchestra ensemble, gave a concert in Sevastopol, after which the Ukrainian authorities banned the Bosnian composer from entering the country.
Of course, other projects of Bregovich are also of interest to the audience. So in 2000 he recorded the album "Kayah & Bregovic" with the singer Kaia, and in 2003 the disc "Daj mi drugie zycie" with the Polish musician Krawczyk. Bregovic was also the author of the music for the song "Ovo јe Balkan", which the Serbian singer Milan Stankovic performed at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest. And in 2017, the Bosnian composer took part in the recording of the song "El Futuro Es Nuestro" by the Puertoitan rapper Residente.
Personal life
Today Goran Bregovic resides permanently in France, in Paris, with his family - wife Jenana Sujouka (they have been married for about 25 years) and three daughters. Their names are Ema (born in 1995), Una (born in 2001) and Lula (born in 2004). The musician also has an illegitimate daughter, Zhelka. Her mother is a dancer in one of the nightclubs in Sarajevo; Bregovich had a short romance with her in his youth.
