{"id":213699,"date":"2026-07-05T13:36:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T11:36:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/?p=213699"},"modified":"2026-07-05T13:36:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T11:36:13","slug":"damir-united-the-balkans-through-sevdah-using-music-and-artificial-intelligence-he-brought-santics-poems-to-lifeand-theyre-now-a-social-media-sensation-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/damir-united-the-balkans-through-sevdah-using-music-and-artificial-intelligence-he-brought-santics-poems-to-lifeand-theyre-now-a-social-media-sensation-video\/","title":{"rendered":"DAMIR UNITED THE BALKANS THROUGH SEVDAH: Using Music and Artificial Intelligence, He Brought \u0160anti\u0107’s Poems to Life\u2014and They’re Now a Social Media Sensation! (VIDEO)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In recent days, tens of thousands of people across social media have liked and shared the first-ever musical adaptation of “Jela,”<\/strong> a poem by Aleksa \u0160anti\u0107. The verses of the great Serbian and Yugoslav poet, wrapped in a breathtaking, delicately crafted musical arrangement, have resonated throughout the Balkans. The editorial team at Serbian Times tracked down the man behind the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We found Damir Mrkaljevi\u0107<\/strong>, a native of Jagodina, somewhere between Germany and the Br\u010dko District\u2014a route he frequently travels while working as a project manager for an international company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it wasn’t his day job we wanted to discuss. Instead, we wanted to talk about his passion: music and poetry. Damir has dedicated his life to researching sevdah, old songs, and forgotten stories, a subject he is currently exploring in a book titled “Following the Trail of Sevdah.”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

FOLLOWING THE TRAIL OF SEVDAH: Damir Mrkaljevi\u0107 Devotes His Life to Preserving Musical Tradition<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mrkaljevi\u0107 doesn’t just love sevdah and traditional sevdalinka songs\u2014he creates them as well. He is the founder of Strigoi Studio<\/strong>, a project through which he has arranged and set to music numerous centuries-old poems and lyrics in the spirit of the past while using cutting-edge technology, including artificial intelligence, which also helps him create accompanying videos for the songs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I launched the Strigoi Studio project about four months ago with the goal of exploring old, forgotten songs, stories, and texts. I decided to turn them into music in the hope of preserving them and introducing them to younger generations. Of course, I also wanted to do something for people who still love sevdah, which is becoming increasingly rare\u2014to give them a place where they can still enjoy it, even if our mainstream media no longer offers much of it. Especially today, when so much modern music, in my humble opinion, has gone to extremes,”<\/em> Damir told Serbian Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/div>
View this post on Instagram<\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/a>

A post shared by Damir Mrkaljevic (@strigoi.studio)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n