''El Shatt is at once the pain of departure, the uncertainty, the longing, the closeness, the determination, the pride, the faith, the solidarity, the desert, the starry sky, the sea, the sun, the sand and a lot of wind in sailing and on land. The thought of returning. He is also a model for the organization of society, creativity, and talent, resistance, partisans, and Dalmatia. That refugee camp in the Egyptian desert is first and foremost a struggle for life. Which is nothing but emotion. To tell a story about him exclusively through music, therefore, means in a higher sense to communicate with all these emotions and people, to truly listen to them, and give them the right to vote at a time when their voices and emotions seem to have disappeared forever under the pressure of new reality. And they’re not, we just aren’t ready to listen to them anymore. But Vladimir & Kalafat still listen to them. That sound from the past sails across the Adriatic all the way to the mouth of the Neretva and then back to this album of emotions of unforgettableness and victory."
Dragan Markovina
Today, a new album by the world music / Ethno ensemble Vladimir & Kalafat titled "El Shatt" was digitally released. It is available through our Bandcamp site, digital platforms, and webshop.
Vladimir & Kalafat, with the concept album "El Shatt" embarked on an imaginary journey from the Dalmatian city of Komiža, through the Italian ports of Bari and Taranto to the Egyptian Port Said, and especially to the desert area of El Shatt not far from the Suez Canal on the Sinai Peninsula. El Shatt - Canvas City, as it was called by Dalmatians, is a complex of refugee camps in which from February 1944 to March 1946 the evacuated population from Dalmatia stayed. The first transport of refugees by ship to Egypt started from the Italian city of Taranto.
VLADIMIR & KALAFAT - El Shatt @ PDV Bandcamp
VLADIMIR & KALAFAT - El Shatt @ PDV
VLADIMIR & KALAFAT - El Shatt --> Streaming & Digital
The album El Shatt is not only a journey through time and civilization but also a warm intimate reminiscence of Nona Mladineo from beautiful Komiža, a portrait of Ranko Marinković, and a dedication to diligent hands. The Egyptian El Shatt is part of the collective memory in Dalmatia.
Six songs, rooted in the traditional music of the Mediterranean in filigree performances by musical jewelers, piano essayist Gabriel Prusina, magical clarinetist and accordionist Meho Radoović, enthusiastic cellist Oliver Djordjevic, pastel nostalgic vocalists Inga Bodul Marigaric and Ivane Margaret Pranjkovic on the rebab, Mirza Redžepagić who invokes the wind of Gibla on the Arabic oud, the sensitive Dino Šukal on the glissentar and the lyrically moody Dinko Šimunović on the double bass.
"El Shatt" tracklist:
1. Komiža
2. Bari
3. Taranto
4. Port Said
5. El Shatt
6. Škoji
Album credits:
Vladimir Mićković - vocals
Gabriel Prusina - piano
Meho Radoović - clarinet
Mohamad Ait-Mghar - rebab
Oliver Djordjevic - cello
Dinko Šimunović - double bass
Dino Šukalo - glissentar
Ivana Marijanović - vocals
Inga Bodul Pranjković - vocals
Mirza Redžepagić - oud
Produced by Vladimir Mićković
Music and arrangements by Vladimir Mićković, Gabrijel Prusina, and Meho Radoović, except 'Škoji' (Traditional Dalmatian song)
Recording / mix / master by Borjan Milošević, Hrvoje Nikšić, Gabriel Prusina, Meho Radoović and Sparta
Cover by Ivan Mićković
Cover design by Milana Vukomanović