This songs is about boy and a girl making a pact. It was sung in various versions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but I was inspired by this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11QOZ0Waceo.

Kladilo se momče i djevojče

This is a sheperd song from Lovinac, a village in Lika-Senj County in Croatia. I first heard the song in the "field recording" from the 50,60-ies stored in the archives of the Zagreb Institute for Ethnology and Folklore Research.

Grlo moje muklo progovara

This song is from the southern region of Serbia, Šumadija. It is about working in the fields and some loving moments which stopped abruptly, with the end of the filed work season. The lyrics of the fourth part of the song were added later, in the course of the time and in some versions of the song.

Oj jagnjilo, o moj mio bore

This love song is from Bulgaria, Pazardjik region. It is a type if song usually combined with dancing in a circle (Bulgarian "kolo"- kopanica). I learned it during a Bulgarian singing workshop in Ljubljana with the members of the ensemble Mystery of Bulgarian Voices.

Slanceto trepti da zaide

I first heard the field recording at the Institute for Ethnology and Folklore Research in Zagreb. It was sung by Manda Juranović from Mračaj, Sisak-Moslavina County in Croatia. The song is a combination of a lullaby and an outlet for sadness of the woman singing it, the opening phrase being "I am sad, but I am trying to appear happy". For this one, I used a Tibetan singing bowl and a delay effect on my Zoom.

Tužna jesam

This song is about maple tree being great for making dowry chests for young girls and then finishing with a love situation. It is actually a combination of various song lyrics with one musical theme that people used to sing in Keići, village in Karlovac County, Croatia, stored in the archives of the Zagreb Institute for Ethnology and Folklore Research. For more resonance of the second, accompanying voice I used the frame drum (singing in its skin).

Javore

This song is from Posedarje and the old recording can be found in the Zagreb Institute of Ethnology and Folclore Research. Kata Magaš is the local singer in the recording. It is a sheperd, solitary, women`s song, the second voice and rhythm is added by me. It ends with the woman complaining about her darling being sick and drinking his "medicine" each morning, probably being "rakija" as the universal alcoholic cure in the Balkans.

Zora zori a ja kod ovaca

This is a type of song known as džotavica, originally from Herzegovina region (Mostar). It is traditionally a group song with one singer "calling" the others to join for the second, repetitive part of each verse. This version is with "loose" second voice and added frame drums, inspired by traditional dancing to the song, both using Zoom effects. The song is about all faces of nature carrying its wisdom.

Ispod drače voda skače

Over the years, I came across many traditional songs from Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Bulgaria, etc. that moved me in some way and wanted to reinterpret them. Sometimes I use just voice and sometimes also instruments, mainly percussion. In the song descriptions, you will be able to find more info about each of the songs.
The name Prisoje comes from the word used in some Balkan countries for the sunny side of the mountain or hill (as opposed to osoje - being the side in the shade). The word is still kept as a name for more than a few villages in the Balkans.

Prisoje

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