The title “Odiseja”, the Slavic term for “Odyssey”, says it all. Like the mythical journey of Odysseus, the album is shaped by movement, encounters, longing, danger, friendship and seduction. Baba Yaga embarks on its own Odiseja: a musical and personal voyage of discovery in which different people, languages and cultures come together.

The journey does not only travel geographically through different musical landscapes. It also moves between past and present, between tradition and new beginnings, between melancholy and joie de vivre. The album combines original compositions with selected traditional songs and brings seven languages together: Bosnian-Serbian-Croatian, Yiddish, Romani, Greek, French, Italian and Spanish.

The result is a world-music crossover that sees borders not as dividing lines, but as transitions.

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Tradition Meets the Present

Klezmer has its roots in 15th-century Europe, while Gypsy Jazz emerged around a hundred years ago. Baba Yaga approaches these musical traditions with respect, but without inhibitions. The five young musicians preserve the characteristic elements of the genres while simultaneously translating them into a contemporary sonic language.

Modern rhythms from reggaeton and Afro House find their place alongside virtuosic string lines, driving percussion, accordion, mandolin, double bass and guitar. The combination never feels contrived, but entirely natural: the musicians grew up with the musical currents of the 21st century and allow these influences to flow organically into their own music.

“Odiseja” therefore sounds fresh, vibrant and open to the world. Above all, however, the album is danceable. There are tracks that immediately set the body in motion, as well as moments that leave room for calm, melancholy and concentrated listening.

Lightness meets depth, cheerfulness meets longing, virtuosity meets the sheer joy of playing.

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A Sound That Creates Images

Baba Yaga’s music is not merely audible – it creates images. Many of the album’s tracks develop an almost cinematic quality: they are driving and epic, sometimes dramatic, sometimes playful. The energy changes from track to track, while always remaining intense and emotional.

This vividness continues in the accompanying music videos. Together with video artists Liliya Timirzyanova, Jonathan Meiri and Jay Choma, Baba Yaga translates the album’s musical fantasies into visual stories.

Filming took place in Slovenia, Italy and Austria, among other locations – by the sea, in palm gardens and in Mediterranean cities. The videos thus pick up on one of the album’s central themes: the journey. Places change, landscapes pass by, cultures encounter one another – and music becomes the connecting element.