…the most remarkable is the voice of Backovic, which gives the music its natural warmth and colour’
Jovana Backovic was born in Belgrade, Serbia where she graduated classical composition from the Faculty of Music Art in 2006. While studying for degree in composition, she founded, composed for and led the ensemble ‘Arhai’ in Belgrade since 1998, and their debut album ‘Mysterion’ was released in 2006 on the Serbian national label PGP . In its Belgrade incarnation Arhai was a ten-piece electro-folk orchestra that developed a fusion of traditional music from the Balkan region with ambient sounds and jazz-influenced improvisation, using classical flute, ‘cello, piano, electric guitar, bass and percussion/drums, along with a trio of female singers. As a UK resident Jovana continued to create music under the name ArHai, moving toward solo performance using live electronics. When she moved to the U.K to complete her PhD thesis, she began her collaboration with British folk guitarist and tambura-player Adrian Lever and developed the current live performance format that combines multilayered vocals with tambura, dumcimer, tarabuka and electronics. This collaborative work was generously supported by Arts Council of England in 2013.
Jovana mainly composes music for theatre, as well as feature and documentary movies. She also works as a music producer at Berwick Street Studios in Soho, recording and producing music by fellow artists ranging from pop to hard rock / alternative ( most recent are releases by Julia Zelg, Coco & the Liffey and Ariella ).
Jovana has completed her PhD thesis at University of East Anglia in 2014, with the subject ‘Between Two Words: Approaching Balkan oral tradition through the use of technology as compositional and performance medium’. She is also a recipient of Sound and Music C19 composers award (2021).