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about this album
Zana Messia is singer/songwriter, producer and teacher from the former Yugoslavia whose style has been described as organic world fusion, combining elements of Balkan folk, Roma music and jazz. In Los Angeles, her band "The Balkan SOul Orchestra" has had many notable performances at well known venues and festivals. Zana's background is a whirlwind ride. She spent her early childhood in Mostar in former Yugoslavia, learning to play piano and winning local talent contests. Her musical sensibilities were quickly curtailed at the age of 11 when war broke out in Bosnia/Herzegovina. Her family was forced to flee as refugees to Sweden. Despite the upheaval, Zana resumed her music studies and her talent soon came to the attention of world-renowned jazz pianist and vocal coach, Steven A. Garrick. He took the precocious singer under his wing tutoring her until his untimely passing when Zana was just 13. Undeterred by the loss of her mentor, she recorded her first demo at the age of 15, and immediately landed a record offer with Sony Music Sweden. By 16 she had performed in front of a television audience of 20,000 in Sarajevo. Her songs have been released on Universal, Sony BMG and Virgin EMI, as well as several domestic and internationally released feature films. In 2006, Zana moved back to her war-shattered hometown Mostar to study the folklore and music of her ancestry and work as Musical Director at the United World College before moving to Los Angeles in 2009. Two years