Goran Bregovic

• Genre: Balkans/Eastern Europe

About

Goran Bregovic is one of the Balkan's greatest living composers, a master whose soundtrack for 1989's Time of the Gypsies turned generations of weirdos on to the manic beauty of Balkan folk. Born to a Serbian mother and Croatian father, Bregovic came of age in communist Yugoslavia where, despite his classical conservatory training, he took up playing guitar -- and with it, rock 'n' roll. At age 16 he founded the White Button, a rock band that would tour the Eastern Block for the next 15 years and make Bregovic a youth idol in the process. In 1988 filmmaker Emil Kusturica invited Bregovic to score his film Time of the Gypsies. Audiences found the score ravishing, and a productive collaboration was born that led to soundtracks for Arizona Dream and Underground, among others. Bregovic has worked with artists as diverse as Iggy Pop and Cesaria Evora for his soundtracks, dabbled in theatre and continues to give stunning live shows throughout Europe.

- Sarah Bardeen