BACKOVIC, Jovana

Jovana Backovic was born in 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.

Jovana mainly composes music for theatre, as well as feature and documentary movies, and was the recipient of Sound and Music C19 composers award in 2021. She also works as a music producer at Berwick Street Studios in Soho.