Arbër Salihu

Arbër Salihu (born 21 April 1991) is a Kosovan singer, songwriter, composer, artist and musician. He is known for the work with his solo act La Fazanihttps://abcnews.al/kush-eshte-la-fazani-kantautori-atipik-qe-godet-me-kenget-e-tij-vellai-i-artistit-te-famshem-shqiptar/ as well as the duo Oborrihttps://www.oborrimusic.com/, releasing music mostly in Albanian language in Kosovo and Albania.
He is also an award-winning composer for film and theatre, and has recently been composing children’s music for the educational platform “Planeti i Fëmijëve” https://www.youtube.com/c/PlanetiTV-K%C3%ABng%C3%ABdheDituri. His classical piece “Variations on Luleborë” has been published in “Anthology of young Kosovar composers” in 2020Kompozitoret e rinj - 2000-2020, MAGMUS 2020, 560 faqe - ISMN - 979-8-9020653-2-0. He debuted his "La Fazani"https://abcnews.al/kush-eshte-la-fazani-kantautori-atipik-qe-godet-me-kenget-e-tij-vellai-i-artistit-te-famshem-shqiptar/ act in 2022, incorporating elements of hip-hop, rock & roll, Albanian folk and African rhythms to serve as a backbone for his vibrant lyrical narratives, often depicting animated social realities of life in Kosovo. He now plays frequently with a 5-piece live band which includes some of the most prominent names in Kosovo's music scene.
== Biography ==
Arbër Salihu was born in Gjakova, because circumstances from Kosovo War made it risky for Albanians to give birth in Pristina in the early 1990s. He has lived most of his life in Pristina, but also has stints living in the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Italy and Vietnam.
Salihu taught himself guitar when he was 12 years old, and first released music with the band Cute Babulja, fronted by his brother Genc Salihu, in 2014 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9KQZjcjJ3E&t=276s. He graduated in economics in Utrecht University in the Netherlands in 2012, before returning to Kosovo to focus on his music. He has been involved in prominent artistic projects in Pristina, including Baushtellë: Balkan Templehttps://www.albinfo.ch/baushtelle-balkan-temple-projekt-ndermjet-prishtines-beogradit-dhe-cyrihut/ and Termokisshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7U5v_w-FPg. In 2022 he finished his third year of music composition studies in University of Business and Technology in Pristina.
== Oborri ==
In 2014, together with Tomor Kuçi, Salihu formed the duo Oborrihttps://www.sofarsounds.com/artists/arber-salihu. They have released four music videos and their self-titled debut album in 2017. Arif Pehlivani from Kosovo 2.0 described their music as "the best soundtrack if Lars von Trier decided to make an animated film based on any of Marquez’s magical stories" https://kosovotwopointzero.com/en/whistling-through-vineyards/. They performed live in many Balkans countries, including Kosovo, Macedonia, Albania and Serbia https://balkanrock.com/reportaze/pristinski-oborri-oborili-novosadski-kc-lab/. Together with Edona Vatoci, they performed in the tribute concert of legendary Kosovan band Gjurmët in the Palace of Congresses in Tirana, Albaniahttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_B1TiEomiw.
== La Fazani ==
After a few years living in Vietnam https://saigoneer.com/saigon-events/15281-indika-live-music-jam-hosted-by-the-great-arber-salihu-indika-saigon, Salihu returned to Kosovo in 2019 to start his solo career as La Fazani. In a TV interview, he said chose a name as an effort to create an alter-ego as means of detaching his music from his personal self, with Fazani standing for Peafowl in Albanianhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im8UqXVoMSo&t=554s. He released his debut single Jupiterihttps://topawards.top-channel.tv/pas-10-vitesh-ne-muzike-la-fazani-vjen-kete-here-solo-me-jupiteri/ in January 2022, before releasing Hajde me shuplakëhttps://www.topalbaniaradio.com/v7/la-fazani-vjen-me-hajde-me-shuplake-nje-kenge-parodi-dhe-satire-me-ne-fokus-tematika-te-ndryshme-social-politike/ in May and Fluturojhttps://www.topalbaniaradio.com/v7/nga-parodia-ne-kenge-dashurie-la-fazani-sjell-projektin-e-tij-te-ri-fluturoj/ in September 2022. He announced that La Fazani's debut album is due to be released in February 2023https://nacionale.com/podcast/podcast-me-lafazanin-ia-nisi-lufta-pa-u-kry-pandemija-keshtu-qe-hajde-me-shuplake-6044. He now regularly performs in Kosovo and Albania with his band, which consists some of the most prominent Kosovan musicians including Drin Tashi, Fatlind Ferati, Art Lokaj, and Nesim Maxhuni. He performed on the main stage of Sunny Hill Festival in 2022https://top-channel.tv/2022/07/23/zbulohet-lista-e-plote-e-artisteve-qe-do-te-performojne-ne-sunny-hill-festival/.
== Other projects ==
Salihu has been active in providing original music for various film and theatre projects in Kosovo. He has collaborated with Ilir Hasanaj on two films, providing original music for "Me dasht', me dasht', me dasht' (To want, to need, to love)"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12987892/?ref_=nmbio_mbio (2015), and "As I Was Looking Above, I Could See Myself Underneath"https://manifesta14.org/event/as-i-was-looking-above-i-could-see-myself-underneath-ilir-hasanaj-followed-by-a-qa-with-the-film-crew/ (2022). He has worked with Qendra Multimedia and Artpolis as a musician for the shows "Five Seasons of the Enemy of the People", "Spring Awakening" and "Artemide's Huntresses".
In 2016, he participated in the album Kosoveirahttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXC3xC-AQ00 by Luis Panicheli, merging Brazilian Capoeira music|Capoeira music with Music of Albania folk music, contributing the original song Fija e tejdukshme https://banderascapoeira.bandcamp.com/track/fija-e-tejdukshme-feat-arber-salihu (Invisible String).
Category:1991 births
Category:Kosovan singers
Category:Kosovan composers