The Vienna Ensemble Dusha Connection is a jazz trio with its roots in Vienna, Serbia and Sicily. It was founded in 2015 by the bandleader and the composer Esad Halilovic. Inspired by old and partial rediscovered folk songs from the South/South-East European region, the trio composes, arranges and improvises for the MERAK program. Esad Halilovic’s compositions and arrangements stand in a tense relationship between archetypical Balkan-characters and modern, jazz-like sounds world. Here elements of traditional Slavic-oriental folk are reinterpreted and translated into contemporary terms. This is especially noticeable in the melancholic and the Portuguese Fado: The Bosnian Sevdalinke as "Bentbasha", "Tamburalo" and the Kosovar and Bulgarian wise "Ajde Jano" and "Yugo Blues" alias "Vranjanka". His compositions "Alena" and "WP Unterwegs" depict the life of a nomad or a stranger in exile. In this case we have a Slavic soul that encounters a pluralistic, urban world and Viennese humour. The recurring Leitmotiv is surrounded by styles and rhythms. In the improvised solos there is an undertone of old school jazz that can be heard throughout the music. The song titles refer to the well-known originals of the songs and to the personal associations of the composer. ​