| Salvatore Ganacci | |
| Birth Date: | 29 July 1986 |
| Birth Place: | Sarajevo, SFR Yugoslavia, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Birth Name: | Emir Kobilić |
| Associated Acts: | Sebastian Ingrosso, Major Lazer, Garmiani, Enya, Tommy Cash |
Emir Kobilić (pronounced as /bs/), known professionally as Salvatore Ganacci (pronounced as /it/), is a Bosnian-Swedish DJ and record producer. His performances at Tomorrowland in 2018 and 2019 became viral,[1] as did the music video for his song "Horse".
Emir Kobilić was born in Sarajevo, SFR Yugoslavia and moved to Stockholm, Sweden.[2] He told an interviewer that his performing name derives from being nicknamed "Salvatore Ganacci" by his childhood friends while playing football, as his "style of play was very Italian".[3]
Ganacci began studying at in 2010, in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. He went on to work as a producer.[4] In 2013, Ganacci, together with Sanjin, released his first song, called "Zlatan", inspired by Swedish footballer Zlatan Ibrahimović. In the song itself, he used another alias, called "Youthman". In the following year, Ganacci released his collaboration with Sanjin, and Jillionaire of Major Lazer called "Fresh".[5] In 2015, Ganacci signed a record deal with Sebastian Ingrosso's Refune Music label.[6] He also released a track featuring vocals from Trinidad James entitled "Money in my mattress". MTV News said the accompanying video "will be the weirdest thing you watch all day".[7] In 2018, he released the track "Jook It" with Tujamo.[8]
Ganacci's song "Horse" was released on audio and video in 2019, by Owsla, a label co-owned by Skrillex.[9] It later garnered recognition at the Berlin Music Video Awards and the Grammis. The music video for "Horse" was the overall winner of the Berlin Music Video Awards in 2020, also winning the award for the "Best Concept" category.
The video begins with a group of people in the forest torturing animals, before Ganacci is alerted by an eagle and arrives driving a shoe. He then subjects the torturers to the very punishments they were inflicting on the animals. Billboard commented "it's kind of funny, but mostly it's just bizarre".[10] As of April 2023, the video on OWSLA's official YouTube channel had over 51 million views.[11] Ganacci worked with director Vedran Rupic and said about the clip "My message is always about love, but I really love to experiment with what love can be." PopMatters listed "Horse" and also Party Favor's "Wasabi" which featured Ganacci in its best dance tracks for 2019.[12]
Ganacci's next authored release was the "Boycycle" EP, which also came with a video. The new song had vocals from Sébastien Tellier and the video told the story of a being who is half-man, half-motorcycle.[13] Ganacci collaborated again with Rupic to make the video for "Step-Grandma" in 2021. He later received Best Performance in a Video at the UK Music Video Awards.
In 2018, Ganacci performed at Tomorrowland Festival in Belgium and received attention due to his dancing and comedic antics. Journalists from publications such as Billboard, Mixmag and NME gave his performance rave reviews and clips went viral on the internet.[14] [15] [16] He returned to the main stage of Tomorrowland the following year, beginning his set by standing in the crowd booing his own performance.[17] He also played at Electric Daisy Carnival at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.[18]
Ganacci occasionally posts comedic shorts in his YouTube channel; much like his music videos, these sketches tend to explore the humor in absurdist and surreal situations they depict.
One viral video of Ganacci depicts him at a concert instructing the audience to "try to relax your anus," before correcting himself by saying "your shoulders".
| Year | Ceremony | Award | Nominated work | Result | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Berlin Music Video Awards | Best Music Video | "Horse" | [19] | ||
| 2020 | Berlin Music Video Awards | Best Concept | "Horse" | [20] | ||
| 2020 | Grammis | Music Video of the Year | "Horse" | [21] | ||
| 2021 | UK Music Video Awards | Best Performance in a Video | "Step-Grandma" | [22] |