This summer, I had 4 very well received performances in China, performances with Balkanopolis in the Netherlands, one of which was seen by over a million people on television, with 35 thousand people in the audience, outdoors. The concert is called Balkanopolis 2.0 and marks 20 years of Balkanopolis, the band that was the progenitor of the new traditional music wave in this region, dubbed “modern tradition”. We are celebrating 20 years of Balkanopolis! We will commemorate the jubilee with a special concert in Sava Centar on 25 November. You are very busy, what will the autumn and winter look like, according to your schedule?Īutumn and winter are fantastic. And these new pieces I play come with the eternal contrast of our epic and lyrical traditions, but again, with a modern twist, suited to my sensibility. Epic and lyrical poetry keep intertwining in my music. The collection of all these instruments and the sound of old Serbia continue to fascinate me and represent an unexhaustive source of inspiration. In that sense, they are a direct link to our ancestors.
They are historically a far more significant and older instrument than both the pipe and the trumpet. But bagpipes come first for me, at the moment. In general, I am drawn to our ancient sound, to throat singing, to playing traditional instruments such as bagpipes, such as kaval, tambura and other traditional Serbian instruments. In this period of your career, which segment of our culture and history do you find the most inspiring? Serbia has a very rich cultural and historical heritage. I am happy to see that the festival is growing, because a great name, such as Edin Karamazov, played on that same stage this year, in the church under the same open sky. I will remember this performance as one of the significant performances in my life. The location and the audiences were inspiring. I experienced this specific emotional charge. What will you remember this performance in Prizren for? Especially having in mind the current moment in time and the situation in which our people find themselves today in Prizren and in all of Kosovo and Metohija. I have to say that it was a special feeling, to play in such a special place, in a church under an open sky. The event takes place in Prizren, the capital of the Empire, which is significant both in cultural terms and as the old imperial city. Firstly, for their excellent idea and also for their fantastic realisation. I have to compliment the organizers, as well as the initiators of this festival. It was an excellent initiative to organize the Medieval Music Festival. It’s also a fact that our tradition had an influence over the church music, and the other way around, so many of our traditional music pieces have a very specific spiritual tone. I know that our modern tradition leans heavily on it and that our sacral – singing tradition dates back to the Middle Ages. I don’t know if I am an expert to discuss Serbian Medieval music.
What is it that you like best in Serbian Medieval music? How is our heritage from that period special, and how is this festival preserving that heritage? This summer, you performed at the Medieval Music Festival in Prizren. All these sounds together make the sound of Balkanopolis and the music I play. I grew up on other, modern and orchestral sounds, too. Again, it has a touch of the contemporary, because we are living in 21 st century. I try to keep the lyrics I write true to the spirit of folk poetry, both epic and lyrical. I try to tell every musical story in a way that matches my sensibility and is in line with traditional values. And instruments… It is like a painter choosing his colours, so you choose the colours of sound, depending on what a piece calls for. There are far more than 15, but let’s say that 15 is the number people usually mention, so keep it at that. Somehow, instruments find me, not the other way around ( laughter). What’s your approach to such musical multitasking?
He discussed the significance of the sounds of old Serbia, the ways instruments find him and revealed, as an exclusive, just how Balkanopolis will commemorate its great jubilee.ĭo you know how many instruments you can play? Not so long ago, you had a performance in Belgrade where you played 15 instruments at the same time. He talked to us in a car, en route to a recording studio. The great musician, instrumentalist, composer and singer will be commemorating the 20 th anniversary of his band, as well as the 20 th anniversary of modern traditional Serbian music.
0 kommentar(er)
