KULTURA / CULTURE
form he practices, he has succeeded. I learnt to convey my emotions to the audience through expression.” Which guitarists do you ad- mire today, or which ones helped you become a vir- tuoso? “I admire all those who helped form me when I was growing up. I still admire Jimi Hendrix, who left a huge mark on world music, but al- so influenced me, just like Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, John McLaughlin etc. I learned something from each of them, taking some trick or phrase, and adding all of that to my own “pot from which I serve my dish”. There are actually lots of phenome- nal young guitarists who are push- ing the boundaries of what can be played on the guitar even further. I would mention a young guy from Sicily called Matteo Mancuso, who is probably the world’s best techni- cal guitarist at present.” Do you remember your first guitar and how you re- ceived it? “The first guitar arrived at our house in 1965, an acoustic made in East Germany. My first electric gui- tar was a cheap, Czech-made Jolana, after which I started experimenting with Japanese copies of American guitars, until I grabbed and bought my first Gibson SG in London back in 1976.” What can we expect at the upcoming Belgrade con- cert? “I think it will be a spectacular concert. I have a lot of precious people around me, a lot of wonderful musi- cians who will enrich the programme. The concert will consist of an acoustic part and, of course, an electric part. Along with my dear colleagues and friends Miroslav Tadić and Gibonni, there is my standard trio: Jan Ste- fanovski on drums, Ivan Kukić on bass and my longtime collaborator Damir Imeri on keyboards. The most important thing of all is that it will be emotional, because it isn’t sim- ple to traverse 50 years of material and works. We will perform songs that the audience likes the most and that have “survived” the test of time.”
VLATKO STEFANOVSKI WILL REMEMBER THE YEAR IN WHICH HE MARKS HALF A CENTURY on the scene for his Lon- don adventure – including a sold-out concert at the Dingwalls club and recording a new album at the leg- endary Abbey Road Studios. With Jan Stefanovski on drums and Ti- homir Hojsak on double bass, Vlat- ko recorded a whopping 23 songs, including the iconic While My Gui- tar Gently Weeps, as an homage to the Beatles. “We walked all the halls and saw all the instruments, and what I would call the ‘sacred places’ where the Beatles worked. I sang on a mi- crophone that was once used by Amy Winehouse. We all felt the energy of the celebrated musicians who’ve re- corded at this famous studio,” says Stefanovski. This latest album, together with his longstanding projects, represents just part of a rich body of work that includes collaborations with world greats, music for film and theatre, as well as work with the London Symphony Orchestra. And the ju- bilee that he’s set to celebrate with his Sava Centre concert on 16 th De- cember provided a great reason for us to have a brief chat with him. We started, of course, with the topic of Abbey Road... “We had two magical days avail- able to us and recorded 23 tracks. One simply can’t describe our de- light over managing to enter the heart of the temple where the Bea- tles worked – and not only them, but also many other huge artists.
But everything started with the Bea- tles, who did a lot and introduced a lot of innovations, and who had an incredible gift for composing and ex- perimenting in the studio. They nat- urally mean a lot to me. I grew up with that music, with that aesthet- ic and, quite frankly, that humour. The first song I learned to play on the guitar was Michelle.” While we’re on the topic of the past, how do you recall your own beginnings? “I listened to music, took a guitar in my hands, first learned to tune it, then slowly mastered some chords. I generally sat in the yard in front of the house and exchanged ideas about music with my schoolmates. I then “jammed” with my friends, and also played with my dear neighbour who’s now a violinist for the Phil- harmonic. We learned some songs and had fun. Just like we played bas- ketball and football, we also played with instruments. I was a curious boy, filled with enthusiasm and keen to learn something.” Did you ever aspire to be- come this region’s best gui- tarist? “I constantly desired to play and have a band around me, but I never dreamt of great success. Everything came naturally, we didn't force any- thing, we weren't “hungry” for great success. If you invest a lot of effort and love in something, then suc- cess comes as a natural thing. Ar- thur Rubinstein once said wisely: “there is no better in music, only different”. If a man manages to ex- press his emotions through any art
62 | Muzika » Music
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