C ellists Luka Šulić and Stjepan Hauser are known worldwide as 2Cellos. Their 2011 cover version of Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” almost literally set fire to YouTube, amassing more than five mil- lion views in just three months. The tal- ented guys started receiving offers from all sides, with the general hysteria culmi- nating in an invitation from Elton John, who asked them to accompany him on his world tour. In his invitation, this leg- end did not save his praise, writing that he has not seen anything as exciting since Jimi Hendrix. You are launching a world to- ur with your Belgrade concert. What can we expect at the Kom- bank Arena? Stjepan : It will be a genuine spectacle for the whole region, because we will pres- ent songs from the new album,“Score”, for the first time. These are our cover versions of songs from film scores, which we per- formed together with the London Sym- phony Orchestra, one of the best orches- tras in the world. Your concerts are highly energe- tic. How often do you break wi- res, on average, and how many bows do you break during a per- formance? Luka : We stopped counting that long ago. I only remember that we once changed as many as six bows in just a few hours. Well, nobody does that, but that’s our craziness and the passion we have for music. You once said that if it wasn’t for YouTube you would have ended up in some Croatian village. Do you still think that? Stjepan : YouTube is a great blessing. Everyone can create their own fan base if they are sufficiently original and compel- ling. Earlier in order to build a career you had to utilise various contacts and use ac- quaintances, while today anyone can do that thanks to the internet. The most im- portant thing is to have a vision and to be original and persistent. Also, nothing comes overnight. What’s it like to be a perso- nal friend of the famous El- ton John? Stjepan : When you meet such leg- ends, you realise that they are really just normal people made of flesh and blood. There is nothing mystical there. Although he is known by the whole world, Elton John still works as doggedly today as he did at the start of his career. He is one of those people you can learn a lot from simply by
U Kombank areni premijerno će predstaviti novi album They will present their new album at the Kombank Arena
observing them and seeing what they do and how they behave. As teenagers you were rivals in music competitions. Are you still competing on the stage? Luka : We always compete, that’s inside us. That’s also why we leave such an im- pression on the audience. With our rivalry we push each other to be better. Stjepan : Competition is the healthiest thing in the world, when it is absent you cannot progress. Moreover, when one of us two falters, the other one jolts and shouts: “Play, be crazier!”It is not easy to give your all for every performance, to swing your head and smash bows. You are fans of Šaban Šaulić. Is it true that at the end of your concerts his song “With Inten- tion I Came to the Big City” is always playing? Luka : Yeah, we always put it on when people are leaving the concert hall. I adore it; I always listened to it when I went to Lon- don to study. It reminds me of that time. You are so popular in Japan that you even have your own day, 20 th January. How did that happen? Stjepan : Instrumental music is ex- tremely popular in Japan. As soon as we appeared, the Japanese went crazy for us. They consider us “The Beatles” of the modern era. While you play it often seems that in a rush of emotions you will start dancing. Is it difficult for you to sit throughout your performance? Stjepan : Yes, very much so. That’s why I often also play standing up at concerts, although it is more difficult like that. But when the atmosphere takes me I cannot sit. If I had wings, it seems to me that I would take off. We have always played with
a lot of adrenaline and passion. On stage we release that wild rock beast within us. Is there anything more impor- tant than the cello in your life? Luka : The cello is just a tool through which we express our love for music, cre- ativity, life. That’s actually kind of our mis- sion on earth. We feel every note with our whole being, and that then manifests it- self on the stage. Simply, we have an inex- haustible passion for music and the audi- ence feels that. The most important thing in life is to do what makes you feel hap- py and fulfilled. Stjepan : The cello has a very warm and pleasant sound, which is closest to the hu- man voice and that’s why it immediately gets under your skin. And alongside that it also has the shape of a woman’s body, which is particularly pleasing for us. How would you explain your mu- sic in short to someone who has never heard you play? Stjepan : Energy, passion, excitement, You travel a lot. Where did you eat the best food and which country has the most beauti- ful girls? Stjepan : Serbia is at the very top of the adrenalin and madness. world. It is fertile ground for both pretty girls and good food, although there are many countries with beautiful women, and that is a curse because you know they can’t all be yours. You are often in the company of world stars. Do you prefer per- forming with Andrea Bocelli or conversing with Sharon Stone? Stjepan : For us, those are new, dear experiences. They are relaxed and normal people who are still committed to doing their jobs. There is no kind of arrogance there, nor any glamour. It’s all a lot sim- pler than people imagine.
Energija, strast, uzbuđenje, ludilo, tako Luka i Stjepan objašnjavaju svoju muziku Energy, passion, excitement, madness, that is how Luka and Stjepan explain their music
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