F ollowing his huge success at the Euro- vision Song Contest, after which the whole of Europe sang Lane Moje and forever remembered his name, after more than two decades marked by hits, there is new music brewing within him. Jazzy, fresh, festive, the sounds of two worlds unified in the performance of a top orchestra. The new Žel- jko Joksimović performs the most famous folk, pop and rock songs in the rhythm of swing. But that’s not all. Zeljko has also become a dad again this year. Alongside daughter Mi- na and son Kosta, he now has twin daugh- ters Srna and Ana... Time seems to be on your side, but let’s go back to the start... You were only five when you started playing music. Why the accordion and music in particular? - We were always musical as a family, and somehow everything came spontaneously. I loved rhythm, the singing of my grandpar- ents. My first instruments were little drums that my grandfather bought in the depart- ment store, and he had bass, drums, cymbals, kettledrums, a snare drum...The precursors to those drums were my granny’s pots, which I whacked tirelessly in the yard. My mother later bought me a triola, and instead of keys it had rectangular holes, which produced a sound when pressed. I really loved playing it. A few days before I got my first accordion, when I was three and a half years old, my Uncle Saša took me to a department store. On the second floor, where they sold cassettes and records, there was a piano. While my uncle paid at the counter, I approached it, opened it and start- ed playing, even though I wasn’t tall enough to see the keys. And then the accordion ar- rived. I remember that day as though it were yesterday. Dad stepped into the room, hold- ing in his arms a huge brown box in which the accordion was packed. It was too heavy, so we leaned against a small chair in front of me. I started to play everything I’d played un- til then on the triola on the new instrument, and I soon also started working with Milenko Trifković, my first accordion professor. You keep that first accordion and have said that it smells like back then... Are you nostalgic for those good old days? - Yes, I keep it in my Minacord studio, standing beside my desk, and whenever I look at it I remember my childhood and be- ginnings. I had a wonderful childhood, mem- ories that don’t fade; I was completely carefree and happy, had the support of my parents, my family, somehow everything was per- fect. I loved music, music school, all the ob-
korice do korice za kratko vreme. Po- državala me je u crtanju, a pamtim i da me je opominjala da mi se rodite- lji ne mešaju u domaće zadatke, jer ni- je verovala da sam to ja naslikao. Sre- li smo se pre i posle koncerta, izgrlili, drago mi je da je došla, baš kao i mnogi moji prijatelji iz Valjeva. Okupili smo se potom na proslavi mature, na neki naš način, i prisetili se svega što smo radili u školskim klupama. Naravno, viđamo se mi i inače, doduše, koliko i kad stignemo, jer svi živimo nekim brzim životima i nemamo mnogo slo- bodnog vremena. Ali kad se god sret- nemo, sjajno se proveselimo. Sa 12 godina postajete pobed- nik prestižnog muzičkog festi- vala u Parizu i prva harmoni- ka Evrope. Da li je to momenat kada ste znali da će muzika bi- ti vaš život? – Pobedio sam, ali iskren da bu- dem, meni je bilo najvažnije da svi- ram harmoniku. To što je žiri odlučio da postanem prva harmonika Evrope bilo mi je manje važno. Nisam voleo ta takmičenja kad mi je bilo 12 godi- na, ali sam polako postajao svestan šta ona znače. Najviše sam na njima učestvovao da bih obradovao rodi- telje, kao i svog profesora Milenka, koji me je svaki dan usmeravao da budem bolji. Pamtim i da sam nedu- go zatim učestvovao na takmičenju u Puli, gde je trebalo da izvedem tri kompozicije, a mi smo spremili dve, pa sam na bini izveo nešto što sam sâm komponovao. Dobio sam veli- ki aplauz, a jedan stariji gospodin mi je posle prišao i pitao da li može da dobije note moje poslednje kom- pozicije, uz objašnjenje da je odlič- na za vežbanje tehnike. Tad sam bio gimnazijalac, a muzika je već uveli- ko bila moj život. Šta je na kraju istina, koliko tačno instrumenata znate da svirate? Priča se od 10 do 150… – Da budem precizan, sviram 162 instrumenta, odnosno 163. Ša- lim se, naravno. To me često pitaju, a ja baš i ne volim da o sebi govo- rim na taj način. Verovatno je sve nastalo jer smo svojevremeno obja- vili video na kom sviram u studiju na desetak instrumenata, što je po- stalo viralno za kratko vreme. Ne- ke instrumente samo znam da kori- stim, na nekima se odlično snalazim, na nekima baš i ne. Omiljeni su mi klavir i harmonika. Uspesi su počeli rano i nikada ni- su prestali da stižu. Kako se no-
ligations I had in that constant learning pro- cess. That’s why it’s very important for us to do and learn what we love. Only then can we approach our obligations with ease, ex- ecute them, impatient to see the results, and proceed further. Every period has its beau- ty, its charm, something to enjoy and find the best of. When you say nostalgia, it car- ries with it regret for what used to be in re- lation to what you have now. This is not the case with me, because I try not to live in the past, but to use every moment to the maxi- mum, to enjoy what happens today, not to miss out on things with the family that re- lax me and fill me with positive energy, and at the same time to succeed and realise my musical ambitions. This year you returned and performed in Valjevo. What emotions and memo- ries of this city do you have? - There is a lot of emotion and memo- ry there; I do not know where to start. The very fact that I knew almost all the people in the Culture Centre, where we held the concert, says enough. My teacher Desa Pop- ović, who I remember as a very dedicated, valuable and caring person, was there. The first book she gave me to read was Oton Žu- pančić’s Žubor voda žuborila, and I remem- ber reading it from cover to cover in a short time. She supported me in my drawing, and I remember her reminding me that my par- ents shouldn’t help with my art homework, because she didn’t believe I had drawn it myself. We met before and after the con- cert, and hugged. I’m glad she came, just like many of my friends from Valjevo. We gathered later to celebrate the anniversa- ry of our graduation, in our own way, and recalled everything we got up to on those school benches. Of course, we see each oth- er anyway, albeit only when we find the time, because we all live fast-paced lives today and don’t have much free time. But when- ever we get together we have great fun. At the age of 12 you won at a prestig- ious music festival in Paris and became the No.1 Accordion Player of Europe. Was that the moment when you knew music would be your life? - I won, but to be honest it was more important for me to just play the accordi- on. The fact that the jury decided to make me the No.1 European accordion player was less important. I didn’t like competing when I was 12, but I slowly became aware of what it meant. I mostly participated in these competitions to please my parents, as well as my professor Milenko, who di- rected me in how to be better every day. I also remember participating in a competi- tion in Pula soon after that, where I had to perform three compositions and we’d pre- pared two, so I performed something on
My first instruments were little drums that my grandfather bought me, and prior to those drums were my granny’s pots, which I tirelessly whacked in the backyard
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