performance with Lane Moje was one of your favourite performances ever. Is that still the case? How do you now look at yourself in 2004 and the song that delighted Europe? Was that the yearwheneverythingchangedforyou? - If I could turn back the clock, I’d do it all the same again. That was a wonderful event, and probably also a turning point in my career, towards another, higher lev- el. My colleagues still talk about that Euro- vision song contest as if I won, given all the circumstances surrounding the voting. But regardless of the placement, the song went well, and it is still listened to today, and for me it’s a fond life-long memory. On the oth- er hand, I gained many friends on the Euro- pean music scene, lived for a while in Ath- ens, worked with the best music experts and opened many doors, and I am always grateful for that. They say that fate always arranges opportunities for you – it’s just up to you to recognise and take advantage of them. That’s really what I have done. Aftermorethanadecadeofgreatsongs you wrote for yourself, but also for oth- ers, you recently started a new journey. Twoworlds?Arethesetwoworldswith- in you, or are there many more? Where did all that jazz come from? - Within me there are several worlds fighting, and in the middle of that merg- ing of various musical rhythms, there are two distinguished selves that I, together with my colleagues and the band Kapital swing orchestra, have succeeded in relay- ing within a project that is now in its sec- ond year. This is where swing music also comes from, and it is something new and refreshing on our scene. Each song has a story of its own; we have devised a special show for the audience. The visual identity of the whole event is specific, interesting, a huge team of people stand behind that and we’ve done a lot to ensure that the au- dience goes home satisfied and wants to listen to the concert again. We had several consecutive concerts in Skopje, two con- certs on the same day in Niš, two each in Valjevo, Zagreb, Sofia, Belgrade... This year we are reuniting in the Sava Centre. We’ve introduced some new songs to the reper- toire and I can’t wait for Two Worlds to ap- pear in front of our public again. What is music for you? I suppose it’s not aprofession,butratherthemeaningof your life – of course with the exception of your family. Can you explain how your life is the most beautiful music? - Life is irreproducible; no day is the same, no hour, no smile, joy, care, love. Stop and remind yourself how much you love the moment you are in, how much you love your family, value your health and harmo-
ny. If we transfer that to music, no song is the same, I can’t repeat precisely anything I’ve sung before, and when I compose it’s exactly the same case. This is what I see and where I seek meaning. To be present wholeheartedly in this moment, to feel the love so that I can live and give it back to all those who are important to me. Your parents provided you with all the possiblesupport,tookoutloans,stayed beside you... You are now – and I con- gratulate you – a father of four chil- dren. How do you see your role? What do you think is the most important thing to give to children in this time in which we live? - While they are little, it’s important to give them love, support, a sense of securi- ty, and then slowly make them independ- ent and give them space to express their own identity and strengthen their charac- ter. Children today generally lack more de- votion, time, attention, upbringing, because parents increasingly ever less time for them, due to the modern way of life. This needs to be changed as much as possible, because the key to a successful society is in harmo- nious and strong families. You have a beautiful grown up daugh- ter,Mina,twinbabiesSrnaandAnaand three-year-old Kosta… a house filled with joy. What do you enjoy the most when you’re all together? How do you spend your free time with Jovana and the kids? - We enjoy some of our own little things. We try to have a lot of patience, because that’s very important for us to manage to find time for everything we do, to dedicate ourselves to every child. A crucial place in this is occupied by play and laughter, and I enjoy watching Jovana coping wonder- fully as a mother surrounded by our kids. Everything’s more beautiful than we could ever have imagines, although it’s a little in- tense at some moments, especially in the evening. But, as you say, our house is al- ways full of joy. Belgraders can expect a big concert at the Sava Centre on 1 st December. And afterwards? Where can we see and hear you perform live in the next few months? - On 9 th December I’ll be in Zurich, then on 15 th December Ljubljana, on 22 nd Decem- ber I have a show in Labin, Croatia, then a day later I perform again in Slovenia, in Mar- ibor. Then I will perform in Opatija on 29 th December. And finally, where and how will you welcome the New Year? - I will perform on Jahorina, which will be an exceptional New Year’s Eve! A day lat- er I have a concert in Tivat, Montenegro.
stage that I composed myself. I received a huge round of applause, and later an old- er gentleman approached me and asked if he could get the notes to my latest com- position, with the explanation that it was excellent for practising technique. Then I was a high school pupil, and music was al- ready in my life in a big way. What’s the truth in the end: how many instrumentscanyouplay?Itissaidthat you know between 10 and 150... - To be precise, I play 162 instruments, or 163. I’m joking, of course. I’m often asked this, but I don’t really like to talk about my- self in that way. This probably all started be- cause at one time we released a video in which I play a dozen instruments in the stu- dio, which quickly went viral. Some instru- ments I only know how to use, while I han- dle some very well, and some not so well. My favourites are the piano and accordion. You saw success early and it never stopped coming. How do you deal with the responsibility of having to thrill old audiences over and over again, but al- so winning over new ones? - Music for me is neither pressure nor responsibility, although that certainly ex- ists. Music is life, creation, energy, beauty, inspiration, creativity, rhythm, the moment, being. When you have such an approach to work, then your results are better and higher quality. Of course, I always want to create something good – firstly for myself and to fulfil my own criteria, and then for the audience that I’m accustomed to at a certain level. But that’s all a game - enjoy- ment and fun often results in great things. I don’t count the hours I spend in the stu- dio, nothing is tough for me; I have huge energy when it comes to music. You’ve said before that your Eurovision
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