S erbia will compete among 43 coun- tries in the second semi-final evening of the 63 rd Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon on 10 th May, with the song“No- va deca” [New Kids], performed by the group Balkanika, with lead singer and composer Al- eksandra Sanja Ilić. The music for the competi- tive piece was composed by Tatjana Karajanov Ilić, while the lyrics were written by Danica Kr- stajić and the arrangement was authored by Darko Dimitrov. Performing on stage will be singers Danica Krstajić, Nevena Stamenković, Iva Banićević and Mladen Lukić, percussionist Aleksandar Rad- ulović and academic flute professor Ljubom- ir Dimitrijević. Participation in the Eurovision Song Contest is the greatest challenge in the 18 years that Balkanika has existed... Do you like any of the other songs that are to compete in Eurovision 2018? - There are several good songs, but they are all somehow reminiscent of some world hits. We have a very original song in which we’ve managed to connect something that’s difficult to fuse – the old and the new Serbia. We won’t disgrace ourselves, that’s for sure. We have ex- cellent singers, and I’m certain that the ethnic voice of Danica Krstić will conquer Europe. The ways she sings, at the age of 22, doesn’t exist anywhere in our region. Howlonghas“Balkanika”existedandwhat do you consider as its greatest successes? - Our greatest success is that we have managed to keep such a large composition together for 18 years and to traverse almost the entire planet. Our success is that in the first ten years, with instrumental composi- tions, we managed to relate to various na- tions the emotions, rhythm and tradition of Serbia and the Balkans. This mission was of the greatest importance to us, because we want- ed to show everyone that there is Balkan mu- sic that should occupy the place it deserves in the world. There have also been several “Bal- kanika” concerts performed with symphony orchestras. One of them, performed at Bel- grade’s Kalemegdan Fortress Park, was de- clared the concert of the year. There were suc- cessful concerts with the Cairo Philharmonic Orchestra in Egypt, the Maribor Philharmonic Orchestra in Maribor at the Lent Festival and several other concerts with a similar team in Skopje and Opatija. From where do you mainly draw inspi- ration for the repertoire and how often and where do you get the opportunity to discover the ethnic musical notes of oth- er Balkan countries? - Inspiration for the notes of the Balkans is all around us. The Balkans is an interesting hat comprising so many different nations, faiths and cultures. Nowhere in the whole world are there so many differences in such a relatively small space, and which comprise a specific whole.
OUR ETHNO VOICE WILL CONQUER EUROPE NAŠ ETNO GLAS E OSVOJITI EVROPU BALKANIKA NA EVROSONGU / BALKANIKA AT EUROVISION
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