Deep Thoughts: REM is an alternative in Montenegro. And U2. And YouTube

Nikola Božović, Ivan Tomašević and Miloš Pejović - members of the Podgorica group "Deep Thoughts" take their music seriously, but fortunately they were not too serious during the interview for "Vijesti".

Socializing in a bar in Podgorica, where we were forced by the rain, takes place in a light and positive atmosphere, with frequent jokes, while jazz tunes play in the background, forcing Pejović to comment that the current atmosphere is as if we are in the 40s of the last century, only without war.

"Is this music going to be in the paper," he asks me when I turn on the dictaphone, only to burst into laughter with his colleagues.

"Deep Thoughts" have been around for more than two years, they have four tracks behind them that can be listened to on YouTube service or theirs to your Soundcloud profile. However, they had their first performance only on Tuesday evening at the "Open Sound mini fest".

Their music is atmospheric, mostly in the vein of psychedelia and trip hop with ambient motifs. Over the massive beats produced by Nikola Božović, who at the same time dabbles in keyboards and various effects, the guitar passages of Miloš Pejović and Ivan Tomašević collide, the latter of which brings a special dose of psychedelia to his musical solutions.

"We are satisfied with the performance and people's reactions, but we need better scenography, technical support and the like. I would also point out that we are very glad to have shared the stage with those people from the groups Spiral Frequency and Beta Baroqe, as well as Masturbeator. I would especially single out Marović and Tatar, whose performance delighted us and our people," Božović relays his impressions from the aforementioned performance.

Their first concert could be expected during the summer, and they say they hope to perform at one of the festivals

"There hasn't been our concert yet because we need a good stage performance to present it, because it's not a classic gig. "Open Sound" isn't exactly what we need either, but here we had the opportunity to present ourselves to people live, so we decided let's use it. Basically, we need some kind of theatrical atmosphere, stage effects, lighting and the like," explains Pejović, while Tomašević adds that they don't even have the material for an independent performance at the moment.

According to Božović, who is in charge of programming, production and beats, while Pejović and Tomašević are guitarists, "Deep Thoughts" has six finished compositions.

"When we perform independently for the first time, we will also prepare for the stage and prepare at least an hour and a half of material," he promises.

Their first concert could be expected during the summer, and they say they hope to perform at one of the festivals. First of all, Synesthesia is mentioned, with whose leaders they reveal that they had negotiations last year.

"For me, it's a very positive thing, that certain optimism and faith in the work of those people. And that Open Sound has reoriented itself to the domestic scene," says Nikola, while Ivan adds that it's also good that the festival this year focused on a certain type of music - more precisely, an alternative.

"In Montenegro, REM is an alternative. And U2. And YouTube," adds Miloš with a laugh.

Among other things, Božović and Pejović were united by their love for oriental culture, philosophy and music, which can be felt in their compositions.

"The reactions are very positive. People like the trip, because until now nobody has done anything like this here. That's also the reason why a lot of people came because of us at the Open Sound fest," says Pejović.

He and Božović founded a band, and everything started spontaneously - with the former member of the group Bači Rimu Trupa, they played with music, improvised and that's how the song "Bruce Lee" was born.

"Then when we saw that it was a great song, we seriously devoted ourselves to it," Miloš explains.

Ivan Tomašević has been with them recently, bringing a new flavor and layering to their music.

"I heard them and I thought that if I played with someone, I would play with them. I really liked the fact that they do their trip independently of anything else. And then they called me out of the blue and I agreed," he says.

Deep Thoughts has big ambitions, they hope to go "out there" with their music

"At the moment, we are terrible in terms of energy, and to tell you the truth, I don't change that for now, so as not to spoil the moment, but we will have to expand the team for live performances," he reveals.

The plan is first of all a drummer, and in the future we may expect another member, a bassist and/or a female vocalist.

"It's a bit complex, because the more people you involve in that story, the harder it is to gather the team at the same time in the same place. And it's harder to agree with more people," explains Ivan.

Among other things, Božović and Pejović were united by their love for oriental culture, philosophy and music, which can be felt in their compositions.

"As far as I'm concerned, it's been practically since birth. I've always followed that trip, I'm totally enthralled first by 'martial artists', and then I became interested in various Eastern techniques from yoga to tai chi to various guru shenanigans. I was impressed with it and thought why not transmit my favorite trip to the world through sound," says Božović.

Bozovic says it's surprising that Deep Thoughts managed to catch the attention of some people who don't generally listen to that kind of music.

"They simply have innate hearing and feeling, you can feel some pure emotion in their music. First of all, they have never suffered from the commercialization of music, which is the most important thing, unlike the West. Their form has always been pure," he believes.

The already mentioned track "Bruce Lee RIP", the first single released by Deep Thoughts, was released on the Amonnite Records compilation "Maska Sessions" two years ago. This year, according to Pejović, their new song should appear on the next episode of the compilation.

According to the band members, this is an extraordinary compilation. Božović says that they were surprised when they heard other songs, in addition to theirs, which, according to him, are "totally underground, and superbly produced".

"It's music that's not particularly popular in Serbia either, but it's really good. We probably wouldn't have had the chance to hear it if we hadn't received that CD with "Bruce Lee" next to those songs," adds Ivan.

Deep Thoughts has big ambitions, they hope to go "outside" with their music, so Pejović says that projects like "Mask Session" mean a lot to them so that a more serious publisher would hear about them.

"The greatest pleasure that exists is to cash in on something that a person likes to do. It is the most precious money that exists and if we ever get it, I think that it would be fully realized in life. So we strive for that," explains Božović.

Considering the aforementioned ambitions, I ask them how much they think about local circumstances and how much this can hold back local alternative musicians. Božovic says it's surprising that Deep Thoughts managed to catch the attention of some people who don't generally listen to that kind of music. Even their parents like it, although they think they stole it from some westerns, adds Tomašević.

"It would be best if you could see a video of us playing somewhere in Paris, but that's not easy to achieve, it's not easy to break into the music scene somewhere abroad. You have to earn it a little bit, so we're down to earth. We want to start from here until, let's say, we prepare that album, and then we could already push ourselves to some serious places. Our concept is a bit complex, it's not classical guitars or classical electronics, but we want to evoke spirituality through visuals as well, not only through sound," he explains in detail Božović, while Tomašević says that their music is demanding to both make and perform. At the same time, you need money for instruments, effects...

There are still a lot of steps for the people of Podgorica to cross before they can go abroad, the first of which is the creation of an album. They say that their first release could be expected by the end of this year.

"If we were to work like in the last period, if all the factors were on our side, I think we could expect an album, and the most terrible one, in a couple of months", claims Nikola, and Ivan adds that the end of the year is the optimal time.

Among other news that can be expected from these guys in the coming period, Nikola points out that he and his sister, the famous Montenegrin singer Marija Božović, are working on a joint song with a touch of trip hop.

Choose a thought and think it constantly

The fact that the "new Montenegrin scene" promoted by "Open Sound" consists mainly of veterans of the local alt-scene, former members of Qtera, Little Radojica, Second Day on Earth, Bad Taste, Kokot, and Parental Advisory, the interlocutors of "Vijesti" on Sundays see as a positive thing and regret that people of their generation have more enthusiasm than the younger ones.

"It's some raw enthusiasm that we had back then, which still keeps us going even though we're already in more mature years. We still want to honor our childhood wishes, that's the best thing, that these people are still active. Because realistically in Montenegro, there has never been a scene that is constant," says Tomašević, who was a member of the cult group Little Radojica.

He says that one of the problems is the lack of conditions. There is also a lack of critical mass - as an example, Tomašević cites bands like Discipline Spine and Darkwood Dub, which, according to him, barely gather 300-400 people at a concert in Montenegro, and they come once a year or even less.

Money has never meant more than at this moment, that's how the human order was established in general, not only here

When I ask them why there aren't more younger crews interested in creating an alternative sound, Ivan replies that it's a bit of a philosophical question. And according to Nikola, it also has to do with intelligence.

He thinks that in the "older team" there were incredible individuals who unfortunately did not realize themselves due to social circumstances or did, but in the wrong way and were completely lost.

"Mostly it has to do with the transition, with the transition from communism to capitalism. People today are more materialistic than they are devoted to spiritual things. Money has never meant more than at this moment, that's how the human order was set up in general, not only here. But we just went through a sudden transition," Tomašević reveals the problem.

Love for worn out ex-Yu rock hits

Montenegrin alternative musicians have never particularly been able to rely on the understanding of publishers, but while earlier there were significant obstacles in the distribution of material to the public, now there is the Internet.

And "Deep Thoughts" uses it as a means of promoting and marketing its material. However, even that did not particularly help domestic alternatives to "come out of the basement", and members of "Deep Thoughts" see the "internet" as a double-edged sword - as much as it knows how to use, it also knows how to be harmful.

Božović sees "Deep Thoughts" as a continuation of the cult group Little Radojica, and former member of the mentioned band Ivan agrees that the energy is similar

Tomašević believes that the Internet is a huge library and that the more information people have, the less things interest them, because they no longer know which way to go.

"When everyone turns on their computer, they automatically go to Facebook and YouTube first, as if those are the only two options you have on the Internet. Instead of educating themselves," he says.

Talking about the possibilities of serving a different sound to the local audience via the Internet, Pejović believes that it doesn't help much - according to him, the local public generally has a love for worn-out ex-Yu rock hits that are played and played endlessly in bars.

The answer to the question "Why?" the guys from "Deep Thoughts" don't.

"I don't think it's a trend and that these people would listen to some other kind of music, but they're simply forced because it's constantly served to them. Bands play the safe ticket and don't want to add something new to their repertoire, but instead play the same old hits a thousand times", believes Tomašević. "But the problem is the audience that is still interested in it, I don't understand that," adds Pejović.

Božović can bet that he has a formula for a song that would make him "terrible money" in a couple of days, but according to him, that means selling his soul to the devil.

"Today, everyone is doing a 'catch' moment of Tiesto on the chorus, with three tones on the keyboards and a girl shouting the lyrics that already existed in 92. You put a beach and silicones on the video and you're going to kill yourself," he reveals the formula for success.

Tomašević regrets that there are many quality musicians in the world who are difficult to spot because they will never be mainstream, and in the event that they do succeed in that, they usually go bad from then on.

"But there is a lot of good music, and it's never been easier to make it. Anyone can make music, they don't even have to have hearing, and they can make a great song using various available programs," he points out.

Little Radojica as a forerunner

Božović sees "Deep Thoughts" as a continuation of the cult group Little Radojice, and the former member of the mentioned band, Ivan, agrees that the energy is similar.

"And there is definitely some kind of spiritual energy behind both sounds. So the fact that we came together was totally destined for me somewhere. Because I don't think anyone would fit in better," Nikola believes.

The cult of Little Radojica was created while the band was still alive, and continues to live after its closure. Thanks to the Internet, their music is now available to everyone, so new generations are constantly appearing, enthusiastic about the band's legacy.

When I ask him to explain the phenomenon of unfulfilled potential in Podgorica, Pejović says that people are mostly suffocated by the environment and the will and inspiration simply disappear. But for Qtera, he believes that this is not the case

There was little that was usual about this band - recalling that period, Tomašević says that people heard about them two years before they started performing, so a great fame was created even before the first concert. When they heard them live, they were even more delighted.

"We didn't want to use effects, because we started with classical guitars, then later we shaped it into electric ones, and we didn't want to use effects because we thought it was an easy way to do psychedelia. It was more interesting for us to try to do it with dry guitar, with harmonies... We used the drums in an unusual way, to try to get the melodies out of the drum, so that it doesn't sound like an instrument that follows the rhythm, but that plays melodies that fit together with two guitars," he explains.

Miloš Pejović was also a member of a band that had cult status in the local underground circles. It is Qtera, in which he played for three years.

"In my opinion, it is one of the three bands in Montenegro that had the greatest potential, there was progress, but I will not talk about the final result," he says.

When I ask him to explain the phenomenon of unfulfilled potential in Podgorica, Pejović says that people are mostly suffocated by the environment and the will and inspiration simply disappear. But for Qtera, he believes that this is not the case.

"I hope that the band will start doing something again, regardless of the fact that they are not currently on the stage, the love they spread through music is still alive," he concludes.

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