Kralj Čačka: Every performance is a story in itself

For a long time, he was considered the "best kept secret of the Serbian music scene", as some local media described him. He started with a modest underground fan base in his country, before gaining an audience beyond. Thus, the Serbian singer-songwriter Nenad Marić, who performs under the pseudonym Kralj Čačka, has been in Montenegro more and more in recent years, where he had both festival and club gigs where he performed alone with a guitar. Now one awaits him in a new, different space - in the Great Hall of KIC "Budo Tomović" in Podgorica. Marić will perform there as part of the finale of the "LiTerritory" literary festival on April 24, starting at 21 p.m. Tickets are on sale for five euros.

The musician, who has two official studio albums behind him, the latest of which is last year's critically acclaimed "Pusti svelt na put", is known for his mix of jazz, blues, rock'n'roll and chanson, and journalists often describe him as Serbian Tom Waits.

"For the first time now I am coming with a band. The audience will be able to hear a more complete sound, so to speak, which is close to what we did and recorded on the album. I think it will be a nice evening", he said at the beginning of the interview for "Vijesti" regarding the upcoming guest appearance.

How does it affect where you play, in Montenegro you were at Bedem Fest, then you had solo club gigs in Podgorica, which is more enjoyable and how different are those experiences for you?

It will always be different depending on the space. Even in the same space it is never the same. So you never know. Perhaps, in some way, more chamber spaces suit our music better, they are closer to us in some cases, since the tracks are of different genres. And some spaces simply require a different repertoire, approach... So the space certainly inspires in one way or another, each is a story for itself.

Are you satisfied with last year's performances in Podgorica?

I have already performed at the "Street Bar" with a friend, it was already the second time I came. I had two concerts in a row twice, due to great interest. And I really have to admit that the first time it happened, it was a big surprise for me, that people even knew the songs, that they had heard about it... So they accepted what I was doing, so I can only I will be grateful. It was really nice, I have only positive experiences.

What will be the repertoire now in KIC, are you going to base it on promoting the current album or will you spread through all your material?

Well, the emphasis will be on the second album, but we'll certainly mix it up. We will also play songs from my studio debut, as well as some that will be on a future release. But mostly there will be songs from the mentioned two albums.

What was it like working on the second album, since the first one was quite positively received, was there any pressure of expectations?

Well, working on an album is always a problem here. I mean, in general, I can freely say that I am engaged in music. But the second one was made with more experience, the one gained while working on the first one. And in a way, the songs written for him also dictated how we would record him, with what technique and the like. In general, recording an album is a very exciting and beautiful process, but on the other hand, it's really a bit demanding and full of some kind of renunciation, enthusiasm, but that's just the way it is.

People usually have a problem classifying you in a certain genre, where are the boundaries as far as you are concerned, how broad are you ready to go in terms of genre?

I've been told this many times and I always answer that I'm primarily based on musical tradition - from blues to jazz to rock and roll, so all those influences that I've picked up as a listener somehow permeate and influence what and how I create. So I don't have a specific definition, I can only say that it all influences. That whole experience in a way actually helps bring those songs into this world. Afterwards, it is the critics' job to place it somewhere and say something more about it.

Although the second album is still fresh, are you already working on new material?

There are quite a few songs that are in the process of being worked on or that are finished, but that we certainly won't be playing for a while. I'm still waiting for the ones that are in the process to mature.

It's not that you have been in music for a long time, but only in recent years Kralj Čačka has become a name known to audiences outside of Serbia. What do you think happened and did it surprise you?

In the beginning it kind of did. It still surprises me, actually, since generally making music in this climate is a bit of a Sisyphean job on the one hand. And on the other hand, there is probably something there that means something to the audience that comes to the concerts and listens to it. So in a way it's a form of communication that is... positive, for lack of a better term.

You graduated from the art academy and you also paint, do you prefer music more, how do you determine what you will devote yourself to creatively at the moment, through which to express yourself?

Yes, I draw more in my free time, music is primary to me. Sometimes I do some watercolor. I do that more campaign-wise, without the burden and big ambitions. We'll see what it turns out to be and how things will unfold, I don't know, everything is uncertain.

I do not insist on describing myself as a poet

Some consider you also a rock poet?

Well, that's the opinion of those people, the critics, and you'd have to ask them why. It's hard to talk about yourself in that context.

Yes, but do you see your lyrics as poetry, as something that could be read outside of music?

The fact is that these texts are read and can be read even without music, but I am not someone who insists on calling myself a poet. That's something I'd rather leave up to the readers to think or not think. I don't really think about it much. It is more important for me to express myself and that is where my attention is focused the most.