At this time of the year, music lovers are used to spending time at festivals and various other outdoor events, but the coronavirus pandemic prevented that this summer, causing NKT measures to ban music performances. That is why it was a real privilege for a handful of selected people, among whom was the "Vijesti" team, to attend the recording of traditional "live sessions" within the Rokumentarni dani festival, through which domestic performers are presented to the audience. This time, the leaders of the alternative rock scene, Autogeni trening, as well as the new name Solosoul, met at the same place, and for the first time, rappers had the opportunity to perform as part of this project - again a veteran of the scene, Bacili from Nikšić from the NaVamGa collective, and a talent in the rise of Big Do from Podgorica.
In the hall of the Dodest KIC "Budo Tomović", a beautiful, minimalist scene was created around which the people from the "Stivi" studio, from whose kitchen the vast majority of alternative releases published in the last year came out, were full of enthusiasm and with great dedication. lent equipment to the organizers of Rokumentarni days and were in charge of sound recording, while Media Solution took care of the visual side of the story.
The program started in the morning, and the first to perform was Ilija Backović Bacili, who finally dusted off the microphone after a four-year hiatus. He performed accompanied by Strahinja Kovačević Bellerophontes on keyboards, while hip hop activist and rapper Sneža Nikčević was in charge of backing vocals.
Bacili told "Vijesti" that he responded to the organizer's invitation to participate, but that he wanted his performance not to be a classic rap performance where he would perform through the matrix. That's how he collaborated with his friend, the author of ambient music Bellerophontes, who has five albums available on Bandcamp, and released the latest release, a four-track EP, at the beginning of this month.
Bacili performed the song "Rhyme and reason", which he had previously written so that Bellerophontes would "graft" the music on it, and the track "Dogma", which he said was "a bit tricky and different", his view of events in our country and in the world .
"Here, we are often forced to choose the lesser of two evils, but you always have the option of choosing neither. That is my choice... I am where I am, not where I am from," said the rapper from Nikšić.
Since the collaboration with Bellerophontes turned out to be so fruitful, the two decided to record and release a joint EP by the end of the year.
One of the most memorable moments of the whole day was the third song that Bacili performed, called "Hold me".
"It's about my relationship with my mother, who passed away while I was on the ship and I wasn't there to be with her, but as you can hear, at no point is that relationship directly stated, the song is a bit broader so that everyone can to find in it those who had experience with the loss of someone close, someone they love," explained Backović, who says that despite not being creatively active, he carefully followed the local rap scene, judging that, absurdly, there were more rappers, and performs less than ever.
After Bacili, singer-songwriter Dejan Vuletić Solosoul appeared on stage, who recently introduced himself to the audience with his first single "Victorious Setup", which announced his debut album "Dream and other all". Along with the mentioned track, which he said was his most positive, with a motivational message, he also performed the songs "Wish" and "Happy Ending Love", which are mostly characterized by the atmosphere of classic and soft rock of the 80s with a touch of Americana.
'Happy Ending Love' talks about various topics, mostly about former friends and loves. Each stanza is independent and speaks of the moment of my life in which it was created, while I was living and studying in Salzburg. 'Wish' is my latest song, written 3-4 months ago, and I wanted to share it with people as soon as possible and to play it with someone, because I think it's my best song so far," Vuletić said.
At the end of the recording, the main stars appeared in the hall, the members of Autogenic Training, who played songs from their current album "Save Yourself" in an acoustic version. Frontman Dino Kapetanović says that he is satisfied with the reception of the release.
"The older team mostly paid attention to the album, like the team there until about 25 years old, but I don't see feedback from the younger generation... Electronica is now popular, as are the rapper brothers, the kids are crazy about it like we used to be about rock and roll. What is great, because we have many good rappers," said the rocker from Podgorica.
And his band was not active for a while because its members earned their bread outside the borders of Montenegro. Kapetanović says that the coronavirus pandemic did not significantly affect his daily life, but that he regrets that it made it impossible for his band to organize a regional tour.
"We are planning an acoustic concert when there is an opportunity, this is in a way an introduction to it. We are also working on a new album," he announced.
Rokumentary days probably online in September
As the organizers of Rokumentarni Days revealed, the recording of the "live session" was supposed to be finished in March. In February, the "first tour" of musicians was recorded: the bands Yonnic, Emily Rose, singer-songwriter Anja Zagorac and rapper Big Do. However, like many others, the coronavirus spoiled their plans, so they have only now realized the rest of the program.
When and how Rokumentarni dani will be held is not yet certain, although everything is leaning towards the fact that the fourth edition of the festival will go online.
"It is difficult to predict how the situation will unfold, so that puts an additional burden on the organizational part. We would be sorry if we were not able to release what we want in a space where there will be an audience and all these performers. The idea was this year to have screenings in Nikšić, Podgorica and Mojkovac, but we will probably have to go online, by playing documentaries on our website for several days, and one day would be dedicated to these concert films. he somehow participates in all that," Bojan Tešić said in front of the organization and added that the festival will most likely take place in September.
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