The song "Sama" by VIA Talas is one of the tracks that marked the beginning of the new wave. This track opens their debut under the name "Perfect day for banana fish", which got its name from the short story of the same name. Jerome David Salinger. It is a song that, with its simple text and emotional tone, talks about the feeling of loneliness and isolation, which was a common motif in the music of that time, and was also found in the film "Sugar Water". Svetislav Bata Prelića. The voice of the then vocal soloist of the band VIA Talas Mira Mijatović gave the song additional depth and emotional charge, and the Montenegrin artist breathed new life into this hit from the beginning of the 80s. Andrea Demirović which is with the help of a Serbian producer and DJ Milan Stanković better known as SevdahBABY decided to offer a new version of the same.
The song "Sama" performed by Andrea will be available from today at noon, and the Magic Records publishing house from Belgrade was behind this project. The song is accompanied by an interesting video shot in Andrea's hometown, which was directed by Montenegrin director Zoran Marković Zonjo.
Andrea, whose choice was it to remake the track "Sama" and how did the collaboration with Milan come about?
Somehow the time has come to do something different, and the processing option is always interesting. In the story with Zonja, we came up with the idea that it would be the golden eighties, and looking for an adequate thing for the Yugoslav new wave, the peak was on the song "Sama", which had a cult status in some circles, and was never processed and worn as it could be. instant hits. It took a while to find who owns the rights and get consent for the processing because, unfortunately, no one is alive from the original setting of the Talas group. SevdahBABY, ie. Milan Stanković was a logical choice as a producer because he created real musical gems with similar projects. He is also responsible for the communication with the publishing house Magic records from Belgrade, which tries to have mainstream pop artists. They really liked this version of the song, so they will publish it today exactly at noon, and I think it's fair that someone in Belgrade publishes it, since the authors were from that city.
SevdahBABY is known for recycling old tracks and making hits out of them. Mostly they are only parts of songs, usually choruses. Did you stick to that tried-and-true recipe?
SevdahBABY originally envisioned the new arrangement more chill out, "for driving by the sea" as he said. However, it seemed to Zonja and me that the ska energy from the original would be lost and that the club potential of the song should not be rejected. In the end, we got a modern electronic thing that can be played in clubs, but also in the car while driving by the sea. Sevdah is a master of his work and fortunately he chose architecture and devoted himself to music.
In the 1980s, the tracks mostly had a fairly flat section in the stanzas, and the chorus would show all the splendor of one's vocals, so the original version of the track "Sama" is like that. Given that, thanks to your vocal capabilities, you always preferred to sing more demanding songs (even in stanzas), and with this, the amount of text in the stanzas can be a problem. How unusual was it for you to sing, let's say, a straight melodic line (I mean a stanza) with a lot of text and how demanding it can sometimes be?
In her vocal expression, Sama is more "calm" than in the original version, but this gives her the opportunity to "paint" her emotions better. Before us is a sad, female text, which is accompanied by a very cheerful melody, which is very unusual and in some ways a challenge for the interpreter. The text is excellent because it actually depicts the misunderstandings we have with ourselves and I think many women will find it. I am. When you have such a film text that needs to be delivered more "acting" than singing, then it becomes a demanding task. That's why Milan's and Zonj's suggestions in the studio were more directorial than producer, because there were absolutely no problems with the voice.
During your career, there is almost no pop genre you haven't dabbled in. Is music still an exploration for you today and how much has your taste in music changed over the years on stage?
Musical taste has not changed. And yes I love strong female vocals like Whitney Houston or Celine Dion for example. But it would be stupid if I kept singing the same song with different lyrics. That's why I think the genre diversity I'm pushing is a good thing.
A music video was also made for this track, and we are already used to it being unusual and different from you. How difficult is it sometimes to follow through on all of Zonjo's ideas?
The video was supported by the Tourism Organization of Bar, and of course, my city had to get a role. Somehow it became a manner to record these postcard videos, which was boring for me and Zonjo. That's why we designed a fashion spot and invited our famous creator to help Sanju Bobar who created six splendid dresses, and my energetic fellow citizen, Given Tiganj gave an artistic stamp to the make-up and hairstyle. Mika Marković took care of the perfect photo this time so that Bar flashed in a new way by turning into Saint Tropez. As for the recording itself, it was semi-difficult. I was wet, sunburned and then frozen, twisted at the crosswalk and crushed by falling off my bike.
Summer is almost over, club season is starting. Do you expect this song to be at every party?
In Montenegro, expectations were disappointed as a constitutional category, so I am cautious here. Of course, I would like the song to be played in clubs, but also for women to listen to it while getting ready for the city. And that the title of the song should be an inspiration, not a tragedy.
Bonus video:
