A new band on the Montenegrin music scene, and familiar faces. "Glas", the first single from Podgorica, or as they say - from Titograd, Oi!, is available on the YouTube service. post punk duo "Mučin" who make Nemanja Grbović (vocals, guitar) i Đorđije Njunjić (drum), which announces the forthcoming release of a group whose songs are characterized by a strong socio-political message.
Njunjić is known to the local audience, among other things, from the punk group Punkreas, and Grbović from the MKZP band from Treš.
"A few years ago, Nemanja Grbović and I also had a band called Gnar, we played d-beat and released an EP and an album. In the meantime, we took a break with that, discussed again whether we should continue Gnar, but we decided that we would still play something else. We decided that the direction our gig should go is Oi! Eighties punk music, mostly British, as well as a good bit of post punk, as well as the French Oi! which has a slightly darker streak and is often called cold Oi!, similar to cold wave in the descriptions of new wave", explains Njunjić in an interview with "Vijesti".
At a time when music production, in his words, "went to hell" with editing and ironing, the characteristic of the songs of the Mučin group is the raw sound. Grbović did the music for all the songs from the upcoming release and several lyrics, while Njunjić says he contributes drums and some lyrics.
"He chose the name Mučin, which sounds exactly Balkan and retro, and many people actually know what kind of person he was Mučin Krnić and the whole story around it. Yugo punk also has a strong influence, so you can hear all of the above in the music from, for example, Blitz, Joy division, UK Decay, Parafa, Camera silence...", adds the drummer.
When asked why they decided to make "Glas" the song they will introduce to the audience, Njunjić answers that it encompasses everything the band represents, both lyrically and musically.
"And when we thought and took into account the other songs, we came to the conclusion that Glas is the best announcement song of the EP. It has all the elements that we were thinking of putting into our music. It is interesting that within this genre there are many opportunities for experimentation," he says.
At a time when every individual is bombarded daily by information, sensations, trends, marketing, cancellation culture and various other forces that grab the attention and minds of the common man, trying to mold him into a sedated and predictable consumer, it is crucial to know how to close your eyes and ears and listen to your voice, says in Muchin in the first single.
"All this represents a new reality of living. But you should persevere in what you want and strive for. If we allow those forces in any sense to control and govern us, and we do, then we have this result. Music is one of the things that is the answer to all of that. Engaged music, like ours, and there is a lot of it in the region and the world, is the response of the individual and society to these realities. Many people have their eyes, ears and brains open and thinking correctly. This is the essence of the underground, the alternative. It is easy to surrender to the new reality and sail on that river. But that river is polluted. We have the strength and we swim upstream, but in a clear current", says Njunjić.
Mučina's debut EP has been recorded and is ready for publication, the cover is being finished, and the group plans to publish it not only on the YouTube platform but also on Bandcamp, as well as on CD.
"For now, we will promote a promo CD that we will distribute to individual people to hear. The EP is still waiting for an official title, but the songs that will be included in addition to "Glas" are: "Winter", "Echo 68", "The past is not erased". In fact, EP is a certain concept and will be heard by those who are interested in textually that internal human struggle that later spills over into society. Textually, we will certainly be engaged and send certain messages. In fact, what I can already say is that there are certain sentences that define the band, such as 'For future generations, we build socialism, and you build villas...', I think the message is clear", the drummer points out.
What sets Mučin apart is that they describe themselves as an antifa band. When asked why this is important to them, Njunjić says that he believes that they owe it to the music they grew up with and play, but also to people so they know what to expect from them.
"We play music that unites. Many are Oi! identified music and the skinhead movement with racism, fascism. We live in a world and society where this is tolerated. There is no place for that on stage and among the people to whom we belong. We are against sexism, racism, violence of any kind, homophobia, fascism and nationalism. When we draw this line, it would be anti-national elements. Because all this we are actually living and testifying against to a great extent. That's why we think it's important to define ourselves according to these principles, and I guess we owe it to our history, which wants to be rewritten and some things turned upside down. On paper, we are antifa state and society, but in reality we are increasingly distant from that. Music must unite, and that's what we want to do," he concluded.
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