Love as a theme has always been the core of art and an inspiration to many musicians. Whether they talked about unfulfilled or lost love in their songs, or celebrated this universal emotion through it, some of those songs became hits for all time.
This emotion was the inspiration for the Montenegrin singer-songwriter's new single Ivane Popović Martinović, which marked two decades on the scene with the song "Time for Love". This song is not only an ode to love as a fundamental human emotion, but also a celebration of unity and the strength of women's voices, as her sister joined her in the interpretation. Nela Popovic, including Nina Žižić i Marija Božović.
"I have long wanted to collaborate with each of them in particular, through music or any similar way. Through the years, those wishes changed like ideas, but as my 21th anniversary approached, I realized that I didn't just get there with my work and effort. If it weren't for good friendships, phenomenal colleagues with whom I worked and collaborated, who brightened my life and the intense working hours at performances and in the studios, this job would probably have given me many more difficult and ugly memories. Because vanity is a slippery slope, as is jealousy, and many have slipped just when they shouldn't, but not us. That's why the original idea related to this song was much more demanding and complicated, I imagined some of my colleagues and friends. However, I myself in this organization realized that already at the very start I was wasting time in that way and then I would not be able to finish everything on time. More precisely, I would celebrate an unusual XNUMX years in music (laughs). So I stayed on this basis, which consists of Nela, Nina and Marija, and I am very happy that we managed to integrally convey exactly this warm and cheerful energy, love and friendship, but also sisterhood", reveals Ivana Popović at the beginning of the interview for Vijesti Martinović how she came up with the idea to collaborate with her colleagues and sister.
Each of them has a characteristic and recognizable tone of voice. But still, they fit nicely in the end. All of them also sang backing vocals during their careers, and as to how much that experience made it easier for them to sing gospel parts, Ivana answers:
"He did the arrangement for the song 'Vrijeme za ljubav' Jovo Dzaferovic, and on his initiative from a year ago to do something together. Of course, when it came time to record the vocals, especially the backing vocals, everything went smoothly, he just conducted what should be sung by whom, and in no time we sang the backing vocals to ourselves (laughs). I'm joking, but it's really a mitigating circumstance when you have so many different colors of voices and experienced singers on offer. We simply cover everything that's needed," says Popović Martinović, who wrote the music and lyrics for this song, and she doesn't hide that it was a mitigating circumstance. while she was writing the melody, the fact that it will be sung by vocalists who can perform whatever they want and to whom she does not have to adapt it.
"I tried, imagining that it was performed by several vocalists, that the main skeleton of the melody did not have too much range, in order to actually leave as much space and freedom as possible for improvisations and the fitting of possible lines and similar possible moments. In that sense, on the other hand, I actually embarked on a more difficult task, which is to find the right measure, because we had too much material in a sense, where everyone comes to the fore in accordance with the text they sing. In the meantime, Jovo understood the idea of the whole story about the celebration of the jubilee and the announcement of it through this song, which was also a prerequisite for everything to fit in properly. In addition, our great musician Dragan Ivanovic from Kotor, who has been playing and working with big names in the region for years, expertly felt that happy simple energy which he complemented with guitars and bass in his own way and brought even more joy to this whole story", explains Popović Martinović.
Usually songs like this, where several women join together, are in support of some campaigns. Considering that many say that "a woman is a wolf to a woman", however, the author of the song is sure that this single and the support of the artists who participated in the project to each other, as well as the same message, will encourage women to take care of each other more.
"To begin with, perhaps it is enough that there is an obvious true example that it is possible for a woman to be not a wolf to a woman but a sincere friend and a great colleague. Evil tongues will say that it is only for parade and marketing, but also many people know or recognize that we have supported each other for many years quite naturally and almost by definition. There aren't many of us, and it would be miserable to trip each other up in such a small number. In fact, we should work to ensure that there are more and more of us musicians, that we look up to each other, that everyone's work encourages something new, that the competition is at the healthiest possible level. We should actually use the fact that we are few as an advantage compared to the region. That's why I'm not only celebrating my 20 years, but we've all been here for the same twenty years, some a little less, some a little more, but this comes to us like a graduation anniversary (laughs). So the better and more constructively we support each other, the stronger we are when hard days come", says Ivana.
"They shoot from the side, from behind and from the branch, they open wounds". Considering that this year she celebrates two decades of her career, Popović Martinović reveals how many times she found herself in that situation and how difficult it was in those moments not to give up on music:
"It's hard to give up music, it's something innate, and if I had given up this job, I would never have given up music in a way. The bottom line is that someone is born for this job, someone decides, and someone just happens to be there. In all this, the more bullets you receive, prepared or unprepared, and 'from behind, from the branch', the more people hurt you, the one whose being is hardened like a bulletproof vest for the soul, will remain consistent with his principles and goals and most likely do important things in music, art and culture in general. And in order not to give up on the job itself and lose will and faith, good people, good colleagues in the environment, love and respect, and always and without giving up, laughter and a positive spirit are most needed. This is what we should preserve, nurture and celebrate", Ivana is sure.
Since the song "Feniks" and Montevizia in 2006, we haven't had many opportunities to see Ivana's sister Nela Popović on stage. The track "Vrijeme za ljubav" is her comeback of sorts, and about how difficult it was to take this step again, to record in the studio, the shots for the video and whether it took a long time to convince Ivana to participate in this project, Nela says:
"It was not difficult at all. Everything flowed so naturally and spontaneously, as if there wasn't even that much of a break. Iva and I have wanted to record a song together since we were children, and as soon as she mentioned it to me, I enthusiastically accepted", Nela recalled and revealed how much this would encourage her to return to music:
"I never said that I was 'leaving' music forever, but I am, so to speak, a relaxed guy. So if the dice roll, why not", promises Nela.
This song brings positive energy, and in her career so far, Nina Žižić has had happy songs, but also ballads that are equally demanding to sing. But this track is different, and Žižić reveals how she herself felt when she heard "Time for Love" for the first time:
"First of all, just because the song comes from Ivana, I already experienced it as something wonderful. The theme of the song itself "bought" me, since all the songs are about broken hearts and damaged egos. We really needed a sunny song that is associated only with good things. I especially like the lyrics: "People on the curve, an abyss nearby, You'll forget yourself, but I won't give it to you," concludes Žižić.
It's always time for love
All three interviewees of Vijesta agree on one thing, and that is that it is always the right time for love.
"There is no bad moment for love. I just think that love is most needed when people are arguing, when pride and vanity get in front of the essence of the problem, when we are aware that we are doing wrong things, but spite does not allow us to back down. ... Because heroes are truly known through hardship," says Ivana, while Nela adds:
"It's always the right time for love. For all kinds of love. Love ennobles us, makes life beautiful. We should try to pay more attention to beautiful things, because there are too many ugly ones around us. So - it's time for love", says Nela once again.
Bonus video:
