Croatian band Vatra, whose concerts in Montenegro in recent years have regularly attracted audiences of all generations, will perform in the capital tonight as part of Podgorica's Spring Bazaar. Their performance is scheduled for 21 p.m., and whether they play at major festivals, city squares, club venues or concert halls, the band led by Ivan Dečak once again manages to create a memorable atmosphere. This band was founded in 1999 in Virovitica, and they are known to the wider audience for their hits including "Tango", "Nama se nikud ne žuri", and "Saturn", which will probably be on the repertoire tonight.
"We look forward to every visit to Montenegro, especially to Podgorica, where we have made wonderful friendships in the last few years. That's why every new visit is not just a concert appearance, but also a meeting with dear people," Dečak says at the beginning of the interview for "Vijesti", adding that there is a set list, but that what will be played depends mostly on the audience.
"The set list is almost always changed during the concert at the request of the audience," he adds.
The aforementioned track “Tango” was a turning point in their career and brought them regional popularity. Apart from that, which songs are simply an indispensable part of the repertoire, regardless of how much the set list changes, Dečak reveals:
"This year we are completing and releasing our eleventh studio album. We have collected some songs in our 26 years on the scene, but in addition to the aforementioned 'Tango', we will almost certainly perform 'Tremolo', 'Nama se nikud ne žuri', 'Sva naša ljeta', 'Gorim', but also some of the songs I wrote for others, such as the single 'Mali krug velikih ljudi' which was sung by Massimo Savić".
During more than two and a half decades of existence and ten released albums, the band Vatra has created a rich musical opus that, as expected, also includes songs that never received the attention they perhaps deserved. Some of them were great favorites of the band members, but despite the energy invested, they did not catch on with the audience. On the other hand, there were also those that almost imperceptibly found their way to listeners and became favorites, surprising even the band itself.
“I wouldn’t say that the songs that didn’t go over well with the audience didn’t meet my expectations, because as the author of most of our songs, I deliberately and without compromise wrote some of them in a way that would be hermetic, devoid of ambitions to ever become a radio hit. Some of those are: ‘Ako imaš video’, ‘Tebi u lice’, ‘Vedro’… On the other hand, some songs fought for their own life within the concert set list, one of them being ‘Rum na usnama’, our duet with God's Sack", from the last album 'Call me when you get there'," said Dečak.
During their career, the band Vatra has recorded many duets. The news reporter "crossed voices" with Damir Urban, Savić, Vreća, and the frontman of the Montenegrin band NeonoeN. Marko VukčevićThe unsuspecting representatives of Montenegro at the Eurovision Song Contest were Vatra's guests at their last concert in Podgorica, but Dečak did not want to reveal what the audience can expect tonight.
"Some things have to remain a surprise for the concert itself. So, come to the Square tonight from 20.30:XNUMX PM and you will see and hear everything we have prepared for you," he promises.
What the members of the band Vatra are currently working on is mixing a live album from last year's concert at Šalata. Unlike the studio version, live albums are a record of a single moment, and that certainly has its charms. When asked how many memories such albums bring back to them while mixing and listening to them, Dečak admits:
"Last year's performance at the Šalata Stadium in Zagreb, on the occasion of our 25th birthday celebration, was a kind of boyhood dream come true. I saw great world bands there. Vatra had already performed there as part of various festivals, but stepping alone into that magical space filled with an audience that sang along with us for two hours, each of our songs, is something you remember for the rest of your life. And in case we start to suffer from dementia in the future, this event will be recorded in the form of a concert album, which will be released on May 26th, exactly one year and one day after this event took place," Dečak boasted.
In a time when music is consumed quickly and audience expectations are growing day by day, it is almost a given that bands like Vatra are constantly bringing something new. The latest single “Ježurko”, released two months ago, immediately attracted attention and announced a new chapter in their creative work. Inspired by a popular character from children's literature, the song delivers a layered message about tenderness, protection and the imperfections that make us human. This raises the question of whether 2025 will only bring a live release, or can the audience expect a completely new studio album, to which Dečak responds:
"The aforementioned live album is being released with a single. It's the legendary song by Massimo Savić 'Sjaj u tami', which we performed at Šalata in his honor. As for the new studio album, it will be released in mid-October this year, and along with it, a brand new single, which also brings a crazy and unusual collaboration. But more on that later," concludes Dečak.
Bonus video:
