The band "Kolektiv 0", consisting of Jovo Čeprnić (rhythm guitar and vocals), Andrija Mihaljević (drums), Stefan Radović (guitar), Velibor Perković (bass) and Ilija Gračanin (keyboards), recently won a performance at this year's Bedem Fest with the votes of the audience and the jury in the "As a Young Man, I Need a Chance Now" competition.
Čeprnić spoke to "Vijesti" about winning the competition, the upcoming gig at the festival, but also about the band itself and its original material.
"The band is called 'Kolektiv 0' or as the name came to mean collective zero. We were all starting out somehow and didn't want a name that was too serious, but something that made sense and that we could deal with, and that was still 'cool'. Following the example of other bands we look up to, we tried not to gloss over the fact that we were starting from scratch again and that we really didn't know anything about music (then, although I believe we still do now, and there will be opportunities to learn), even though we tried," he explains.
"So the concept itself is tied to desire, creation, the beginning, a zero point that we took, from where everything starts, moves, and comes back to the point from where it starts again," adds Čeprnić.
"We were formed at the end of 2022, when Andrija and I met, and in the midst of all that, we saw Stefan playing guitar on the top of Mount Maganik with a crew made up of members of the bands 'Highway' and 'Wider Horizonts'... And we invited him to play with us. Andrija didn't have any drums until then, so he found some electric ones so they wouldn't bother the neighbors. I brought my equipment from Herceg Novi, and we invited two friends, Aleksa Mirkocić and Balša Ilić, to join us. Initially, the lineup was supposed to be five of us, but Balša didn't have time," the musician recalls.
"That's when we learned the most that our talent is nothing without discipline. In Studio 9 with Marko Perić, in Andrija's room (until the neighbors knock), in my living room (my neighbors are younger, understanding people), rehearsals every other day in addition to all our primary obligations... At that pace, we practiced two or three original songs and 20-30 covers for a whole year, until we agreed on a venue for the gigs," he recounts, adding that they had their first performance at the then "Karver".
More performances followed, in Trebinje, at the Music & Hills Festival, the Herceg Novi Comic Strip Festival, and last week in Nikšić as part of the competition "As a young man, I need a chance now".
"We primarily came to hang out, to present our work, to show a slightly different/more progressive view of music. To debunk the idea that the music scene in Montenegro is sleeping. It is there. It is alive, it exists and it just needs to be given a chance when an opportunity arises like this one. This was also a great chance for all of us participants in the 'superfinal' to present our work. The nuances were decisive, and the very fact that we were given the opportunity to play at Bedem Fest further affirmed us as a band and convinced us that what we do makes sense, and that someone likes it," Čeprnić is honest.
"The mere information that 11 bands had applied and that we had made it to the super finals in that competition, and that we would be sharing the stage with our friends from 'Petrikor 1858' and 'Paradigma', did not arouse any competitive spirit in us, considering that we know each other privately and hang out. Because again, we believe that the scene is small and that every gig, ours, theirs or anyone else's, should be remembered for its good energy, and not for the competition of who is better!", he concludes.
"I am convinced that there is no such thing in music and that it should not exist. Music can only break down those boundaries, it is always a matter of the individual, and we came here to act as a group with the masses. So, knowing how 'Petrikor' plays, that they are very young and well-rounded, and not knowing how good 'Paradigma' is considering that they are the youngest, we were completely carried away by the atmosphere and satisfied with the entire event," says the interviewee of "Vijesti".
He points out that they don't have much information about the performance at the festival in Nikšić yet, but they promise to perform their own songs.
"For now, we don't have much information except that Bedem will be held from August 21st to 23rd in Nikšić, at the fortress, and that our set will last about half an hour to 45 minutes, which is absolutely acceptable for a young band, especially since much bigger music stars will certainly perform alongside us that night. Of course, we are honored," says Čeprnić, taking the opportunity to announce a gig that will take place tonight at the "Itaka Library" bar from 21 p.m., but also on Saturday as part of the "Music Up Your Summer" event organized by KIC "Budo Tomović".
In the meantime, he says, they are working on releasing their first songs.
"We plan to record an EP/album, work on videos and prepare for performances as soon as everything falls into place. Authentic expression is important to us, and that's why we're doing everything step by step. So maybe we'll have plans for the next listening, viewing, but this is a completely realistic and decent picture of the future. As long as we keep the same pace. We have this Bedem fest ahead of us, which we plan to completely 'blow up' if that's how it's possible to describe it, because we see it as a great opportunity for people outside of Podgorica to hear about us," says the singer and guitarist.
He adds that they previously won a competition for young demo bands organized by PAM, and as a prize they received the opportunity to record a song at Stiva Studio, which they will use.
"The winning song from the competition, titled ''If This Is What You Came For'', is also the first single we are announcing and whose recording is nearing completion. We are planning to distribute it at the end of the summer, when we will release a few more interesting things that we are preparing for the upcoming period," hinted the member of the band "Kolektiv 0".
"So far we have six original songs that we perform, 'Bedem', 'San', 'Dosta je', 'DVM', 'River Flow' and the aforementioned 'If This Is What You Came For'. We write music in relation to the lyrics or melody, a skeleton that we like or we write the lyrics in relation to a rhythm, as long as it is connected and meaningful with the context of the sound. We usually don't see a problem with there being no lyrics in some segments of the song, or we just let the melody prevail over everything," he says, adding that "they are not limited by language" and that they write lyrics equally in English and their native language.
"The band, as well as the individual members themselves, are primarily motivated by blues/rock, in terms of genre, these are primarily grunge (especially the '90s era, groove in the 2000s), stoner, elements of electronic, funk music. And in that fusion of sounds, we try to extract something that is the core of what makes up one of our songs," Čeprnić points out.
"The concept of each song is not some kind of darkness, an unattainable path... we try to break those depressive moments and have that melancholy throughout the story, and for the very essence to be the listener finding that he is not alone - that we who play the song are in the same boat as him or her. If only we had created those barriers ourselves, well, let's break them down together, at least through those few minutes of music, and go to a world we love, without ghosts. So the center of the story is again the famous 0, we are starting from scratch, we are moving into something new," the musician explains vividly.
In the end, he reveals who the biggest role models for the band "Collective 0" are.
“Depache Mode, Alice in Chains, Pearl jam, Soundgarden, Audioslave, Black Sabbath Metallica, Queens of Stone Age, Kyuss, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, RATM, Royal Blood, Pink Floyd... Od domaćih: Nikola Vranjkovic", Block Out, Bjesovi, Majke, Luna, KKN, 357, Ritam Nereda, SSP, etc. This is an older team, we more or less hang out with the 'younger' ones," Čeprnić pointed out with a smile.
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