One third of the once very active band “Antonio Sanchez i kurvini sinovi”, Dušan Đurović, released a new project a few days ago called “Pak Shui - Unplugged”, which includes six songs: “Ljubav moja”, “Želim te”, “Sveta žena”, “Kunem ti se”, “Vodi me na Island” and Santa ledena. This EP brings a variety of musical styles from love songs, through dark laments for the homeland to folk overtones. “Kunem ti se” has already received a video, and Đurović spoke to “Vijesti” about anecdotes from the recording and the entire project, as well as his desire for the “Antonio Sanchez i kurvini sinovi” team to get back together.
The Montenegrin musician, who has been living in Iceland for several years, explains how the "Pak Shui" project came about, and what "Unplugged" brings.
"'Pak Shui' came about because a few songs haunted me for a few years, and right before the end of the summer, Vukša Vujošević and I recorded them in our bachelor's room, the room where my brother and I lived with our parents for a long, long time, in the apartment where our mother now lives alone and impatiently awaits summer," he points out.
"'Pak Shui' doesn't bring anything, it seems to me, it just sings its own songs that could be anyone's, it sings them from the heart and on the verge of falsehood and tears," Đurović continues, and then lists all those involved in the project.
"There's me as the initial capsule (I've been waiting for a long time to use this formulation), Vukša Vujošević, Jelena Krković and Džidžana. I did the lyrics and music, Vukša did the production and arrangements, Jelena sued me in the song in which I passed away, and Džidžana sings 'Svetu ženu'. Jelena Krković did the cover and wrote the lyrics for the lament on the last tragic song that ends with a rendition of Zoran Simjanović's beautiful song 'Cveta trešnja', from the film 'Sabirni centar'," explains the musician.
When asked why “Pak Shui” was chosen as the name of the project, he says:
“One night in Iceland I watched seven videos in a row from 'The Black Room'. The last band to be introduced in 'The Black Room' was 'Funk Shui'. Then, in a half-dream, the name 'Pak Shui' flashed to me.”
Đurović also recalls how the idea came about for the EP to have the simple title "Unplugged".
"The name of the album 'Unplugged' was the idea of Dušanka Seratlić, who, on the way back from Ulcinj, through that Mexican landscape around the large beach, said that the album had to be called 'Unplugged'. Everyone in the car started laughing except me. I was the only one who didn't get the joke," he is honest, and then reveals how the songs for that EP came about.
"Completely unplanned and unobtrusive. I don't usually make songs, I play every day, I throw myself into the unknown, as the great Igor Malešević would say, but I don't make songs. Each of these songs came to me. 'Take me to Iceland' started singing in my head during a walk two summers ago, it appeared by itself, completely finished. Vukša had to figure out what the chords were, because I had no idea what the key was, or anything," Đurović recounts.
"The song 'Ljubav moja', which only has two sentences and it seems like there are a hundred and two, I also just sat down one day and started playing and singing. I made 'Sveta ženu' in Berlin after a jam session with Ivan Marović. After the jam session, we went to have ćevapi and I guess it all cracked me up, hanging out and playing with Ivan, ćevapi, meeting Ilija (Đurović) after a long time and I flew home, and spent the whole day feverishly searching for the melody on Ivan's acoustic guitar and writing down variations of the lyrics. I remember laughing like crazy and wondering where I got this folk song from. That's how I imagined as best I could how three songs - half an album - came about," answers the interviewee of "Vijesti".
The song "Kunem ti se" has already been filmed, so the musician also reveals what it was like on the set.
"We released the video for 'Kunem ti se' which we filmed at Bruno Zorica Lakić Zojka's cafe. We had a blast filming it. Jelena made me a fake tattoo from my elbow to my hand that says 'Vizelj' and of course it's not visible in the video. You can't even see my seven-year-old son, who has been asking me for six months - when is the video coming, dad, and I'm not allowed to show him it, because he can't be seen. More precisely, you can see his forehead for a second, claims Vukša, the author of the video. As my late dad would say, every job is like that. We're sick of 'Pak Shui'," says Đurović in his own style.
Considering that he has not lived in Montenegro for some time, he is not sure yet if and when "Pak Shui" will have more songs.
"I don't think about it, nor do I put pressure or obligation on myself. I do the same thing today that I did the day before we released 'Unplugged'. I go down to the basement, put on my guitar and drums, go back to the apartment, eat and drink coffee, then go back down for therapy and beauty. I enjoy working with Vukša, so I'm sure we'll collaborate again," he promises.
The return of "Antonio Sanchez" is only a fantasy for now
When asked what happened to other musical projects he was a part of before leaving for Iceland, and whether the audience had definitely said goodbye to the band "Antonio Sanchez and the Sons of Bitches", Đurović says:
"At this moment, I can't imagine how we could get started. 'Antonio Sanchez i kurvini sinovi' was a band made up of three wonderful crazy people. Everything that happened in and around that band, all the rehearsals and all the recordings, those two and a half concerts, it's all a terribly important period in my life. And precisely because of everything we went through together in a specific way, I love Filip Ferdinandi and Zarija Pavićević. I would be as happy as a little child if we managed to write and release a few songs somewhere, but for now it's just a fantasy that, just like this descent into the basement, saves me from depression and nervous breakdowns."
Bonus video:
