Montenegrin singer-songwriter Vanja Radovanović ends his project "Mental Diary" with the song "Under the Carpet", without the catharsis that the audience usually expects.
As he says, the "light at the end of the tunnel" was deliberately avoided, because the goal was to remain fair to all those who are still in the dark.
"In the Balkans, growing up is often shaped by prohibitions and orders: 'Don't cry, grit your teeth, be silent, don't embarrass us.' That's precisely why 'Pod tepih' breaks the established culture of ignoring emotions. The song does not offer a solution, because it cannot fit into three minutes, nor into a few songs, but is instead a long-term process of dealing with traumas that have been pushed aside for decades, often at the behest of society," Radovanović points out.
He is sure that many will recognize in the lyrics the voices of parents, authorities, and the environment who taught us that intimacy is "selling out" and vulnerability is "defeat."
"By ending the trilogy without a final answer, we wanted to create a cycle - to bring the listener back to the beginning, to the struggle with the 'Monster' and 'Anxiety', until they decide to break the cycle and possibly seek some kind of help," Radovanović points out, adding that this project was not created just to be listened to, but to be experienced.
"Darkness is not defeated by putting makeup on it, but by calling it by its right name, to begin with. The circle closes where it began. If you feel the carpet is too heavy, go back to "The Monster" and listen again. This time, don't be silent," concludes Radovanović.
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