Montenegrin drummer Slaven Ljujic released the album “Hope Molecules”. It is a project for which he gathered, as he says, “dream musicians”. In addition to him, the super group that played on the album includes tenor saxophonist Ben Kraef, a pianist Loran Colonel and bassist Linli Mart who left their mark on Ljujić's compositions.
"I got the idea for the album title from a term related to physical activity, during which the body secretes a hormone of happiness that immediately affects thoughts and mental state and in some way gives a feeling of hope. That short burst of positive energy acts as a small moment of liberation from everyday shackles," says Ljujić at the beginning of the interview, and reveals what he wants to "reduce" to that term through these ten compositions, and how much it reflects his personal feelings towards music today and the way he experiences it himself.
"One of the reasons why it is called Hope Molecules is that in my case it signifies a driving force. It was this feeling that moved me towards original music, the gathering of my dream team and the realization of the project. It gives me a personal feeling of hope, but also a confirmation that I managed to carry out a great work to the end, considering that it is about original compositions, which made the Montenegrin scene even richer for another album. I think that this is an adequate name because it can also include the fight for art in today's world. Thanks to digitalization, artists are able to create, but no matter how many good works happen, the world has a tendency to fight against it through their art. I wanted not only to give hope for a better tomorrow let's move people with rhythm, harmony", Ljujic notes.
According to him, this is not a standard jazz album, but the compositions on it have touches of other genres.
"That's why the compositions can be characterized as world music. I deliberately wanted to create something that would take people on a journey and for them to conclude what kind of journey it is by listening to this music," adds Ljujić.
The collaboration with Lorena began in 2023 when they shared the stage at a jazz festival. That's when the idea of recording an album together came about.
"I got the idea to invite Loren because I liked the way he interprets various musical genres. He is not only a jazz pianist, but also plays Latin jazz, he is phenomenal in all styles of blues, funk, Brazilian music. I knew that he was my right hand and that we both felt the same way, that we spoke a common language. Even though we come from different sides, there were no difficulties in musical communication, so I knew that it would be a very successful collaboration," recalls Ljujić, who composed and fully prepared the material for recording, while working with the rest of the team on arrangements and interpretation.
Ljujić gathered musicians with already expressed authorial and performing identities, but as he says, it was easy to maintain a clear authorial idea with such a team, even though, as the author, he gave them space to express their potential.
"I gathered the best musicians. I have been a fan of Lili Marta since childhood, he is a Grammy-winning man and is among the ten best bassists in the world. I am very honored that he accepted to play with us and to come to Montenegro and be part of this project. I sent him the compositions in advance to hear them, he liked them and agreed to cooperate. What is good about all of them is that they view music so broadly. Their attitude is that they play for the benefit of music in order to elevate it to a higher level. It was truly a pleasure to collaborate with such a team, there was no talk during the recording, but no reworking. We did everything the old-fashioned way, full takes without patching or adding. I am proud of our energy that was achieved in the studio. It has been two years since the album was recorded, but whenever I listen to it, I hear the unity that we achieved in the studio," Ljujić proudly emphasizes.
He does not hide the fact that he initially wanted to assemble an international band for his project, consisting of musicians already established on the global and European jazz scene.
"It's much easier when you have serious names that are already represented. The music making is at the level it should be, and the promotion itself is going the way it should. You don't have to spend extra energy on explaining. As someone who studied at Berklee and lived in America, it was important for me to gather people with whom I could connect on that level, both spiritually and artistically, and at the same time to be recognized on the world jazz map," Ljujić points out.
The album's promotion officially kicks off on Friday with the promotion of the video for the song "Circles".
"On Friday we are releasing 'Circles' on my Youtube channel. Along with the music, there will be a short animation by an artist from Belgium. In this way, we are starting an avalanche of good and positive events and future performances when it comes to the album "Hope Molecules" and the Slaven Ljujić Super Group," he promises.
The composition “Circles” is dedicated to all the children who died in wars and, as he states, was created with certain images and emotions that he and the musicians had in their heads during the creation. Since art is a reflection of the time in which it is created, for Ljujić this composition was a way to create a soundtrack that would remind him of everything that has happened in recent years, so that it would never be forgotten.
"I was very taken with the idea of trying to translate a personal experience of a chaotic and disturbing state into music. I did not want to approach the topic superficially in any way, because it seemed hypocritical to me that such images and events were shared on social networks without truly understanding their gravity. That is why I decided to dedicate myself to that feeling through music, as the only way that was honest to me," said Ljujić, who translated his personal experience and sense of horror into a melody.
"This composition is dedicated to all the children who have suffered, as a symbol of the greatest injustice of today. I believe that it is one of the greatest shames of the modern era and proof of how powerless humanity has remained in the face of destruction, despite progress. The composition 'Ciclers' speaks precisely about this. Each of its segments carries that story, and the ending is deliberately harsh to evoke the violence and interruption of life that it symbolizes. The name refers to the cyclical nature of conflict, because wars, despite the development of society, are constantly repeated in different forms. I believe that art has the power to stimulate thought and raise awareness, and that this is precisely the responsibility of artists today," he concludes.
The album can be listened to on Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, Tidal, and can also be purchased at Bandcampu.
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