Full of energy, a bit wild, wild and crazy, but above all a completely live concert is announced by the founder and producer of the band "Nouvelle Vague" Mark Kolin (Marc Collin) in an interview for "Vijesti", and ahead of his performance at the Lake Fest festival in Nikšić.
The audience can expect a real surprise, he says, and his expectations are: a lake, nature, sun, hills, a relaxed atmosphere, a family-like audience... Definitely - all of that will be surpassed at the festival, which is held in the poplars by Lake Krupac, in the town of N, under Trebjes.
Lake Fest 2026 begins on Friday, August 7th and runs until Sunday, August 9th. The lineup is complete, the camp is ready, and the organizers remind that "rock & roll is returning home, to its lake, under its poplars", and both rock and roll, campers, Nikšić residents, all lovers of good music, because since the first edition, this festival has become a symbol of top-notch socializing, music and fun. The famous French band will perform on the second festival night, on Saturday, August 8th at 10:30 PM.
In an exclusive interview for "Vijesti", Kolin emphasizes that he is looking forward to the concert and a new journey, a new city, people and a performance in nature... He announces a performance in Nikšić, but also a new album coming in October, summarizes more than 20 years of the band's work and existence, and talks about the characteristics thanks to which it has become the world's most famous and influential "cover band", whose covers are often more popular than the original songs.
You take something that already exists and make something new out of it. That's music. That's art. Nothing is untouchable.
"The arrival of the Nouvelle Vague band at Lake Fest is important not only because of the guest appearance of an internationally recognized band, but also because of the increasingly clear position of our festival on the regional and European map. Ticket sales show the interest of the audience from abroad, which confirms that such names not only bring domestic visitors to Krupac, but also open the festival and Nikšić to a new audience," the organizers told "Vijesti" in anticipation of a real spectacle.
In an interview for "Vijesti", Mark Kolin also recalls the band's premiere in Montenegro a few years ago in Tivat, and whoever was at that performance knows what kind of energy, performance and music can be expected from the upcoming concert at Krupac. At the same time, there is no doubt that the audience and atmosphere at Lake Fest will be completely different - better, crazier, stronger, more cordial, louder... In Kolin's interview, it is clear that this is an event not to be missed, but also a band that is not only listened to but felt, absorbed and remembered!
When we spoke ahead of your first performance in Montenegro, you said that the country surprised you with its diversity and that you wanted to get to know it better. After Tivat, you are now coming to Nikšić, for Lake Fest. What are your expectations from this performance, especially considering that Lake Fest is an open rock festival, with a completely different atmosphere than the concert halls where you often perform?
Yes, I was very surprised, because Tivat is a really special city, a bit reminiscent of Monaco or Dubai, in its own way. I really didn't expect that. After that I visited Kotor and I was really delighted, a truly beautiful city! This time I expect something completely different and I'm looking forward to it! I'm looking forward to discovering Lake Fest at the upcoming concert. It's always a special experience to play at an open-air festival, surrounded by nature.
The lake, summer and festival atmosphere seem like a natural setting for Nouvelle Vague's music. Does such a space affect the band's energy or is each stage a new story? What would you highlight as a special feature of the performance that awaits the audience at Lake Fest?
Of course, when you are surrounded by beautiful nature it is special. We recently played in Albania and it was incredible: lake, nature, sun, mountains... I expect something similar in Nikšić. For us, summer festivals like this are a bit like a vacation, because they give us the opportunity to get to know a new city, new places and new people.
It's wonderful to play outdoors, feel the wind and watch the night fall... The atmosphere is completely different, as is the audience compared to clubs - it's more relaxed, more like a big family. People eat, drink, socialize... It's a completely different kind of concert.
You started with covers of cult songs that later, in your own arrangements, became classics for generations of listeners. How do you view this type of transposition of musical heritage?
It's hard for me to talk about it, because I'm not a Nouvelle Vague audience, so I can't see myself from that perspective. What I try to do is convey emotion to people through our albums and covers. At concerts I see how much people enjoy songs like "Shout", "Too Drunk to Fuck", and lately "Should I Stay or Should I Go" or "Girls on Film".
A journalist once wrote that Nouvelle Vague is the best cover band in the world, or something very similar to that. Honestly, I was very happy when I read that! When I started making music, I never expected, nor could I have imagined, that new versions of the songs I love would achieve such success. But that's not all we do and I'm very proud of what Nouvelle Vague has developed into.
Your interpretations have become almost as recognizable to many as the originals. Does it sometimes seem to you that younger audiences first discover Nouvelle Vague, and only then Joy Division, The Cure or The Clash?
Yes, probably many people discover the songs for the first time through Nouvelle Vague versions. I'm thinking about our biggest hit, almost nobody knows the original. It's the same with many other songs, like "Dance With Me", I don't think most people even know the original version. Simply, when you get to know a song for the first time through a cover and fall in love with that particular version, it (p)remains your favorite. That happened to me too. When I discovered that "Tainted Love", performed by the band Soft Cell, was actually a cover song Gloria Jones from the sixties, I listened to the original, but I still prefer the Soft Cell version.
People usually carry the version of a song they first fell in love with with them their whole lives. In that sense, Nouvelle Vague was a kind of intermediary - as we say in French, someone who conveys something to others. We are not just introducing people to new songs, but also to a culture, a time, and a musical movement. And I'm really proud of that.
Over the past two decades and more, the band has had a large number of female singers, and each voice has brought new emotion and character to the songs. How much does this constant change keep Nouvelle Vague creatively alive, both in the studio and on stage? We witnessed Alonya's charismatic performance in Tivat where everything was bursting with energy and passion, does and how much does that depend on the atmosphere and the audience?
Yes, I think that's one of the key reasons why Nouvelle Vague is still around and releasing albums after more than twenty years. I always try to include new talents. As I said before, in the beginning Nouvelle Vague was primarily a concept, and only then a band - the idea to perform post-punk songs in a bossa nova manner. I invited Olivier Olivier (Olivier Libaux), Melani (Mélanie Pain), Kamil (Camille), Phoebe Killdeer... That's how it all started... However, from the second album onwards I started inviting new people to bring freshness to the project and so that we wouldn't keep going around the same thing and in the same circle.
When it comes to concerts, the arrival of new musicians, and especially new singers, is of crucial importance. Alonija is truly extraordinary. She brought a lot to the band and the entire project, both on the album and on stage. I am really looking forward to the new concert program that we start with in September, ahead of the release of the new album in October. She will be joined on stage by Nika, new singer from Moldova.
Considering that you are working on a new album, is it still a challenge for you to surprise the audience or are you trying more to surpass yourself? How do today's circumstances affect that?
The biggest challenge is not to get boring, or to keep doing the same thing over and over again. That's not always easy, but my way of working has changed. Today we have technological tools based on artificial intelligence, fantastic sound libraries or sound banks.... That way, if I want an accordion in an arrangement, I can first try out how it sounds before looking for a musician to play it.
Recording the new album "A Date With Depeche Mode" in Rio, together with a Brazilian musician, was a completely new experience for me and brought a lot of creative energy to the entire project.
Is there perhaps a song that you love so much that you wouldn't dare cover it? Or, what makes a song untouchable?
As for "untouchable" songs, honestly, there aren't any that I think of as such. Nothing is sacred to me. We're talking about music and songs, and music belongs to time. You take something that already exists and make something new out of it. That's music. That's art. Nothing is untouchable.
After more than two decades, millions of listenings and performances around the world, what does a concert represent for you today, and what does the audience get?
We always start from the same principle - we build a concert as a journey. The first song invites the audience into our world. I like to open the concert with lines from a film that I adore and which, in my opinion, perfectly carries the spirit of the Nouvelle Vague. Then, we build the concert through energy, emotions and surprises. For most people who see us live for the first time, it is a big surprise! Everyone expects something jazzy, calm and elegant, with musicians who sit and simply play songs... Instead, people get a completely different concert - full of energy, a little wild, sometimes crazy, but above all completely alive! We never perform with computers or matrices. Everything the audience hears is performed live and that is exactly what makes our concerts special.
Last time you said you wanted to get to know Montenegro better. Will you have the opportunity to spend some time in Nikšić or visit some other places this time?
I will stay in Nikšić for one day after the festival performance, so I hope I will have time to visit Nikšić and its surroundings, although I probably won't be able to see everything. There will be an opportunity for that next year.
There will always be sincere music and art lovers.
What would you say is the biggest challenge in music today? Is it creativity, production, audience relations, concerts, or economic sustainability?
We need to distinguish between real musicians and people who see music solely as a way to make money. These are two completely different things. For real musicians today, the biggest challenge is the huge competition. Millions of new songs are released on streaming platforms every day, and half of them are created with the help of artificial intelligence. This is a big problem, but I believe that this is exactly why musicians will become more creative, bolder and more personal, instead of trying to copy something that already exists thinking that they can do it better.
There will always be people who don't see music as an art form and aren't interested in it as such, but rather just care about a sound, a melody or a rhythm. They don't care who's behind the song, and that's fine. They can listen to commercial radio or background music.
But there will always be those who genuinely love music and want to meet the artist behind it. Today, we have incredible tools for that, like social media. Live concerts are becoming more and more important. People are willing to pay a lot to see their favorite artists, and concerts are sold out. Of course, the problem is that everyone wants to see the same small number of the biggest stars, so you have to reach a certain level to reach that audience.
However, I believe that more and more people will go to small clubs in their city and discover new live artists. It's a natural evolution and I'm glad to be a part of it.
From huge success, through different phases, to today - the adventure continues
What is the main driving force and inspiration in your work from the very beginning to today, and how has that changed over time?
Our band and project has evolved over the years and gone through many different phases. The first years were incredible. The success came suddenly and we were practically not ready for it. I had released a few albums before Nouvelle Vague, I was about 32 or 34 when it all really exploded, so I wasn't that young anymore.
Suddenly, with Olivier and all the singers, and all of us who were also friends, I found myself in the midst of enormous success and attention: non-stop interviews, concerts everywhere, private performances..., it was completely crazy! When I look back today at the tour schedule between 2005 and 2008, I don't even understand how we managed to endure it all.
Later, we felt that the first momentum had died down, so we decided to get back together and create something new. We recorded an album with the original artists of the songs we had previously covered. It was a wonderful experience because we got to meet our musical heroes. Then we released an album in French. After that, we devoted ourselves more to special stage projects. For example, we collaborated with the French designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac and for a while we didn't release a new album. We celebrated 15 years of existence, and then Olivier passed away... That's when I really thought that maybe it was time for this whole story to end.
But the 20th anniversary of our first album was approaching and it seemed to us that we still had to do something to mark the occasion, at least another tour. Someone suggested that we record a new album! That's when I found inspiration again, and meeting Alonia was an important part of that. I decided to dedicate the new project to one band - in this first chapter it's Depeche Mode. The album "A Date With Depeche Mode" is released at the end of October and I'm very happy with it.
The adventure continues. We'll see where it takes us next...
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