There is no place for consumerism in our band.

Gorostas is one of the youngest Montenegrin bands, but in a relatively short time it has managed to attract the attention of the audience and make a recognizable place on the local music scene. In April, the band released their debut album “Vriti”, which features seven songs and represents the first serious cross-section of their work to date.

The release of the album was followed by a period filled with performances, and the members of Gorostas spent the summer working, playing at numerous festivals, concerts and other events throughout Montenegro. They had the opportunity to present songs from their first album to a diverse audience, but also to further present the band's sound and songs from the "Vriti" project to fans of harder sound through performances. The band members, especially frontman Jovo Čeprnić, are pleased with the reactions to the album.

"It sounded pretty good, and the reception from both local and regional audiences. We have really nice feedback and we are moving in that direction as we mentioned somewhere. We don't see any logistical errors at the moment," Čeprnić points out in an interview for Vijesti Čeprnić. In addition to him, Gorostas also includes Ivan Vuksanović - guitar, Boris Đurđić - bass and Ivan Mandić - drums, and this small team, but selected during the summer, played at Rockstrukcija, HSF, and they also had a performance at Kučki koriti. Domestic festivals are increasingly opening up to domestic bands. However, considering that most performers from here are focused on performances in Montenegro, this opportunity is also significant for the development of the scene itself, because now musicians know that if they work, they will have somewhere to present their work.

"It's true and we enjoy the feeling that someone local wants to host us and help with the promotion. We are always here to gladly answer the call. Thank them endlessly and we look forward to further cooperation. Special greetings to the Herceg Novi Comic Festival, which celebrated its 20th anniversary this year and gave us the honor of playing before the big mega gig of the emperor Antoni Pušić aka Rambo Amadeus and his quintet. Of course, thanks to Janko (Rockstrikcija) and the Secretariat for Culture, who came up with a great story and brought us and Grimm to Kučka korita, of course, every night is memorable," notes Čeprnić.

Although they were invited by the organizers of the Sea Dance Festival to play in Bečići, unfortunately, this performance did not take place.

"Although the organizers kindly invited us, we were busy at the scheduled time, so we look forward to the invitation next year, of course," promises the "Vijesti" interviewee.

However, their goal is not just to play throughout Montenegro. The members of the band Gorostas also plan to present their music to audiences in the ex-Yugoslavia region.

"We aim to play outside these current frameworks. But more on that later. We have some plans for a few more gigs in Montenegro by the end of this year," was all Čeprnić wanted to reveal about the plans.

Gorostas brought a sound to the Montenegrin music scene that is different from what has been heard most often on the domestic scene in recent years. At a time when performers are mostly opting for a more commercial expression, their choice carries a certain risk, but at the same time it opens up space for a different audience and new musical directions.

"We just look at how everyone is doing it, and then we go against that mainstream. Because in our band there is no room for consumerism to that extent. Recycling just works for us so that we take out an old riff or theme that didn't make it to the first album. We have our own goals and vision, so we stick to them," explains Čeprnić.

After years of stagnation, the Montenegrin music scene has recently seen an increasing number of new bands and different genres, so it seems that almost every musical direction has its representatives. However, the space for bands that do not belong to commercial trends is still limited, especially when it comes to media attention and opportunities to present themselves to the audience. Gorostas is trying to fight for its place in such circumstances, but the fact that they are different does not discourage them, but rather encourages them to work and change consciousness.

"Fighting with windmills only spreads our sails, so we just use that counterattack to our advantage. There is no discouragement. Anyone who knows what the scene was like before and how much it has developed in some small ways now, and how much potential it still has, knows that there is no room for panic," the musician believes, and does not hide the fact that the numerous gigs they have had are motivation for them to continue creating, because the seven songs they currently have are not enough for a full-length concert.

"We primarily made the songs to play them live and share something with people. So the first album is not enough for the entire concert, so we invite everyone who hasn't been there yet to come and hear what else we actually play in that hour/hour and a half, depending on where we play," says Čeprnić, reminding that the audience will have the opportunity to hear them on Friday, September 18th, in Budva.

"This is another great 'Novi val' festival, located within the old walls of the city of Budva, a very interesting atmosphere and we can't wait to play," he says, adding that the audience already knows what to expect from them at the gigs.

"The audience has learned the song 'Visoko', they know when we start playing that it is the 'source' and everything starts from there. What they may not have heard are two new songs that we premiered at the Herceg Novi Comic Strip Festival. We will reveal the names, these are the songs 'Bolest' and 'Daleko'. They have to come for the rest," says Čeprnić, and reveals which song from the album has done best so far:

"'Visoko' is currently one of the audience's favorites, because of the ending of the song. There is, of course, 'Vriti', the song after which the album is named (and we in the band agreed that it is our favorite), while 'Sepija' is definitely a song that makes its way to people from gig to gig. So, yes - 'Sepija' is our suggestion for people to listen to it," concludes Čeprnić.