Bajaga's book "Songs" promoted in Podgorica, big concert announced in Nikšić

The premiere fair promotion of the book "Songs", a kind of compilation of 40 years of creativity of one of the iconic Yugoslav musicians, the leader of the group "Bajaga i instruktori", Momcilo Bajagic Bajaga, was held today at the very beginning of the artistic program of the 19th International Podgorica Book and Education Fair, which is held in the garage area of ​​the "Big Fashion" shopping center in Podgorica.

On the same occasion, a concert by the band "Bajaga i instruktori" in Nikšić was announced, which will take place on June 14, said the Mayor of the Municipality of Nikšić. Marko Kovačević, The summer tourist season will be open, while the concert itself represents a significant event for the city where Bajaga has already performed, and whose citizens are happy to listen to and welcome him.

Moderator of the promotion Jelena Krsmanović pointed out that Bajaga is not just a singer, but also a brand, a symbol, music itself, and a symbol of generations and generations, but also of youth, movement, country... Bajaga spoke with her about his recently published book, which represents a kind of cross-section of his artistic creativity, and he also revealed why the publication itself was important to him.

"It's a compilation of all the songs I've written, some of which are unpublished. There are also many good photographs taken over the course of my 40-year career, some of which are older. The book was printed in Kragujevac, Dragan Todorovic is the editor of the book. It is samizdat, which I think is a good option if you want to retain the right to edit the book and influence how it will look, which is what I cared about. It was important to me that this book appeared, so that there would be something left. That is much more important to me than the material side," said Bajaga, emphasizing that the promotion in Podgorica is the first of a fair nature.

If you don't know the music that accompanies them, it's poetry, and if you do, then maybe you'll start humming along as you read, Bajaga said.

The monograph includes around 160 poems and the same number of photographs from various periods of the author's career. The book also contains handwritten poems, which are different from those we know, making this luxurious edition a unique insight into the work of one of the most important musicians of the Balkans.

There is no doubt that the book awakens emotions, memories, pride, laughter, but also melancholy.

"In addition to these poems and numerous photographs, it is interesting that for this book I also found my old notebooks in which I wrote poems in the original, so there are some handwritten ones. I think people will be interested to see all of that together in this book. There is also the poem "Zažmuri" which has one more stanza in the original, and which I did not record, so, well, things like that might be interesting to people," Bajaga noted.

In addition to his iconic verses, the book also includes poems he wrote for his colleagues.

"I included in the book almost all the texts I wrote, primarily for my group, and then for Riblja Čorba, for Zdravko Colic and various other colleagues. When we were thinking about how to arrange the songs, we decided to order them alphabetically, not chronologically,” he said.

During her conversation with Bajaga, Krsmanović noticed that Bajaga's verses, without music, take on a different rhythm. He replied that he wrote them that way, without music, although there were different situations.

"If you don't know the music that accompanies them, it's poetry, and if you do, then maybe you'll hum along as you read," Bajaga added.

A special focus of the promotion was also on the photographs in the book, which further enliven the atmosphere it carries, while testifying to time, youth, society, but also numerous other circumstances... Bajaga revealed more about the photographic collection at the promotion at the Book Fair...

“Over 130 famous photographers from the region took the photographs that are included in this book. I believe that the images are very important for this book, and each of them is accompanied by an accompanying explanation. There are also some photographs that we simply found from some personal archives, which is what it says. There are also many photographs of the late. Goranka Matić. We were also lucky enough to have her take photos for our last tour to celebrate 40 years of work. Mr. Jason Gold is the author of the photograph on the cover, and it is a photograph from a concert in Petrovac, about 10-15 years ago," Bajaga said and continued...

"There are also photographs taken by Zvone Krstulović from Split, in 1985 at a concert called the Concert for Youth and Students in Moscow, when we performed with Bijeli Dugme. Zvone took excellent photographs of Red Square, Bajaga and the instructors together with Bijeli Dugme. When we found his photographs and decided to include them in the book, we tried to reach Zvone, who was an excellent photographer at the time. However, as life took its toll, we lost contact, and Zvone also stopped taking photos, for some reason I don't know, it was difficult for us to find him. In the end, we managed to do it through social networks and, of course, received his confirmation. So now this book is in a way Zvone's second photographic life," said the musician.

Continuing the conversation, Krsmanović also raised the topic of music, festivals, and even current trends in that world. Regardless of everything, Bajaga emphasized, young authors should create and their music should exist.

"I think it's normal for new generations to have their own music and their own story, because my generation didn't listen to what our fathers listened to. The music back then was different, but I personally have nothing against today's music, and I think there should be a variety of music. The only thing I feel bad about, in a way, is that technology has gotten too involved in all of this... On the other hand, maybe I should learn a little better how it all works and get into that field myself," says Bajaga, sending a message of support to his young colleagues.

He remembered his first concert in Belgrade, many that came later, and his performance at the Lake Fest in Nikšić. Thus, at the very end of the promotion, Bajaga's big concert in Nikšić, which will be held on June 14th, was exclusively announced.

"We are pleased that this year Nikšić, as a candidate city for the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, and as a city of music, will open the summer tourist season with a concert by the group "Bajaga i instruktori" on June 14. We have been hanging out for years and decades and are always happy to expect and listen to you," said Marko Kovačević.

Bajaga continued to share with the large audience selected memories, anecdotes, stories from his rich career, as well as some of those hidden behind published songs. He spoke about creating music for films, but also about writing for the youngest.

In the meantime, numerous fans were arriving who wanted their own copy of the book, a photo, or just a few passing sentences with, undoubtedly, one of the symbols of the Yugoslav and, today, regional music and art scene.

Bajaga will also be signing books and attending the Podgorica Book Fair tomorrow, from 12:13 to 13:11 p.m., in the garage of the "Big Fashion" shopping center in Podgorica. The fair runs until May 21.30, every day from XNUMX:XNUMX to XNUMX:XNUMX. The ticket price is two euros, and one euro for group visits.