King of Čačak on August 1st at the Grada Teater: Every performance is an attempt to defend culture

The King of Čačak is a stage name Nenad Marić, a singer-songwriter, painter and poet from Serbia. He was born in Čačak, and graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade with a degree in painting. His music combines elements of blues, jazz, chanson and acoustic rock, and he is known for his authentic lyrics that exude lyricism, irony and emotional depth. His first album “Zemlja snova” was released in 2016 and immediately attracted the attention of the audience and critics, while the second, “Spusti svetlost na put” (2018), further strengthened his status as one of the most distinctive authors on the regional scene. The third album “Dobro jutro, ljudi” has been announced for the fall of this year. In addition to music, Nenad Marić is also involved in fine arts and publishing poetry. This summer, on August 1st, the Budva and Montenegrin audience will have the opportunity to enjoy his concert on the stage between the churches as part of the music program of the XXXIX Grad teatar festival.

How do you feel about performing at the Grad Teatar festival and what does it mean to you to play on the stage between the churches in the Old Town of Budva?

I am glad that they invited me and I feel honored and pleased to participate in such an important cultural event. I performed for the first time in Budva in 2019 as part of the New Wave festival, we played between the churches. I promoted a poetry collection at the III Regional Writers' Festival Knjiga pod feral in 2023, and a year ago I came with the team of the play "Michael Kohlhaas" produced by JDP, directed by Boris Lješević. The performance was performed in the amphitheater of the Holy Trinity Monastery in Stanjevići. Personally, I am happy with every invitation and engagement, because what I do falls within the domain of culture, and culture seems to be less and less. So for me, every performance, in addition to sharing what I do and what I sing about, is also an "attempt to defend" culture in this time in which it seems not to be even desirable.

Your music has always been a fusion of multiple genres. How would you describe your musical expression today?

If we talk about form, it is a combination of different genres: blues, jazz, bluegrass, folk, country, rock and roll, cabaret… Actually, I use genre to express myself; genre is not a goal for me, just as music itself is not a goal, but a means of expression. I think the same about art in general. If I had to define what I play in one sentence, I would say it is blues.

Do you come to the festival with a specific concert concept? What can the audience expect?

I'm coming in a combo with a band that accompanies me, which are: Vladimir Mladenovic behind the drums, Miloš Matić for double bass and bass guitar, Marko Maric behind the electric guitar and piano, and Ljuba Turajlija on saxophone, soprano saxophone and piano. We will perform songs from the first and second albums, singles that have been released in the meantime, and a few songs that will be on the new album. The audience can expect that the time they spend listening will certainly not be wasted. It is quite legitimate for some not to like it, just as it is legitimate for some to like it, and these are already tastes that need to be discussed in order to get to know each other better.

When you write songs, do the lyrics, melody, emotion come first - or all at the same time?

It depends. It often comes from an emotion and a need to illuminate, demystify that emotion. Sometimes a melody reveals an emotion, and it becomes something that intrigues me, and then I keep working on it until something emerges that I feel is important and significant to me. Songs have multiple layers and meanings, so I play with that, in order to express what I discover within myself. It's hard to be objective in these processes when you're inside; there are and there are no rules.

Your lyrics often convey anxiety, irony, but also tenderness. How personal and how universal are your poems?

Starting from the personal and reaching the universal is not an easy task, especially today, when the universal is being forcibly replaced by the global, which is not the same. It is often used and manipulated. I cannot sing about something without a deeper relationship to what is happening inside me, the world around me and the values above me. The songs start from the personal, and if I manage to touch the universal through them, then it becomes a liberating bridge to communication, liberation and freedom.

How important is painting to you as a form of expression? Is there a moment when music and painting overlap for you?

These mediums intertwine nicely. In my case, it is more visible in songs that produce different images in the listener. My experience with painting has certainly helped me to give some of the songs I wrote an “invisible visual representation”. It also depends a lot on the listeners who, depending on their own imagination, can draw images from themselves while listening. I have not been active as a painter lately, because of working on the album, but I am thinking about painting and it is in me. Maybe I will devote myself more to it in a calmer period of my life.

Has poetry always been an ally of music for you, or is it a separate channel of expression?

My first priority is a poem with music, but I have written and continue to write, so poems happen that do not make it into music, but remain on paper, to be read with “invisible music”, because poetry is also music. Of course, when it is real. So, the answer is: both. Poetry is an ally of music, but also a channel through which I express myself.

Is there a song that is particularly meaningful to you when you perform it live?

It varies from concert to concert. It's a struggle for each song to be performed and brought to the audience. That's why I don't single out any specific ones, they differ in content, theme, emotion. And so that someone doesn't get offended by another song and then sue me later.

How do you perceive the audience in Montenegro? Has the way people listen to music changed today?

I have pleasant experiences with the Montenegrin audience. Wherever I have performed, there has been no indifference, and that is no small thing in today's times when music is consumed more than listened to. The attitude towards everything has changed, including towards music. The new man does not tolerate effort, he strives for consumerism, conformism, which is completely understandable. The burden of work and life does not leave him room for reconsideration or for content that can enrich him. Instead, he seeks to "let off steam". That is why lower-level content is increasingly more pleasant and makes the famous "bread and games" ever more lively. Honor to the exceptions, of course.

What are you currently working on? Do you have any plans for a new album, a collection of songs, or an exhibition?

I'm finishing up my third studio album, which will be released in the fall. The album will be called Good Morning, People.

Last year, we saw the play “Michael Kohlhaas” at the Grad Theatre, for which you composed the music and won an award. Have you continued to compose for the theatre?

I continued to participate in that play, but I had no other engagements. Working in theater and film depends on the director's feelings, whether he recognizes that a certain music can contribute to his vision. Thanks to Boris Lješević, who is very musical and music means to him on a deeper level, this collaboration came about. He felt and recognized that what I could give could contribute to the play, aesthetically, stylistically. Two songs were created from that play that will be on the new album.

What does your typical day look like when you are not the “King of Čačak”, but just Nenad Marić?

Mostly organizational matters, rest, accumulation, re-examination, and an effort not to slip or, if I get lost, to at least remember the way back. Exciting in every sense.