Vrelo – ignored in Serbia, hot abroad
Music band Vrelo is having problems getting popular home in Serbia, despite the fact that the songs they are performing are all traditional Serbian songs (in modern production).
On the other hand, they are doing pretty good abroad. Here they are on BBC’s “Next Big thing” show, where last year they won second place:
It’s not the first time that something with local or “ethno” features like this receives lukewarm reception at home, but success abroad – think Goran Bregovic, or Kusturica’s No Smoking Orchestra. Could it be that this type of ethno-pop mish-mash sounds great if you are a foreigner, but if you are Serbian than it’s just “meh… ok… i guess”?
What do you think? How does this sound to you?
(story via popkitchen and city magazine)
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Vrelo is the best Serbian band of last ten years,but Belgrade audience is spoiled and stupid.This band isnt urban enough for these trendy posers.
Well, call me spoiled and stupid, but I just can’t see myself buying the album and listening this at home – it just sounds too boring to me, despite the brave and interesting attempt to mix punk/rock and some old traditional (pagan?) songs. All i continue to hear is this traditional bit, and that begins to annoy me after a while.
Mystere des Voix Bulgares choreographed by Gary Glitter?
Your title “ignored in Serbia, hot abroad” is a bit erroneous since Vrelo is pretty much only ignored in Belgrade, and the last time I checked Belgrade isn’t the only geographical location that qualifies to be called “Serbia”. Vrelo does quite OK, good even, in the rest of the country.
Anyway, back on topic, Dimitrije Vojnov (yes, the fat kid from “Tito i ja”) wrote an excellent blog entry on Belgrade’s relationship with Vrelo and the seeming problems therein…...
.....so for those who understand Serbian, here goes http://www.citymagazine.rs/blog/?p=395
Vrelo obviously can’t play the mass appeal card and has to rely on that section of the public that’s open to new things. In Belgrade and the rest of Serbia that’s not a big crowd to begin with and it shrinks further when a band doesn’t have a lot of media support. It’s unfortunate that people in Belgrade are a lot more open to warmed-up half-dead nostalgia acts from 20+, even 30+ years ago (both foreign and “domestic”) than to genuine and relevant new things.
But isn’t this a warmed up act from, I dunno, couple of centuries ago?
Well, since I wasn’t around couple of centuries ago I really wouldn’t now for sure what the music sounded like back then. Plus if you really want to get into deconstructing music and its elements in semantic sense I sure you’d end up in stone age for every genre that’s around today.
All I know is that when I listen to this – I like it. It sounds exciting and new.
Four-five years back there was an act called Biber or something like that… or maybe the song was named “Biber”.... but anyway it was a very interesting blend of different styles. They had a very low-budget video (interestingly done nonetheless), which I caught on some local stations at the time.
Predictably, they soon disappeared. I guess Serbs would rather listen to things that are 15 years past its “use by” date like Crvena jabuka, Riblja corba, Novi fosili and such…. Although, I was briefly encouraged when Kiss and Alice Cooper couldn’t get enough people for their gigs this year. There’s still some hope…it’s good to know that not every kind of stale and rotting crap can find a receptive audience here.
Maybe it’s good that Vrelo has more audience in other Serbian cities than Belgrade, some “decentralization” won’t hurt.
Alice Cooper – I would actually definitely consider visiting his concert had I been in Belgrade in that time, since I didn’t have chance to visit his concerts back when he was popular. As for Kiss, I actually went to their first concert in Belgrade back in 1996 – of course, I got the ticket for free, otherwise I wouldn’t really go. I have to say it was fun, but nothing special, and not very crowded. Worth every penny if you like.
If it’ll make you feel better, Crvena Jabuka, Riblja Corba and Novi Fosili concerts did not went all that well lately – I mean they weren’t canceled, but were not a complete success either. Times they are-a-changing…
I remember Biber – I believe I had a similar comment – interesting, but not so much for me to buy a CD or visit their concert.
As for Vrelo’s audience outside Belgrade in “small town Serbia” – it’s good, but only relative to the size and musical sophistication level (for the lack of the better term) of those towns. Unfortunately, it’s far from enough for the band to survive financially. In order to maintain a living doing this kind of music Vrelo has to establish itself abroad like Boban Markovic and obtain a steady stream of gigs there. Maybe Kusta can help by having Vrelo open for them at some of TNSO concerts… He threw them a bone in Arena by inviting them to open, which led to the Dom omladine gig.
As for Kiss – I was there too, but only because it was the only thing going on at the time. I remember being bored to tears, and most others around me were as well, but no one dared say it because everybody was peeing their pants from happiness at seeing a “major” Western band in Belgrade.
If I remember correctly, Kiss was in 1997, at Tasmajdan, and it was that weird post-Dayton period when Sloba suddenly became the “factor of peace and stability” in the eyes of West, so Western acts started coming over again after an absence of some 5-6-7 years(Prodigy, James Brown, Mick Taylor…).
Prodigy at Hala Pionir in December 1996 was a great gig though – that was a major ass kicking.
No way they can make any money in Serbia by gigs or selling CDs, you have to have connections with some political party to earn money like that. Not even Kusturica makes money playing music in Serbia, and i believe Boban Markovic also makes most of his money abroad. Real money lies in playing “free gigs” on city squares for special events – look for example how much are Van Gogh, Bajaga, Zdravko Colic and similar acts getting for playing on squares for New Year. Marija Serifovic got several hundred thousand euros from the Radical party in exchange for her endorsement, etc, etc.
If you want only to survive as a band, that’s ok, but I wouldn’t expect them to make any money whatsoever. Abroad – quite possibly.
Kiss was definitely in Sajam hall, I am not so sure about the year, maybe it was 1997 as you say. And you are right for Prodigy, I think they also listed the gig as one of their favorites – they said they were stunned when the audience lit up flares during “Firestarter”
One other great gig was by Ice-T and Body Count (who remembers them now, eh) in Pionir Hall – I believe they came to play even regardless of Dayton agreement!
Their music is on youtube. They did some songs with Jelena Tomasevic. They use the same video to at least different songs she did with them. Is this the video you speak of?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM9U8oyapcc
The Biber group had two brothers and some others. One of the brothers, Rastko Aksentijevic, wrote pop songs for Jelena. One called “Rano da verujes” she sang at the 2003 Budva Festival.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exm5SXoFz-o
She sings the same tune with different words for “Ti si mi sve”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hw9pkVGhvu8
He wrote her song for Beovizija 2004 “Kad ne bude tvoje ljubavi”
He was in the Ad Hoc Orchestra with Zeljko Joksimovic and was one of the drummers in his “Lane Moje” performance.
I guess he was the one who introduced Zeljko to Jelena because thereafter it became Zeljko who has been composing songs for her – Jutro for Beovizija 2005
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNwNz5xPy8k
And the songs of her album “Panta Rei” which was released several weeks ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJNVLxymJEA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6KyNUaDjS0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMq7cWfnob4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK65Le_viKo&feature=related