cover image: Instagram
First of all, this is your first concert in Hungary and at Sziget of all places. How do you feel about it?
Bojan: I would say that this has been a dream of ours for a very long time. A few years ago, in an interview we were asked what the perception of success would be in our eyes and we answered the main stage at Sziget Festival, so today we kind of made our dreams come true. It’s incredible.
Kris: And we can all say that Budapest is a really beautiful city, I always love returning. And I’ve also been to Sziget before and love coming back as well. I definitely hope we could do a gig in Hungary, like our own thing. We are gonna see how it turns out today.
Do you have any memorable festival moments?
Bojan: Honestly, I am not a big festival-goer, so all the concerts and festivals that I experienced were the ones we played at. I had a great experience at all of them.
Jan: I’ve only been to one festival for multiple days, and that was the first time I saw my favourite band at the time, Dream Theatre. It was in Tolmin, a beautiful place in Slovenia.
How do you decide on the setlist before a concerts? For example for Sziget?
Bojan: First criterion is time, we have to know how long we are playing. Then we try to set up a playlist that works energetically in the way that we want to present ourselves on stage. So we try to put together an as lively concert as possible for festivals.
Kris: But we are also trying to make it interesting.
Bojan: Exactly. We just need to spice it up with some slower stuff in the middle, to find that perfect balance.
Kris: We also employ something called the Jure-curve. It is named after Jure. If you use it, you can make the best setlist, energy-wise.
Bojan: But we won’t tell you the secret of how it is calculated.
What is a song that you are always excited to play at your concert?
Nace: I’m always happy to play Tokio.
Bojan: I’m gonna say Ona.
Kris: Ona is really fun, I was gonna say that as well. But just to give some variety, I love to play Gola , too.
Jure: I have to say Carpe Diem. For now.
Jan: Most of the time it is the new song that is the most fun to perform because it is totally fresh, sometimes you are not even sure what you are going to play. At the March tour we played some new songs that weren’t arranged at all. That’s also fun. So maybe Šta bih ja (ed. their latest single which came out on July 12th) will be the most fun tonight.
Can you recall how your tradition with Umazane Misli started at concerts? What was the most creative way of asking to sing the part? (ed. the bridge of the song)
Bojan: It first started with just the crowd singing in unison, but I think it was a concert in Germany when I first went into the crowd. It was Leipzig if I am not mistaken, on the last tour we did. It kind of just became a thing, people started making these banners saying Can we sing Umazane Misli? in all kinds of different languages, so it became a fun thing to do. The boys were a little mad if it lasted too long because they had to play the same thing over and over again. It is kind of hard to make the decision to stop and break someone’s heart.
While going to festivals this summer, you have also been working hard on your third album. How would you describe the creating process so far as a roller coaster?
Jure: It was free fall for me.
Bojan (jokingly): We start at the top and end at the bottom. (everyone laughing). I would say that it is one of those rides that are in water. So everytime you go into a curve, you’ll get splashed.
Nace: Each song is a new curve.
Bojan: You are not sure whether you’ll like the splash or not, if it is hot enough outside. But it will not be boring, that’s for sure.
Have you decided on the title track yet?
Bojan: We don’t have the name of the album.
Jure: Not yet. But we have to decide soon, very soon.
Our slogan at Hallgató Magazin is that “We write the future”. Regarding the band’s future, how do you think the new album will affect it?
Kris: It will be a step into facilitating our progress in our domestic region, the Balkans. Because there will be a lot of music in the languages of that region. I can’t really tell you what it is going to be at the end, but I definitely know that it is going to sound different from what we have done up till now.
What is something that you have learnt in the past year? What advice would you give to yourselves from one year ago?
Bojan: I would definitely go for a little more than a year back and say take a bit better care of yourself.
Nace: Take it easy!
Bojan: Take it easy and sleep!
Kris: Don’t mix music with drinking.
Bojan: It is not like we ever overdid it, it is just sometimes we went a little overboard. (Bojan realizing it means the same thing and everyone bursts out laughing)
Kris: For example, on our See you soon tour in March, I didn’t drink a sip of alcohol and I think neither did the others.
Bojan: None of us had.
Kris: That was a lesson learnt from last year.
Jan: Except the Latvian…
Bojan: Oh yeah, we tried a Latvian liquor, that was really good.
How do you unwind after a concert, for example today?
Everyone: Shower.
Bojan: Honestly, today we are going to leave pretty soon after the concert because tomorrow we have to be in the studio. So we are just going to leave straight from the gig.
I have a bonus question. The Olympics are still on as we speak. If you had to compete in one of the sports, what would it be?
Bojan: I’m gonna say that for me the best possibility and probability would be in football. But as an Olympic sport, in my eyes football kinda sucks. So I would wanna go for something in athletics maybe, (Jure imitating throwing the ball and them laughing).
Nace: I would throw the ball.
Jure: I would choose climbing.
Bojan: I would do the pole vault.
Jan: Maybe table tennis.
Kris: I would try shooting.
Bojan: Like that Turkish guy.
Kris: I’d get the gold medal, he can have the silver.
