‘SONG “NIŠKA BANJA” BELIEVED TO BE TRADITIONAL, BUT IN FACT…’ Bilja Krstić on new album, BLACK WEDDING, life challenges
Ethnomusician Bilja Krstić and her band Bistrik have released a conceptual album titled Biljur, with recordings of songs from the region. This was the occasion for this artist, widely considered as extraordinary, a powerful guardian of our tradition, and an exceptional performer, to recall in her interview with Kurir the making of the album and reveal an interesting connection with the composer of the famous song “Niška Banja”.
Although your name is associated with the RTS and the PGP, you have released Biljur on the label Yugoton Croatia Records. How did you decide to change the label?
“Over the 20 years of Bistrik’s activities, it’s had more labels abroad than in Serbia. We’ve had big labels like V2, Intuition Schott Music, and Arc Music. As for the domestic labels, our first album was released by Energija, the second by Haj-Faj Centar, and the third and fourth by the PGP in collaboration with German labels. This time, we decided to go with Yugoton Croatia Records and had a wonderful collaboration.”
Did you come up with the title of the album, and what does the word “biljur” mean?
“No, I didn’t, but I chose it from among the suggestions provided by our very own Ruža from the band. We knew that ‘biljur’ is a mountain crystal. We found out from a wonderful sonnet by poet Saša Mićković, consisting of the synonyms for the word ‘spring’, that ‘biljur’ can mean a highland spring, and saw that ‘bistrik’ is in the same group, as is ‘vidrak’, ‘divac’, ‘modran’, žuberac’, and ‘zelenac’, and so we opted for ‘biljur’.”
You have very bravely covered the well-known hit songs "Niška Banja", "Kaleš, Bre, Anđo", "Bolna Ljuba Bolna Leži", and "Kad Ja Pođoh na Bembašu". How did you manage to find a new form for these evergreen songs?
“Music offers a wide range of forms and expressions, and it all depends on imagination, talent, and opportunity. All the songs you have listed were a big challenge to arrange in the style and manner that Bistrik’s work has come to be known for.”
There is a special story that links you to the composer of the song ”Niška Banja”, isn’t there?
“Many traditional songs don’t have a known writer, and most of them are designated as ‘traditional’. So, the song ”Niška Banja” was long considered to be a traditional. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that it had been composed by Duca Cvetković from Niš, who was also an actor. My older sister Mira remined me that our wonderful neighbours, who lived on the floor below ours, were none other than his grandchildren. I have a picture of Miša, his grandson, and myself, that I still keep.”
Does it make sense to be releasing albums nowadays?
“Albums aren’t that important for business as they used to be. Today, the streaming platforms have taken the lead in distributing songs, not entire albums.”
You have had a great deal of success making film scores as well. What do we have in store for us in the new instalments of the TV series The Black Wedding?
“The Black Wedding is its own path now, and Miki Stanojević and myself have already been working for a year on a new film score and are fully engrossed in that great film story. When the time comes, we’ll be delighted to talk about it as well.”
Are there certain places or situations from which you get more inspiration to create?
“Miki Stanojević makes new arrangements for the existing traditional songs, in which he preserves all the characteristics of the melody and the rhythm, but he gives them a new, more modern sound, closer to our times. As for the film scores, we think things through together and complement each other well in writing melodies and creating an atmosphere…”
As an artist, are you and your work affected by external events, the situation in the society and the world?
“You create more easily when no external problems distract you. When they embark on creating and close themselves off in a studio, artists actually enter a world of their own, so external affairs don’t affect their work.”
Who is your greatest critic?
“Miki, my best man and my maid of honour, but my daughters are also very harsh critics.”
After a yearslong career, can you say how you chose your ideal occupation that let you balance your private life and work best?
“Balancing your private life and work is the hardest thing, and I can say that I’m happy and satisfied that I’ve managed to do so.”
(Kurir.rs)
