Recent Bojan Zulfikarpasic Montenegrin tour attracted a lot of interest among music lovers and drew a significant media attention. One impression was shared by everyone: utterly inspired and passionate, versatile and creative artist who can feel the spirit
of his audience and is at ease with sharing his emotions. Here is an excerpt from his interviews given to Montenegrin media: DAN: Tell us about your “soul shelter” in the context of your latest album? ZULFIKARPAŠIĆ: Playing the piano is one of my soul shelters, and it has been for years. It is that moment in which I succeed to alienate myself from the material world, and become a “vagabond” in other spheres. Also, it is the situation I want to find myself in when composing, in an atmosphere of the TV turned off, not thinking about incoming e-mails or pending replies and other stuff. I am not talking only about focusing on my work, although it has a lot to do with it, of course, but it is rather about searching deeper within myself, somewhere inside, out of reach of the material world that permeates everything around us, and that I actually, adore. ANALITIKA: Many artists originating from Balkans are known for their usage of cultural tradition for their inspiration. How does the Balkans “rate” today in the world of music? ZULFIKARPAŠIĆ: There are
indeed plenty musicians out there who are exploiting the Balkan sounds, with all the stereotypes that are attached to it, trading it as goods that have their own market. I belong to the group of musicians which tend to offer a bit subtler mix of jazz, blues, Balkan or African sounds. It seems that both my colleagues and I are able to get enough people interested in what we have to offer, so I guess the “rating” is good. VIJESTI: You are in constant
connection with prominent international music names. Who among them are you closest with, who do you like to see next to you onstage most? “You learn from the best”, as Prince recently said in an interview. I tend to agree with him completely. That was the main reason why I left Yugoslavia when I did, to be able to learn from the best. Even today I find pleasure in playing with musicians who can provoke me to produce my inner best and freshest, never with those who are playing on automatic pilots and do not know how to listen and communicate. If you were to compare jazz to a person, it would look like…
“A three-headed dragon with the tender character and magnificent eyes spitting the eucalyptus smoke … and its every head speaks a different language.”