District of Peace / Music programme
From 23 to 27 June the Creative District is becoming a District of Peace, as a centre of contemporary youth creativity, while programmes will open a dialogue on current social and political topics.
In the previous century, this space has been a symbol of modern, industrial, and alternative cultural development, but at the same time, it was a symbol of great losses.
The Fortress of Peace will host groups that are known for their activist approach and treatment of current social and political topics. TBF, Helem Nejse, Zoster, and Оbojeni program are four bands that we will be listening to in the Creative District, and which will convey some of the main messages that the European Capital of Culture sends to Europe, and the world, with the famous songs.
23 June / 10.30 p.m.
The Beat Fleet or TBF for short is an ensemble formed in 1990 in Split. The group started as a standard hip-hop/trip-hop band to further develop their own musical expression. They are recognizable by their socially engaged lyrics, videos that are always conceived as short films, and original performances. TBF song lyrics have strong social overtones. They criticise political corruption, and even corrupt social values (such as the domination of degenerate material interests with intolerance of everything that is different, and the eradication of urban Mediterranean culture).
24 June / 10.30 p.m.
Helem Nejse was founded in Sarajevo, and epithets such as the most popular band, a top radio show, and an extremely humorous theatre play will come a little later. Their lyrics are romantic, socially engaged, inspired by real characters and events in society and their immediate surroundings, and often contain witty jokes. Laughter, dancing, and hits that have emerged in the last few years of painstakingly throwing rhymes on truly bombastic musical backgrounds are what awaits you at each of their concerts. Interaction with the audience does not make them different from other live bands, but one thing is for sure – in that field, they are unsurpassed. They call their intriguing performance cašpija. The etymology of the word: ‘caš’ – which means nothing and ‘špija’ – which has absolutely nothing to do with logic. The combination of music genres dominated by rap, reggae, rock, and ethno, makes this group really interesting to both younger and older audiences. In an interview for Belgrade’s ‘Politika’, Momir the medicine man recently described Helem as a ‘fresh view of the world’.
25 June / 10.30 p.m.
Zoster, a band from Bosnia and Herzegovina, was founded in 2000. So far, they have recorded 4 studio albums. Zoster believes that reggae music is suitable for these shaky areas where the dose of aggression, even in music, is too much. The band conveys messages of tolerance, peace, progressiveness and affirmation, love, and sometimes education.
27 June / 10 p.m.
Eyesburn / cancelled
27 June / 10 p.m.
Obojeni program are the pioneers of the Serbian alternative rock scene. During the four decades of playing, many musicians participated in the work of the band, and the frontman Branislav Babic Kebra is the only member of the original line-up. Along with him, the long-standing line-up of Obojeni Program consists of Ilija Vlaisavljević Bebec on bass guitar, drummer Vladimir Cinkoski Cina, and bassist Miki Ristić (who formerly played for Darkwood Dub, Bella Technika, and Sana Garić). In 2020, Obojeni Program marked 40 years of their existence and 30 years since the release of their first album ‘Najvažnije je biti zdrav’ (Being Healthy Is What’s Most Important).
Photo: Promo