Helem Nejse / District of Peace
The band Helem Nejse will perform in the Creative District on 24 June, as part of the Fortress of Peace programme arch.
During the five days of talks on reconciliation, the future of Europe and other current social and political issues, we will be treated to performances by three bands which deal with current social and political topics with their activist approach. Along with Helem Nejse, we will listen to TBF on 23 June and Zoster on 25 June, Obojeni program on 27 June in the District of Peace.
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’.
Helem Nejse has three studio albums under their belts: ‘Go u Gostima’ (Periscope, 2017), ‘Pola Čovjek Pola Jedan’ (Croatia Records, 2019) and ‘Gluten Tag’ (Croatia Records, 2020).
They have had the opportunity to collaborate with Dubioza Kolektiv, Marko Louis, Edo Maajka, Frankie, Božo Vrećo, Dino Šaran, and many other big names on the regional scene, and so far, they have played at numerous festivals such as Exit Festival, Fest84, Seasplash Festival, D Festival Dojran, Kaleidoskop, OK Fest, Mostar Summer Fest, Pomurje Summer Festival, Ferragosto Jam, OPENS, and CMC 200 Festival in Slavonski Brod.
Helem Nejse has participated in numerous projects and campaigns, including the UNICEF, UNDP and UN Campaign Against Hate Speech ‘Choose Your Words’.
However, their biggest presence in the media is the ‘Helem Nejse Radio Show’ – a popular radio show for young people that band members transformed into a video podcast after five years of working on the radio, as part of which they broadcast the animated series ‘BRUCA BRACA BRUDA BRADA’. There have been over 170 successfully realized live episodes, hosting the most intriguing, most controversial, and craziest personalities from public and less public life in the region.
Photo: Promo