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[📝ENG TRANSLATION] We spent a day with the band Joker Out with whom we talked about everything (including the new album)

Original article written by Tijana Čvorak for Vogue Adria, published 15.11.2024. English translation by IG marija_rocen, review by IG irenalemajic, @moonlvster, proofread by IG Gboleyn123.

Full article under the cut 👇

(Ph: Primož Lukežić)

It's Friday, late in the morning, my colleague Tesa and I met up at the agreed place, in the middle of the industrial zone. On one side there was a parking lot, and on the other an industrial hall and office buildings, a self-service laundromat, a small bar... And a blue metal door. Behind the door is the charming, cozy music studio of the band Joker Out, full of instruments, books and character. When we entered, a friendly voice greeted us from above, and when we looked up, we saw a smiling Jure Maček, the band's drummer, in the gallery.

We climbed the stairs to a platform with a fence, which was obviously the production chill corner of this studio. There were two sofas, a Biedermeier-style wooden table, which surely once graced a bourgeois living room from the 80s, and on the other side there was a table with a computer, an impressive screen and a small mixer. Delighted by the atmosphere and appearance of the studio, we learned from Jure that we're standing in a former garage and that, in addition to musical talent, he also has carpentry skills - because the wooden interior of the studio is actually the work of his hands.

(Ph: Mark Pirc)

Whether you're from this region or not, the media attention that Joker Out has been getting since performing at the Eurovision Song Contest has been hard to ignore. Since 2016, when they formed the band as teenagers, they have won several 'Zlata piščal' ('Golden Whistle') awards in the Artist and Newcomers categories and were nominated for a MAC Award for Best Regional Ex-Yu Rock Band. Their hit 'Carpe Diem' has a more than impressive 23 million streams on Spotify and is the third most popular Eurovision song. I remember when they performed in my town last summer, just a few hundred metres from my house, so I could listen to them with a glass of wine on the terrace. Even though I wasn't standing in front of the stage, I could feel the contagious energy they were spreading, and the singing and cheers of the audience seemed even louder and filled with euphoria.

While I was preparing for the interview, I found out that Joker Out are also popular beyond the borders of our region - at concerts abroad, the audience sings songs with them in the Slovenian language. Furthermore, I discovered that the release of their new music video for the song 'Bluza' was scheduled on the day of our interview. "Yes, exactly," Jure confirmed to me, "let's wait for the others, then we'll watch it together." Soon the other members of the band arrived, some visibly disheveled and sleepless, because the editing of the video lasted until late at night. By the time we all impatiently looked at the monitor, waiting for the new video to be displayed, it had already collected 6,000 views in just a few hours, while the song 'Bluza', since it was released on streaming services, had already reached more than half a million streams. 'Bluza' is one of the singles from the new album 'Souvenir Pop', which is being released today and it represents a sort of a musical diary of the past year and a half of their lives, from the performance at the Eurovision Song Contest onwards.

"The inspiration for the album were the events from the tour, love stories, even global geopolitical topics," laughs Bojan. "All the reflections and deliberations that happened to us in the past year and a half." They say that the new album differs from the previous ones primarily due to the fact that it's sonically much more diverse and richer with instruments.

"Apart from those usual clichés - the whole album is more mature, we've developed the sound and so on - with this album we didn't strictly stick to our own instruments, but rather experimented and explored with different instruments", Kris Guštin, the band's guitarist describes for us. On this album, for the first time, they recorded about half of the songs with Jan on keyboards. "And the lyrics are darker this time, more gloomy than on 'Demoni', so we went one step further there as well." Bojan adds that on this album, for the first time, they recorded songs written in three languages - Slovenian, English and Serbian.

(Ph: Vita Orehek)

We asked him if he could single out any advantages or differences in writing songs in different languages, and he tells us that the language of a song is often dictated by the inspiration itself. "The story already comes with its own language and I don't like changing the songs just because they should be in another language. I don't want to adapt or distort the story as it is." He also discovered that he has different attitudes towards himself in different languages. For example, in Serbian, he says, he can be the most honest when he writes about love, while for the song 'Everybody's Waiting' in English, it's easier for him to be open and honest with himself about unpleasant feelings. On the other hand, it's most natural for him to talk about world and political topics in Slovenian.

The process of creating the album was described to us by bassist Nace Jordan: "The album actually started with the Eurovision song 'Carpe Diem', and after Eurovision and the tour, we moved to London for two months in January this year, looking for new inspiration for the future album. After the tour finished, we spent six weeks in two studios and finished the album with our producer Žarko Pak." Kris, for example, is most looking forward to performing the eighth song from the album 'Mesto duhov' ('City of Ghosts'), because the song contains many unpredictable moments. "I can't wait to hear it and perform it live on stage and see the reactions of the audience who will see it for the first time," he says. "Wow. I haven't even thought about that", Bojan comments. "I have," Nace and Kris answer in unison. We asked them what exactly they thought. "The song is actually a kind of psychosis, where the lyrical subject jumps from a very aggressive and melancholic state to a pompous, almost post-mortem atmosphere," explains Kris. "It seems almost like a funeral song that constantly jumps between the stanza and the chorus, changing the sound image, the tempo, the atmosphere, and, in fact, the whole attitude of the song."

"Not only is it fun to play, but it will also be challenging to practise." When asked which song gave them the most problems, they all unanimously agreed: 'Šta bih ja'. "It's a song that requires a precise fit of all elements, otherwise the song simply doesn't work," Bojan explains. "We couldn't find the formula to arrange all the elements correctly and we were searching for a solution for a long time." "We recorded it more than 130 times", Nace adds. "We're still not sure if it's a slow or dance song," adds Kris, and the guys laugh in agreement. "One or two attempts are usually enough for us - just right", Bojan concludes.

(Ph: Vita Orehek)

When asked about how they developed and changed as artists over time, Bojan smiled and immediately handed the microphone to Jan Peteh: "You can start, keyboard player." Jan, the band's guitarist, continued and explained how, during the recording of one of the songs from the album, 'Everybody's Waiting', they found themselves at a standstill with the arrangement, unsure in which direction they should proceed. But thanks to Žarko's solution, everything fell into place. Jure improvised on the drums on the verse "What a wonderful life", and Jan complemented him by playing electric keyboards. "We connected a Rhodes keyboard to the amplifier and since then, in fact, I've been playing both keyboards and synthesizers in our songs," Jan concludes. "Don't be so modest", Bojan adds and continues: "Actually, it was discovered completely by chance that Jan is also extremely talented on keyboards, which delighted us all. Even our producer Žare was impressed by Jan's approach to playing an electric keyboard, which doesn't happen often. Jan proved to be a great instrumentalist.”

If they could choose with whom to have their dream-collab musical collaboration, with any musician, living or dead, from our region or beyond, Jure would choose Dire Straits. The boys exchanged glances and agreed to choose a band together. At Nace's "Ready, set, go", they say "Buč Kesidi" in unison. "It would be great if we could collaborate with them," adds Kris. And I have to admit that I agree - that would certainly be their dream musical collaboration.

Since we learned all about their plans for the future, we were interested in what they remembered from the past. For example, memories of the craziest concerts that will remain in their memory forever. Jure recalls their performance at Belgrade Beer Festival. Before that, they had already visited Serbia, "but this was the first time after the performance at the Eurovision Song Contest. Even before we went on stage, we heard the crowd chanting "Joker Out" behind us. I couldn't believe what was happening. I think it was one of the best concerts.” Jan continues and highlights the Ruisrock festival in Finland and the Summer Well festival in Romania. "At both of them, we were also greeted with loud chants by an audience of approximately 8,000 people," he tells us, while the other band members nod their heads in confirmation. Kris also adds the performance at Exit festival in Novi Sad and recalls the feeling while watching the footage of that concert: "It's a particularly strange feeling when you see that endless sea of people, which you're not even aware of while you're on stage." "Yes." Jure agrees, "Some concerts really knock you off your feet. That was one of those." Bojan recalls another one: "For me, it was crazy at Wkrwglca in Sežana." The others join in laughing. They start listing who they were performing with that night. "MRFY, VAZZ live, Jet Black Diamonds... there were several Slovenian performers who we met again and the audience was really warm", Bojan recalls. "I felt like I was at one of those nostalgic college parties from the 80s that our parents used to tell us about."

(Photo: Vita Orehek)

We finally got to the topic of fans, and as soon as we asked if they could share any interesting or crazy fan-related stories with us, the guys went quiet and thoughtful. "People ask this all the time, and we still don't have the right answer," Kris notes, which prompts laughter from the others. We learn that they're always met by fans at the airport in Finland, where they have quite a large fanbase, and how much that means to them. Then, completely casually, they mentioned the voodoo dolls they had received as gifts. Tesa and I just looked at each other, we had to find out more. "They made dolls of all the band members in our Eurovision outfits. We actually got them twice, but they were only presented as voodoo dolls the first time," Kris explains with a laugh. Some band members still keep their dolls safe at home, while Kris, for example, doesn't even know where his is.

While they tell us about events from the concerts, like the one where Bojan's jacket was stolen or where they had a backstage in the middle of the forest marked only by tape around the trees, Tesa and I wonder if there is anything that fans still don't know about the band. There's silence again, and I can almost see them jogging their memories with serious expressions. Then they remember - they don't like making music videos.

Namely, it always happens by chance that they shoot music videos in winter, and in rooms without heating. Or, let's say, the fact that Kris has a talent for finding trashy music, or as Bojan calls him - "the best music editor for trashy music". Surely even the most loyal fans don't know that if they were to choose a name now, it definitely wouldn't be Joker Out. Some members of the band don't like the name at all, and Kris adds that it calms him down that his father doesn't like his band's name either, so they almost comfort each other by listing bands they know have a similar story with the name. Speaking of the name of the band itself, we were interested in how the name Joker Out came about. Kris starts the story and explains that it all started in a group chat where everyone actually met, and of course, at some point, like every band, they needed a name. Someone suggested the word "Joker". Since that word was not enough, they also added "Out". The proposal received three likes and the name stuck. Bojan continues: "I remember we were thinking then - if Ota Roš says our name in Pop In and if it sounds good, then it's the right name."

(Photo: Vita Orehek)

Through talking and evoking memories, we've gone way back, to the time before Joker Out was created. At the age of eleven, Bojan was in his first band called No Name, which lasted only a few weeks and played only one song, 'Tears in Heaven'. After that, he was in the band Apokalipsa, which disbanded when, as he says, he "stole" Jan and Nace¹ from other bands, and that's how Joker Out was born.

¹There has been a mistake in the original article. This should say: “Bojan "stole" Jan and Kris from other bands”, not Nace as originally mentioned.

If they had to single out their favourite or most important moment in their entire career, Jan would choose their first concert at Cvetličarna, because it seemed to him that it was then that he felt the turning point in the band's recognition for the first time. It was their first big solo concert, two in a row, both sold out. "Even if we played at Madison Square Garden now, I don't know if it would be as big a step forward as it was then. I don't think I'll ever experience that kind of adrenaline again." Nace points out that the breakthrough moment for him was the concert in Dublin, when they performed abroad for the first time and the audience sang the lyrics along with them. Jure, on the other hand, says that he will never forget the moment of entering the Eurovision final, when everyone sat together on the couch and nervously waited for the result. There was only one spot left when they were announced as finalists and the name Joker Out appeared on the screen.

Kris concludes that he could hardly single out just one moment, because the whole of the year 2023, along with the experience of Eurovision and the European tour, was the best year of his life. Bojan follows up on Jan's words and says that the concert in Cvetličarna was also a turning point for him: "I have never felt such sincere and pure happiness as after that concert, when I cried continuously for at least 45 minutes. I simply broke down under the weight of all the emotions; all the people I love the most were there with me and then, maybe for the first and last time, I felt like the best thing in my life had just happened. Then I also announced a concert at Stožice, which really came true."

(Photo: Vita Orehek)

I can't help but try to imagine what they were like almost ten years ago when they formed the band, thinking about what they wanted to play and what messages their lyrics would convey. Whenever I have the chance to look at young people full of enthusiasm, who really love what they do, I root for them inside. And that is even more powerful when I see how much they have succeeded. There's no doubt that Joker Out have come a long way, and who knows, maybe a very difficult way to get to where they are today. They're currently the most popular Slovenian band, whose songs are sung by fans all over Europe, posting covers of their hits or interpretations of their songs in their own languages on TikTok. If there's anything left of those teenagers, it's the positive energy between them, mutual jokes, contagious laughter and sincere friendship.

Also, they've kept that modesty which you can feel when they talk about their successes and milestones in their careers and the respect they have for each other and for their work. At the same time, I can't help but imagine where else their musical path will take them. With their music and visual presence, they are undoubtedly the messengers of their generation, and the feeling that great milestones, successes and endeavors are ahead of them is almost palpable. Therefore, I can only congratulate the guys on all their achievements and the new album and wish them a big – Carpe Diem!