Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Story about Children Of The Night


(make sure to stop the auto play of the music from the side of the blog!)


A friend accross the ocean has asked me to write about this song.

It's a simple love song I wrote many years ago about no particular person. It was one summer evening, I can still feel the breeze coming from the balcony into my haven room. The day was very hot, the sunset spectacular, the evening refreshing and inspiring, the night full of starts. In my writing I wanted to express this happiness at that simple  moment with an imaginary person, when everything feels right, just the way it should be, when everyone who is listening would give their own face to that person. Later it turned, the imaginary person actually became real.

Every time I think about it the view of that evening is filled by my soulmate Vesna (translated from Russian - means The Spring).

Some years after I wrote the song I went to Beograd to study Architecture, and there I met one of my life long friends Vesna. She had (and still has) a voice of a divine being I'm convinced, and with it she touched me profoundly. My voice touched her all the same, and ever since, we live as one and the same soul. Literally. We still finish each other's sentences, we think about each other at the same time and often write emails at the same time, we know when the other is feeling down or having trouble. The telepathic connection between us has long become common, and does not surprise us.

We sung this song together many times, and only with her the song is truly complete. In fact, many of my songs are more complete with her voice. My original hope for the album was to have her sing all back up vocals. Unfortunately, it didn't work, but I still haven't given up the idea. The life got hard on her and she hardly ever sings anymore, but I know if we had some time together back there, she would be back to her old self.

This song is about this soulful connection that is most meaningful yet the simplest and most unconditional one there is - the friendship. With Vesna long ago I realized, and every day it's been confirmed over and over again, that the only lasting relationship in life is friendship.

Everything else comes -  and burns out...

Monday, March 28, 2011

You and I

You and I by Rebel Bran. The title song from the album "You and I ...twenty years later...". Performed live at the Vancouver Rowing Club onMarch. 04. 2011 with The Funky Orkestar. The Funky Orkestar are Timothy Van Cleave on vibes, Gorki Nikolic on bass, Branko Milanovic on hand percussions and back vocals, and Rebel Bran vocal.The event was hosted by Bruce Gerrish of Vancouver City Limits. Video recorded by Sasha Jecmenica on Zoom Q3HD.

Bluesers

A new version of my song as played live with The Funky Orkestar, on March 04. 2011 at the Vancouver Rowing Club, in Vancouver BC. Hosted by Bruce Gerrish of The Vancouver City Limits.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Jovano Jovanke


Jovano Jovanke is a traditional Makedonian song we performed live in our arrangement on March. 04. 2011 at The Vancouver Rowing Club in Vancouver BC. The event was hosted by Bruce Gerrish of Vancouver City Limits. We are Rebel Bran and The Funky Orkestar: Timothy Van Cleave on vibes, Gorki Nikolic on bass, Branko Milanovic on hand percussion and myself as vocal.
See you soon at our next gig in April!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Stronger Than Anything


Stronger Than Anything as performed live at The Vancouver Rowing Club with The Funky Orkestar's Timothy Van Cleave on vibes on March 04. 2011.

The story of this song begins long time ago before the death of the Yugoslavian president Tito. The country was in peace and the idea of "brotherhood and unity" was still strong. This idea is much similar to The Multiculturalism here in Canada, and perhaps that is one of the main reasons I love this country so strongly.

However, as Tito was growing older and sicker there were rumors of what Yugoslavia will become after him. The tensions between Croats and Serbs I was hearing at the time was growing stronger and I just couldn't believe it. For God's sake, my sister is half Croatian half Serbian! I always believed that we are all one and the same, we are South Slavs and I loved the fact that Yugoslavia had all those diferent cultures and places and dialects and religions. That I believed was what makes Yugoslavia special and unique and was proud of that. The rumors were however stronger and stronger and as much as I didn't want to believe it I recorded somewhere at the back of my concience that the war everybody was talking about could in fact happen. So at one inspiring moment I wrote this song under the strong belief that nothing can break what's right - and that is Yugoslavia as it was - a melting pot of cultures, the richness of humanity in itself. It does not matter what culture we are, what religion we follow, what colour our skin is, what sexual orientation we have. The strength of humanity is in unity - not in separation.

Also, the song was about the power of good against war as the ultimate evil.

The original lyrics in the chorus were saying: "... We are so much stronger than them, the soldiers don't have the power for breaking us..."

The war eventually really happened, in spite of my naivity. Needless to say, it was a real low kick I and majority of people on the Balkans could hardly survive! The population is emotionally wounded and you can still see it on people's faces. It felt as though the evil is winning, but the song was still going strong. A couple years ago I reconnected with a girlfriend of mine who I was very good friend at the time and who I sang this song in a duet with. She moved to Bosnia before the war, and after the war she moved back to my hometown. I could only imagine what she was going through. When I sent her the link to my website and the news about my new CD, she sent me an email saying : "I'm so happy you included this song on your album. The whole time througout the war I was singing it (with the original lyrics) and I trully believe it helped me through the whole nightmare!"

Aside from that, in my own personal turmoils in the years after I moved to Canada, this song really helped me go through it all.

Today, it looks like the times are the hardest as they ever were. The circle is closed. We will always need songs like this. The vibraphone player Timothy Van Cleave I was lucky to meet and now play with said to his followers and friends: "Take a listen. This song migh change your life". What else should an artist expect? I am the happiest guy on earth, and hope more people will feel the power of this song.

And in spite of everything, I now know that the war in Yugoslavia didn't happen because most Croats hated Serbs because of their religion, nor because muslims in Bosnia hated Croats and Serbs. It was a doing of highest political will of the world that took advantage of the extremists on every side in Yugoslavia for globalization and economic imperialism. It was also the fastest way to switch from "common property of communism" to "private property of capitalism" and have a small corrupted group of people in power become reach beyond belief!

I still hope and strongly believe, and in fact I'm sure that the good will prevail and that we are in fact stronger than anything! It always is althought at times it might seem the evil is stronger. My feeling about Yugoslavia, for example, is proving every day. The Balkan countries are still very dependent on each other and normal people deeply feel the connection that still exists and is growing stronger. I'm looking forward to seeing what form this will take in the future.

The good is stronger than anything!

Djelem Djelem


Djelem Djelem as performed by \Rebel Bran and the Funky Orkestar on March 04. 2011 at the Vancouver Rowing Club. The Funky Orkestar is Rebel Bran vocal, Timothy Van Cleave on vibes, Gorki Nikolic on bass, Branko Milanovic on hand percussion.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Ederlezi


Ederlezi version by Rebel Bran and The Funky Orkestar live at the Vancouver Rowing Club
on March 04. 2011 in Vancouver BC. The Funky Orkestar is Timothy Van Cleave on vibes, Gorki Nikolic on bass, Branko Milanovic on hand percussion and Rebel Bran vocal.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Sonny.MOV


Sonny as recorded live on March 04. at the Vancouver Rowing Club in Vancouver BC
Timothy Van Cleave on vibes, Gorki Nikolic on bass, Branko Milanovic on hand percussion, and Rebel Bran vocal.