ljubili se in se igrali
kot da nas jutri več ne bo."
Let's get shagadelic!
A five-man Slovenian indie rock band on a mission to spread love, joy and the revival of the New Wave across the world. Huge in their home country for years, gained global recognition after participating in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.
Formed in May of 2016 with the dissolution of a band called Apokalipsa. Three former members, then-highschooler Bojan Cvjetićanin, his lifelong best friend Martin Jurkovič and their mutual friend Matic Kovačič joined forces with two same-age peers: somewhat nepo-baby Kris Guštin, son of famous Slovenian rocker Gušti, and Jan Peteh, who had met Kris through guitar lessons. Released their first single Kot srce, ki kri poganja in November of that year and won the Špil league, a competition for student musical groups and soloists, in June. Spent most of 2017 performing at a myriad of different festivals and opening for various bigger acts, including Big Foot Mama, one of the three most successful rock bands Slovenia has ever seen.
Started collaborating with legendary rock producer Žare Pak in 2019 and have been on a steady uphill climb ever since; by 2023, they were a considerable enough force on the Balkan music scene that when they submitted their entry for the Slovenian ESC preselection, the competition got called off. Finished 21st at ESC, but probably gained more from the experience than any other contestant (besides Finland). Spent the months after Eurovision touring, recording content & trying to balance the frankly insane amount of fame suddenly dropped on them with varying amounts of success.
As of February 2024, the band's released two full-length albums: the smooth, dark and adventurous "Umazane misli" ("Dirty thoughts") & its counterpart, the groovy, melancholy and considerably more polished "Demoni" ("Demons"), with a third album in the works.
To learn more, the vlog series' Carpe Diem and Welcome to the Backstage on Youtube are a great place to start & offer plenty of insight into how the band, their producers and friends work as a collective. Also provides a decent overview of the personalities that make up Joker Out, which are all special in their own right.
Band members:
- Bojan Cvjetićanin: Vocals, guitar (selected songs)
- Kris Guštin: Guitar, backing vocals
- Jan Peteh: Guitar
- Jure Maček: Drums
- Nace Jordan: Bass, backing vocals
Trope as loud as you can:
- Absent-Minded Professor: Jan, the band's self-dubbed bedroom multi-instrumentalist, often posts clips on Instagram of himself playing the guitar as well as samples of any hip-hop beats he's working on. The guy wields music like a samurai sword. And he's in the process of getting his master's degree... in Mathematics. While actively working and touring with one of the biggest bands in Europe. He's brilliant, and suits this trope to a T, because he's chronically late, forgets and/or loses things constantly, gets distracted during interviews, can't be trusted to know the date, let alone the time, and seems to process his surroundings with a slight delay. Nace's even mentioned that when the band's out and about, someone always needs to keep an eye on Jan or they'll simply lose him.
- All Drummers Are Animals: Jure is frequently compared to and can sometimes behave remarkably like a ginger cat. You'll often see him executing parkour stunts as if he's got nine lives to spare, spending free time draped over or perched on top of furniture or his fellow band members, and going through life with a confident, chilled out attitude and a mission to wreak moderate amounts of havoc. His surname, Maček, is Slovene for cat, and the rest of the band and crew often affectionately call him just that.
- Audience Participation Song: The band asks the audience to scream as loud as they can in Sunny Side of London and even brought a device to measure said loudness to their Nordic tour. The award for loudest screamers went to the crowd in Turku, who beat the crowd before them with a margin of 0.4 units.
- Big Guy, Little Guy: Though Bojan isn't that short (178 centimeters), all of his bandmates still tower over him. This is especially pronounced whenever he stands next to Kris, who's a whopping 192 centimetres tall.
- Break-Up Song: Most notably NGVOT and Ona, though multiple other songs speak of relationships on the verge of falling apart.
- The Bus Came Back: Former band members Martin Jurkovič (bass) and Matic Kovačič (drums) made guest appearances at the band's massive sold-out concert at Stožice Arena on October 6, 2023 to perform their first-ever single Kot srce, ki kri poganja, and broke many a fan's heart when they proved that their camaraderie and love for the rest of the band is still going strong.
- Cast Full of Pretty Boys: All of the past and current members are decently well off in the looks department in their own ways, from guitarist Jan's James Dean style to ex-bassist Martin's timeless academic class, and saying the guys' handsomeness hasn't played a part in drawing fans to the band would be lying.
- Cluster F-Bomb: Bojan in the third episode of the band's second web series, Welcome to the Backstage, specifically, but Carpe Diem Series provides plenty of examples as well, and there exists a clip of him musing to himself whether he holds the record for the most bleeps per episode. It's mostly on purpose for comedic reasons; the guy is incredibly smart and well-spoken, but cares about making people laugh way more than he does showing off.
- Cursed with Awesome: Bojan's anxiety, while largely a huge hindrance in his personal and performing life, does (in his opinion) contribute to his having no temptation whatsoever to partake in the drugs part of Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll. He gets worried enough taking an Aspirin.
- Darker and Edgier: Demoni was much darker than their debut compilation album Umazane Misli, from the hauntingly beautiful strings in Metulji to the angsty, demanding lyrics and ominous chords of Ona.
- Early-Bird Cameo: NGVOT (Ne Govoriva Več O Tem) was performed for four years at concerts before being released in 2022 as a track on Demoni.
- Five-Man Band: Though the band has seen some lineup changes since its creation, it's always consisted of five members: a singer, two guitarists, a bassist and a drummer.
- Gratuitous Panning: Used liberally in many of their songs, most notably in Plastika, where the entire introduction is panned to the right.
- Lyrical Dissonance: NGVOT is a fun and bouncy tune (accompanied by a similarly fun and bouncy dance from Kris and Nace onstage) about getting dumped and not talking to someone anymore. The lyrics laconically and bitterly about how devastating issues in communication can be on a relationship and the people in it. Translated lyrics include "ignorance suits you, it eases your worries".
- Similarly, Tokio is perhaps the most upbeat and happy-sounding song on the Demoni album... with its lyrics being a bittersweet reflection on a relationship that's over, and two lovers that will probably never meet again.
- Metal Scream: During Demoni, Bojan typically screams his throat raw before going into the final chorus, having begun this during the UK Tour of July 2023. Not only does it throw a surprising and intense wrench into the flow of an otherwise repetitive song, but also works especially well with Bojan's performance of the song, which is... something to behold, to say the least.
- Mr. Fanservice: The entire band participates in on-stage antics, which can range from cute to sensual to mildly NSFW, usually depending on whether the concert is age restricted. Bojan's the most active and expressive out of the ensemble and his being the singer allows him to interact most with the audience. Kris tends to seem a bit reserved, but responds in turn to any advances Bojan or the others might make. Jure's interaction is limited by his spot at the drums, while Jan and Nace... usually have
their own thing going on. - Rebellious Spirit: Characterizes the band's entire message and career. Especially brought to light in Proti toku, a song off the band's first album, which is all about proving skeptics wrong and paving their own way, regardless of how juvenile their passion, need for self-discovery and impulsiveness might seem to any naysayers. The title translates to "against the grain".
