Ahead of his visit to Australia for a series of shows including WOMADelaide, we chatted to Goran Bregović about his joyful approach to music making. Starting life as a rock star in the Balkans, before becoming involved in music scores, he has recently assembled a band called Goran Bregović and His Wedding and Funeral Band.
I was thinking about your wedding and funeral orchestra and it’s funny to me that they always get put together. They’re always like a celebration, even though one’s a wedding and one’s an end of life. How do you see weddings and funerals being related?
In the beginning it was a joke. I started to call my orchestra, Weddings and Funerals, because by tradition, these musicians who played the brass, are at the same time specialists for both weddings and funerals. The custom is in the Balkans, after a funeral, to go in the in the house of someone who died, and to play, eat and drink and play favorite music of this person. So it could happen that even joyful music is played after the after the funeral. But then I start to like this name, because actually my musicians, before they start to play with me, they played like everybody else.
I think it’s fantastic, because even a funeral is a celebration of life.
I think maybe especially here on the Balkans, where this circle of life and death is a bit accelerated. So funeral and weddings are still the most important social events. You will see everybody and of course, music that is played on that occasions is important. So for me, knowing that some of my music is played on the weddings and funerals, it’s big compliment and means that I will leave behind me something that will stay.
Your music is a style of gypsy music. My vision of gypsies is always that they’re always happy, always socially together, having fun. Is that how you see it as well?
You know, I did lot of things in my life, and I have some medals. I have some honorary Doctor of some universities and other honorary citizens. But for me, the biggest compliment is to know that some gypsy musicians will play my music to their families. And the truth is the gypsies, it will be pity not to have them. As a metaphor, they are European cowboys. Gravity doesn’t work for them, like for everybody else that can walk or fly or die. And for me, it’s a big compliment that I’m accepted among them, some of my musicians are gypsies. I think that it will come one day that that Europe will recognize what they left in European culture. They have terrible history with us, and they just give us joy. They are already more than sixth century in Europe. They came from India, and they had really terrible history with us. They just give us, always, just a joy.
Your music reminds me of like those old movies about circuses, where there’s a traveling circus, it’s very happy and joyful. Even if it’s difficult topics, there’s still a happiness behind it.
You know, the way how gypsies as poor could be happy? It’s something that that we could learn from. Most modern idea, it’s to live today, not yesterday, not tomorrow. And this is gypsy idea. This is how gypsies live this heaven. So this is why they could be happy, even that the other ones were not going to be.
Getting back to your beginnings, when you were very young. You grew up in Sarajevo, and I was reading that the mix of cultures is something that is in your blood.
That’s true. This small town Sarajevo has symptoms like a real town, because it was one melting pot difficult to find in in Europe, in such a small place in Yugoslavia, Sarajevo has much more to give in art than is comparing with the size of the town. And from nowadays we can explain it is because of this melting of the cultures and religions. So I don’t know how it will be the near future, because now, after the war, things are changed, but it’s, I think, temporary. It will come back.
I always think of that area as Yugoslavia. It doesn’t make sense to me that it’s broken up.
You know, if you think, what is your homeland? Yeah, it happened to me, that this homeland doesn’t exist. You understand that your homeland is nothing political. It’s not political or geographical territory. It’s always emotional territory. Yeah, so my emotional homeland is on territory of Yugoslavia. I don’t care if I have to show up my passport on some borders, but this is my, my still my homeland.
As well as doing orchestra, you do a lot of film scores. How did you how did you get into writing music for films?
I did my first movie, Time of Gypsies. I was rock star then. So I did it for the friendship. I was in circle of director of the Time of Gypsies, and he just asked me if I can make one demo for him and this is how I start. You know, the movie is not something for rock stars. They don’t do music for the movies. But I did my first movie for the friendship and then when war starts, because I had gold records in 10 countries in Europe, yes, for the Time of Gypsies, this is the thing they proposed me. Luckily, I was in Paris working on Arizona Dream movie, and they start proposing me the movie. So my movie career is actually during the war. During the war, years of war, I did like 20 movies. Then I come back to what I do. I break concept and I’m still doing soundtracks. If you have some movies in your head, I can be your composer.
With your comment about rock stars don’t do movies, I was thinking that, how do you feel like in a way, the music is secondary to the movie, and you have to take a step backwards.
Well this is probably one of the reasons why rock stars, they don’t do the movies, because, you know, you work harder on the music. And then when you see in the movie is somewhere behind, somebody is walking, barking, you know it? Of course, it kills your ego. But then you understand, this is music. It’s not most important thing on the wall, probably you can start to think of it. I remember when, when was bombardment of Belgrade. I knew my archive in Scopje, North Macedonia, and with all my families, all my assistants and musicians, and we play in in bouzouki bars to survive, to feed families. And for the first time, I played for the people who are eating, drinking, dancing, laughing, shouting. And you have to start to use the day, because I’m used to have people who are concentrated on the music, but it’s good to just little bit your ego put a discipline.
Is it the same being a rock musician versus in an orchestra. It’s maybe a little the same that as a rock musician, you’re there center on stage, but in an orchestra, it’s like quite a big group of people.
If you are chief of the bands, like I was, it’s always your habit that you control all around you, either five musicians or 35, it’s almost the same thing with the bigger orchestra. It’s more joyful because there is more food, more drink and more fun.
Jumping back to the movie Arizona Dream, I see that you worked with Iggy Pop as well. You must have had a chance to work with a few different musicians over the years. How do you feel working with other musicians?
That I work with some musicians that normally, when I saw them on the on the airport, I will ask for autograph. You can find, I don’t know Cesária Évora or Gypsy Kings, or some really good artists. He was there at the movie Arizona Dream. It was the scene of audition, and they make real audition. They put in the New York Times. They announced that it will be for the movie. It will be one rehearsal and he appeared. He came with Johnny Depp, and he even participated this audition. He doesn’t enter in the movie. But then everybody from the movie crew said, “Oh, do something, do something together”. Then he said, Okay, let’s try something. So I thank him. So one of the of the songs that was more successful is “In the Death Car”. Yes, it’s actually a song of my rock and roll band. But in my rock and roll band, the lyrics were like, “let’s stay on the back seat of my car, it’s more fun than go outside”. I sent the translation of this lyrics, and in the middle of night, telephone was ringing and Iggy was there. He said, “Man, I can’t write really on the back seat of my car”. I said, Okay, of course, you write what you like. In the death car instead of my funny little lyrics. It was really nice experience with him. I even played few concerts with him. He’s really very special guy.
How are you looking forward to WOMADelaide?
Well, you know, always traveling that far, yeah, to go in Australia and play, it’s already big adventure. It starts in the airplane, yeah. And then you found there, you find the audience who is really used to listen good music, which is always good. People who are curious. You know, if you are naive, you will think that only what is on the charts has audience, which is not true. People nowadays are curious. They will discover even more weird composers than I am. So honestly, I have audience in places you can’t imagine. I played a sold out concert in Iceland, in Novosibirsk, the place is really far, which is beauty of our times. Yeah, that because of internet, they discuss, they discover things like me.
How big an orchestra will you be bringing? What can audiences expect?
Just a brass. My two Bulgarian singers play songs. Yeah, I’m not gonna play anything complicated, just so yeah, from all different period or so. I will play from some songs that I did for the movies, still my last record, so Three Letters from Sarajevo.
Three Letters from Sarajevo is a reference to the different cultures that you grew up with?
Yes. Then I write some songs for some artists, Jewish Christian and Muslims that I that I respect. You know, if you are from Sarajevo, I suppose that everyone in Sarajevo, if it’s composed, will do the same thing, trying to put together which is difficult to put together. Of course, for me it’s easy to do the things which is impossible, politicians or for the priests, This is why, if I have this opportunity, this is what I do, putting together the things.
I always believe that music is the great bringing people together and healing. It’s part of the role of music.
Well, I think if you look, even scientifically, music is first human language. They found Wine Food in Germany, 20,000 years old, which means that the human beings, they had a music before they had language or religion or politics. This is why if you speak well this language called music, yes, you are understandable everywhere. Yes, because this is first human language. That’s why.
Your musical language is very joyful and and uplifting, and I think people are really going to enjoy the concerts.
Well, I hope so. I will. You know, I came from tradition that we don’t have classical music in our tradition. In time of first opera, let’s say by Monteverdi we had just one instrument to play one narrative structure. So this is we have since always just the music for drinking. Our music, history of our music is history of music of drinking. I’m happy to know that I will leave in this tradition some music, because some of my music it will fit.
Goran Bregovic & his Wedding and Funeral Band:
Tue, March 4th 2025: Sydney Opera House – Concert Hall
Sat, March 8th 2025: WOMADelaide – Botanic Park / Tainmuntilla
Tue, March 11th 2025: Adelaide Festival
Thu, March 13th 2025: Melbourne – Hammer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne)
Tickets and more information here
Held on the traditional lands of the Kaurna People, WOMADelaide – World Of Music Arts & Dance – is an iconic open-air festival celebrating cultural discovery in the heart of Adelaide’s stunning Botanic Park / Tainmuntilla. The World’s Festival, since 1992, is a truly unique part of the Australian festival landscape, showcasing the best, the essential – and the surprising – in music, arts, dance and ideas from around the world.
WOMADelaide, made its debut as an independent major event in 1993, and it is now established as an internationally acclaimed event and pilgrimage for artists and audiences from around the world, hosting over 30 + countries.
WOMADelaide offers a rich variety of programming initiatives, including the popular discussion forum of thinkers, scientists, activists, writers, environmentalists, journalists, economists, and communicators, The Planet Talks.
For the foodie Taste the World is a wonderful way to get to know many of the festival’s artists in a relaxed setting, as they share their stories while cooking favourite dishes from home.
The fun and family-friendly KidZone is a dedicated space for children, with nature-play activities, stories, singing, dancing and educational entertainment. Or add to the richness of your WOMADelaide experience by taking part in one of our artist-led workshops.
