How can travelling in Serbia turn into a Rakija song

If you ask Nico (a Belgian globetrotter) what he likes about Serbia, this is what he’d say: “Rock n’ Roll attitude and Rakija”

Back to mid-summer until mid-fall 2016, Nico and his friends went on a cycling journey through the Balkans including Bulgaria, Serbia and Croatia, covering 4000 km. At that time he had no idea that a music video would emerge from this journey, but let’s save this for later…

The Serbian leg of the trip started in Vojvodina along the Danube and the first big city stop happened to be Novi Sad. On a sunny Saturday afternoon Nico and his friends were given the opportunity to properly blend into the Serbian culture, they were invited by some locals to a lamb roasting gathering, tasting of the local wine and on the top of it rakija, of course!

The next stop was Belgrade, where they experienced the unique nightlife that the capital has to offer.

After Belgrade, they decided to go with the flow, stopping by the Kabinet brewery in Sopot and visiting some random villages along the way, where they were offered some more rakija of course. As early October coincides with the distillery process being at its peak, they had a chance to see how rakija is made.

Kursumlija will also be remembered as an unforgettable experience (the last stop in Serbia that year). Perfect for celebration, as there was a concert happening in one of the visited bars, Kursumlija turned out to be a very lively town, filled with some of the nicest people they met along the way.

When Nico went back to Dublin, where he lives, he came up with an idea of making a song inspired by the Balkan trip… A Rakija song!

Nico plays in a small band in Dublin and music has always been a hobby of his. He would jump at any chance to have some fun and would form a band anywhere he’d find himself living, even if it was for a short period of time.

In addition to his passion for music, Nico also has a huge thing for traveling and becoming immersed in other cultures and, as you can imagine, the Balkans take a high place on his list.

However, things didn’t always go so smoothly. Back in the day he got stuck at the Serbian border for hours for showing up without a passport and therefore wasn’t allowed into the country. However, this didn’t prevent him to try again (he knew that there was something special about Serbia and this is why he’d give it another go) with a passport this time.

Now that you have some of the context, let’s see how this Rakija song got its video.

Once having the song written, Nico decided to share it with his fellow musicians in Dublin. It is a mixture of Ska, Punk and Rock with a pinch of Balkan rhythm. He admits the recording conditions were not ideal therefore the sound isn’t crystal clear but it was worth it.

The next summer (2017) he found himself cycling through the Balkans once again, this time taking a different route on his way to the Goulash Disko Festival (which takes place on the Island of Vis every year). Having his rakija song in his pocket, him and his friend Cedric started filming, with the help of some locals, in the Serbian part of Bosnia, somewhere close to Nova Topola, seeking the moments that would best reflect the lyrics of the song.

Rakija tasting with Killo Killo (Serbian Musician) in Novisad

There, they met Bogdan and his father Petar. Bogdan quickly picked up on the video idea and became one of the main characters of the clip. He even put his tractor at their disposal, adding the countryside touch to the video.

In Šipovo they met Ana, an old lady that invited Nico and Cedric to set their tent in a nearby field. The next morning, Ana invited them out for some coffee and rakija. That’s when they made some great footage, including the wheelbarrow scene with the authentic roster sound and the pigs in the background.

Nico says that he is amazed how cool and easy-going Serbians are. They were happy to help him in making the video as fun as possible but also provided him with food and rakija, making him feel as part of the family.

Sometimes they had to react very quickly as a filming opportunity would appear and last for a couple of minutes before being gone forever. One of such scenes is the one on the bridge with the two Serbian girls dressed up for a photoshoot in traditional Serbian clothing next to the Krupaj waterfalls. They agreed to take part in the project even though they were about to leave the spot.

However the best of all was yet to come. Nico and Cedric were cycling in a very remote area, close to a tiny village called Strojice. While climbing up a steep forest road, the rain invited itself to play a role in the next scene of their video. Forced to stop, the two guys found shelter in a little hut next to the road. This is where they met Rade.

To this day they’re not sure whether Rade was living there or working as a ranger due to the language barrier. However, Rade had an extensive stock of rakija and was more than happy to share it with his visitors! This one hour spent in the hut had a huge impact on both the video and the livers of the above mentioned men and will certainly be remembered as the best and the most authentic moment of the trip.

On the very last day in Zadar, before flying to Barcelona (where Nico would embark on a new cycling adventure all the way to the South of Morocco) an important scene was still missing. Nico, being very determined, managed to find a trombone and have the solo filmed at the sunset, making it so that every single second of the video was shot in the Balkans.