Tijana Bass from Maribor is ready for a new strike with a new album, also supported by the guys of Public Enemy she will surprise her fans with new and fresh material.
Interview: Dennis Rowehl
Picture by courtesy of Tijana Bass and ekskluzivno.si
entertaim.net: You’re working on a new album right now. Are you already in the studio or still in the process of writing new songs?
Tijana: Actually the album is almost finished. I would say its about 90 % finished. Songs are recorded, most of them are mixed and waiting to be mastered. You can expect 13 brand new songs plus the song “Face of Freedom“, my duet with the rap giants Public Enemy which was my first official single off of this upcoming album which I named “REVOLVER HEART“. We will release the album in March 2013! The album took awhile to make, almost a year and a half and I am “shooting“ all of the songs straight from my heart. Also, I would like to mention my team because without them this journey wouldn’t be possible. My team are: The very talented producer from New York, she produced 5 songs on my album, her name is Yumika “P.Riot“ Parsley, mr. Chuck D, my management overseas Sean “Studdah Man“ de Vore, my PR and management for Europe Kaly Kolonič, a great artist and designer Aleksander Legen my art director, David Burk the video director, my sister and project producer Sanja Busić, Miha Sitar the photographer, song producers Ernest Robinson, Sebastijan Duh, Baby Dooks, Priki, Beno Soršak, Tadej Kampl and last but not least a big thank you to the artist, producer and engineer Martin Bezjak for making sure the mix and mastering of the songs sounds tight! Actually, Martin’s studio in Maribor, Slovenia, is the studio where we recorded most of my vocals! I couldn’t be happier with the studio services and of course Martin’s engineer and production role in recording the vocals.
entertaim.net: Will there be musical surprises, maybe some tracks with electric guitar or even dubstep elements?
Tijana: Oh yeah, for sure you can expect several surprises, can’t give them away but what I can say is, you can expect another duet with one of the biggest legends in HipHop today, as well duets with successful artists from the Big Apple as well as a duet with a Balcan rap superstar! All I can say now is that you can expect some real Brooklyn rap as well as R&B/gospel singing! There is a special project on this “Revolver Heart“ album which is a part of the She-Movement directed by the legend himself- Chuck D. The song/project is called “I am Woman“ and it features a great rapstress from Atlanta Lady Payn. This song was produced by Ernest Robinson who worked with TLC, Bobby Brown, etc. Those are some of the guest featuring surprises but as far as the musical surprises, yes definitely a couple of big surprises! Comparing this record to my first one “PLayground“ I would musically the sound is less hiphop and much more dance/electra/pop/rap direction! As much as I hate comparing art, I would say this album is a twist between M.I.A. meets Madonna, a cocktail of unique melodies and a new sound that me and my team of producers were able to develop. And about the electric guitar parts and dubstep, yes we can hear those influences as well, together with some classical violins on two of the tracks plus Indian guitar strings on one of the records.
I will be keeping you posted about all the news on my official web site: http://www.tijana-bass.com
entertaim.net: So, obviously you are still cooperating with the guys of Public Enemy?
Tijana: No doubt! The guys are my long time friends, especially the co-founder of the group, my good friend and mentor, Mr Chuck D, he had also a huge impact on my artistry and development. I have learned and I am thankful I have learned a lot from him over the years. It means so much that this time around we are again collaborating, not only thru the I AM WOMAN project/song, but he is responsible for so many other collaborations on this upcoming album. It is an honor.
entertaim.net: Do you already have plans for a tour yet? Will you show up in Germany?
Tijana: You cant imagine how excited I am to present my new material through LIVE SHOWS! Cause that’s what is all about at the end of the road … presenting your songs live to the audience. My last tour was in november 2010, so it has been awhile since I was performing. That tour was my first big Western European tour as an opening act for Public Enemy. Me and my dj at the time, Dj Sense opened for their 5 shows, first in Amsterdam, then Brussels, Darmstadt, Luxemburg and Paris! I will never forget the Paris show! You can check out some of the memorable moments on my official web site. Then late spring of 2011 “Face of Freedom“ video and single was released and the small club tour in the Eastern Europe followed. After that I have been locked in the studio creating “Revolver Heart“ and here we are today ready to set the new tour dates for February 2013 after the big premiere of my second single and video in January. Germany is a must! Hopefully you guys will follow my work and come to see the show live.
entertaim.net: I guess you’ll also do a new video. If you had an unlimited budget what kind of video would you do?
Tijana: Yes the visual part of any song is very important as well. I am always very involved in the “visual process“ of my songs. The unseen music tells one story but the art works and the video is drawing another story. I am just making sure that that other story is a continuation of my music. I’m so thankful that I am working with the team of people who understand me as a woman, a friend and artist. I am so proud of their artistry! As I said before, my next video is coming out on MTV Adria January 2013. The verses are all in my native Croatian language and the chorus is sang by the singer from New York city ms Mina Fox. The song is produced by P.Riot and is currently being mixed and mastered by both P.Riot and our Slovene music talent Martin Bezjak at his studio in Maribor.
I can’t give away the songs title but what I can say is that we will make a short film type of video about the most passionate love story in the world. The video direction will be again by David Burk, the man responsible for the “Face of Freedom“ video! If I had an unlimited budget I wouldn’t spend it on the music video, I would instead give it to the associations and groups who need the funds more than we do. The mystery of the high budget videos are no longer a fact. The numbers were always artificial and a part of the good old American PR. It worked back then, nowadays we can see a bunch of high quality videos made with limited equipment, some great ones are even made with just a good photo camera or guess what, just shot with the iPhone! How is that possible, well it just is. All the magic is done later on in the post production and if you have imagination and skill and talent, I bet you anything you want that you can make a GREAT video with just 500 Euros! Lana del Rey is a true pioneer of those kind of projects! All you need is a vision and a small number of talented people believing in the project, without this vision and talent an unlimited budget means nothing. You can’t fake talent.
entertaim.net: Tijana, thanks so far … we continue right after the release …
Tijana: Thanks Dennis …
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