When someone has their own audience...
...true, sincere followers, they also have a prepared ground for a successful concert. Then every sung or played note, every spoken word, possesses a magical effect under which an individual in the audience easily lights up, glows, softens, smiles, exclaims, and applauds. This kind of dedication, usually characteristic of stars, also applies to the local duo Kalem, as confirmed by the recent Belgrade concert Kalem and Friends, serving as yet another proof of the remarkable success achieved in a very short time by singer and violinist Stefan Ilić and guitarist Dušan Popović Lipovac.
These highly musical artists, although very active, interesting, and, to put it bluntly – modern on social networks, stand out in many ways from the standard framework of recommended patterns of contemporary musical-stage behavior that lead to expected successes.
First of all – we are talking about two men (in cruder terms: no lush hair, bare legs, etc.), who, furthermore, perform a collage of mostly well-known and a million times performed songs from Serbia and neighboring countries. Furthermore – the minimalistic atmosphere of the album is also present in the concert flow, where Stefan and Dušan seem to deliberately ignore the dynamic principle, not engaging in typical alternations of slow and fast song blocks, golden ratios, energetic buildups, and releases, including two encores, of which, contrary to expectations, the first was slow ("Imam jednu želju"), and the second more lively ("Zbog tebe, mome ubava"). Add to that the subtle communication with the audience and a certain retro atmosphere / image / emotionality that Stefan and Dušan project.
On the albums, and even more on stage, they are not guys of this era, but reincarnations of interwar gentlemen who, in the feverish and hyper-egoistic 21st century, radiate with anachronistic restraint, gentleness, politeness... Protective caressers of the heart.
And now, someone reading the previous lines and encountering the phenomenon of Kalem for the first time might think that, last Tuesday, the packed hall of the Youth Center was mostly filled with ladies of older age. But – no! The exemplary diversity of the audience was equally contributed by members of both genders and entirely different generations. We distinguish them by appearance and reactions (sighing, prolonged, contented Ah, gazing intently, tapping to the rhythm on jeans, loud laughter), but it seems that Kalem's audience is still one, special entity.
Kalem's audience is not a world music audience (although Kalem's music easily falls under this umbrella term), which I noticed when I first heard them live, at Kolarac, in January 2022. It is not an audience that attends world music concerts and festivals.
These are people who come to see Kalem. Like strings, thread, and wool, they are tightly wound around their spool. Ultimately, one could say that the duo Kalem is not part of the local world music scene but that Kalem is a scene unto itself.
After the concert, I thought for a long time about the key to their success and came to a very simple answer: they are who they are, they do not doubt their choice, they do not wonder what works today and what does not, they believe in themselves, they have their own story, so take it or leave it. And many are taking it!
However, this would not be enough without the necessary, quality foundation, which we find in the interpretation itself.
Stefan Ilić has a recognizable voice and seems to enjoy his own voice and singing very much, so by character, he is more of a melodist than a dramatic interpreter of the lyrics' messages. He enhances warmth with a soft, delayed vibrato that graces almost every tone and syllable, reminiscent of the vocal style of Staniša Stošić, intertwined with a different, tavern-patina nuance possessed, for example, by Džej. Stefan's excellent range allows his voice to sound velvety in the depths and fluttery in the heights, where it caresses like the melody on the thinnest violin string. Although Stefan, by his entire career, is primarily a violinist, the emphasis in the Kalem segment of his artistic persona is on singing, with the violin suitably participating in preludes, solos, or in coloring sections alongside Dušan and other guest musicians.
Dušan Popović Lipovac, an experienced and mature guitarist, unlike Stefan, does not think in the Balkan mode, which is especially evident in his occasional solos. However, Dušan shares a similar musical sensibility, and he too unfailingly evokes an atmosphere of tenderness. His guitar is constantly in motion, always buzzing, humming, and above countless rhythmic nuances or simple patterns, as well as planned or spontaneous motifs and passages, beauty of tone rises, supporting Stefan's expression and forming the other end of the same lever. Dušan's dedication to tone also leads to subtle transformations of the guitar sound, sometimes into a lute or even a šargija.
Read the entire article here (Sr): https://worldmusic.org.rs/2024/03/22/gusto-namotani-oko-kalema-prikaz-koncerta-kalem-i-prijatelji
