Kalem, this is...

...an ensemble that performs traditional and composed songs, with a voice unmistakably rooted in these lands, accompanied by the finest tones of the violin and enriched by the sound of a guitar inspired by the folk music of the world.

Stefan Ilić, the singer and violinist of Kalem, grew up surrounded by folk songs; from his earliest days, every activity in his home was accompanied by Balkan melodies passed down through generations, awakening in him a deep desire to explore and understand music, which led him to enroll in music school for gifted children in Ćuprija, and later graduate in violin from the Music Academy in Kragujevac; however, this was just the beginning of his journey—through collaborations with eminent artists on our scene, Stefan continued to enrich his knowledge until he decided to share his talent and passion with the audience as a singer as well.

Dušan Popović Lipovac had a completely different path, growing up in a home dominated by heavy sounds, long guitar solos, and complex harmonies, leading him through pop and rock, touching on blues and jazz while also discovering flamenco and fado; during his studies in Spain, impressed by the Spaniards’ pride in their musical heritage, Dušan decided to explore what his own homeland had to offer, quickly realizing—much more than he initially thought.

In 2017, Stefan and Dušan’s paths crossed.

“Do you want to record a song?“—asked Stefan, known for his charisma and initiative that drives people, to which Dušan, always approaching things thoroughly, replied: “Let’s make a plan for a long-term collaboration, what do you think?“—and so their story began.

After a few rehearsals, they realized their musical sensibilities resonated perfectly, and the repertoire they started building included the most beautiful traditional and composed songs from the Balkans; a few months later, it became clear what Kalem was—an ensemble performing traditional and composed songs, with a voice unmistakably rooted in these lands, colored by the sound of a guitar inspired by the folk music of the world.

Their first performance, due to an unusual turn of events, came unexpectedly quickly, providing an excellent opportunity as it wasn’t a classical concert but a short cocktail event at a theater festival, specifically for actors after their play; “They'll be there for half an hour, have a drink, eat something, and then leave,“ the organizer told them, to which they confidently responded, “Okay, we have half an hour of material, we accept.“; that day, the actors finished their play and arrived at the cocktail, staying for half an hour... then another half hour, and then another, as Stefan and Dušan played everything they knew (perhaps even what they didn’t), while the actors sang along and enjoyed as if in a well-known southern tavern; at the end of the performance, they approached them one by one, shaking their hands, and when a distinguished acting troupe greets you that way, you know you've done something right, making every subsequent concert another opportunity to reaffirm that what they were doing truly mattered.

The year 2020, well known to all, halted concert activities, but Stefan and Dušan decided to enter the studio and record their first album, filled with songs that marked their previous years of work, leading to the release of ”Meseče” in 2021, named after the eponymous original song that people still love to sing at concerts today; the moment concerts resumed, with great support from their close ones, the duo took the big stage at the Ilija M. Kolarac endowment and, in front of hundreds of people, introduced themselves to the Belgrade audience for the first time—“You are the first performers to have come straight from YouTube to the Kolarac stage,“ one of the hosts jokingly remarked; yet, this concert proved that there was a serious audience eager to hear them live, and after Kolarac, Kalem became more firmly established on the domestic scene as numerous invitations followed from all over the country.

Their journey continued to evolve, leading to the release of their second album in 2023, ”Tragom snova i predanja” (“Following Dreams and Legends”), which produced several highly popular arrangements and original compositions, paving the way for Kalem in 2024 to hold sold-out concerts in Belgrade, Kragujevac, Novi Sad, again in Kragujevac, and even in Oslo and Paris, marking the beginning of their international performances.

The ensemble is currently hard at work on their third album, set to be released in the spring of 2025.

"When we walk the roads, we meet.

We meet history beneath us, we meet people.

When we meet people, we share.

We share words of yesterday, today, and the tomorrow to come.

When we share, we sing.

We sing of love, sorrow, and all that makes us human.

We meet, we share, we sing...

And when people meet and words intertwine – that is Kalem."