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Croatian American musician Thana Alexa Pavelic has been nominated for a Grammy
Saturday, 28 November 2020

Croatian Musician Thana Alexa Pavelic Nominated for Grammy

November 28, 2020 – With her second solo album, ONA, Croatian American musician Thana Alexa Pavelic explores her Croatian heritage. It's just been nominated for a Grammy! Here's an introduction to a singular talent and the sound of her Croatian roots

The songs of Croatian American jazz musician and singer Thana Alexa Pavelic have never sounded more like her life experience. On her second album, 'ONA', we finally hear her Croatian roots colliding with the cool, considered and contemporary world of the New York jazz scene. Legendary for its jazz for over 70 years, the city of New York is full of ambitious musicians chasing the vibe and reputation of its heritage. It can be tough to stand out, to sound original. With 'ONA', Thana Alexa Pavelic has done just that, and earned a Grammy nomination for her efforts.

The epic title track of the Grammy-nominated 'ONA', on which the exploration of Croatian music and feminine experience - as well as Croatian language - can be heard

Published in 2015, Thana Alexa Pavelic's debut album 'Ode To Heroes' was similarly well accomplished. But, it seemed to more reflect her American experience rather than embracing the whole. Born in New York to a father from Zagreb and a mother of Dubrovnik heritage, Thana Alexa Pavelic spent every summer in Croatia and so was hardly uprooted when the family moved back to Croatia when Thana was 13. She returned to America to complete her university studies – music and psychology.

In comparison to 'Ode To Heroes', new album 'ONA' sees Thana Alexa Pavelic replacing her femininity with feminism – the album is inspired by the experiences of Croatian women, most of all her mother and her grandmother. Not just evident in the language of the album title, for the first time in her solo output, on 'ONA' you can hear Croatian language, traditional Croatian music and the Croatian female experience in the songs of Thana Alexa Pavelic.

Thana Alexa Pavelic's jazz rendition of the Tears For Fears classic - the song has been a popular part of her live set for quite some time

It is doubtless these Croatian influences that separate Thana Alexa Pavelic from the rest of 2020's jazz hopefuls. They are partially responsible - alongside the superb execution and production of the songs - for the Grammy nomination. It is the first-ever Grammy nomination received by a Croatian musician.

And, rather than simply take from the Croatian experience, 'ONA' also gives back. Thana Alexa Pavelic has dedicated a donation from each sale of the album to Zagreb-based human rights organisation Solidarna and their #spasime campaign (which supports victims of violence). Whether Thana Alexa Pavelic wins the Grammy for Best Vocal Jazz album or not, with 'ONA', she has placed a Croatian voice on the world's music stage in more ways than one. If she is successful, then the award will surely make its way to Croatia at some point, held in the hands of a Transatlantic artist now exploring in music her Croatian heritage. Good luck at the Grammys Thana Alexa!

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EVO RUKE! Summer Music Festival Begins in Split
Monday, 10 August 2020

EVO RUKE! Summer Music Festival Begins in Split

August 10, 2020 - On Friday, August 7, the 7th EVO RUKE! summer music festival began at Đardin park in Split.  This modern urban music festival turns Đardin into an oasis of jazz, blues and rock'n'roll. 

Visitors can enjoy the live performances of local performers on 29 summer evenings, starting every day at 21:00. And the best part? The entrance is completely free.

The festival was opened by the band Atomsko Sklonište and it will last until September 6th, when it will be closed by the famous hip hop band from Split, TBF.

„At the first edition of the festival, I came across an Irishman in the audience who asked me what #evoruke means and what is its translation in English. At that point, neither he nor I were able to agree on anything meaningful or similar in English. We discussed for more than half an hour and I don't even remember how many different interpretations I presented to him in Croatian“, explains Stevo Vučković Stivi, the founder and executive producer.

Vučković spent his whole life making music, both in rock and blues bands, such as Vukojarac and Stividen and he also played in the world tours with Goran Karan's band.

„My life choices are music and art, but not overly molded/commercial, but the other one that would like to 'fix things'. I don't need any special motivation, I just hope I'm doing it OK, for general well-being and my motives are not material ones“, Vučković adds.

As for the audience, it depends on the performer. Considering that the band who was performing at the opening of the festival sing in Croatian, the audience was mostly local. The next day, when the Pink Panther Band was performing, with the repertoire of world hits, 75% of the audience were tourists.

„Last year's edition of EVO RUKE! festival was visited by approximately 220,000 people and the ratio was fifty-fifty. But it's all inaccurate because I'm not dealing with counting, but looking to push the quality to the top“, Vučković says.

Considering the current situation with the coronavirus, the festival has adapted to the measures and recommendations of the Croatian Institute for Public Health.

The number of visitors is limited to 1,000, with maximum respect for physical distance, hand disinfection and other necessary measures to combat the spread of the virus.

„In the first place is the health and safety of visitors, and the further issues is how to achieve the audience-performer interaction and that indescribable energy and love for which we come to watch live concerts. But this is a problem that all artists/performers in the world currently have. We mobilized to the maximum to make visitors feel comfortable as possible, as if there is no epidemic“, Vučković concludes.

The program for this years' edition of EVO RUKE! festival can be found below.

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

Wednesday, 13 December 2017

Meet the Music Icons of Split: Neno Belan and Đavoli

How much do you know about Neno Belan and Davoli?

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