##Please explain to us the concept of your latest album…. Over the past few years, my feelings and experiences started developing into musical ideas and poetry. I needed to pour them out, so I started writing “The Only Light”. A couple of tunes were in the drawer for a long time. I started planning the track list. As organized as I wanted it to be, art always takes the lead. The shape of the album that I have imagined has changed into what it is today. The album contains 10 original compositions, poetic/personal lyrics, lots of vocal harmonies, tunes of different styles varying from contemporary/traditional/experimental jazz. The concept of ‘song’ is very present. I am very happy with the result, especially for the collaboration with the amazing musicians who took part in the recording.

 
Can you tell us something about the musicians who feature on this album? I am very lucky to have been surrounded by wonderful musicians who are also my friends. Perico Sambeat made an arrangement of my tune “Confusion” for the Big Band and we went to my home town to play it at the prestigious “Klaipeda Jazz festival”. I wanted to have the track as powerful as with the big band, but as you can imagine it is hard to get a whole big band to record. So, Alberto Palau agreed to adapt Perico’s arrangement for 6 horns. This way, the song kept its power and let me feature great Valencian musicians. On trumpets – Pepe Zaragoza and Fede Crespo, on tenor sax – Javier Vercher, baritone – Latino Blanco, alto sax and flute – Perico Sambeat, trombone – Toni Belenguer, guitar – Ivan Cebrian. My quartet: Alberto Palau – piano, Ales Cesarini – bass, Mariano Steimberg – drums. We also made an official music video for “Confusion” directed by an amazing filmmaker– Alfonso Calza. Recorded at Millenia Studios, Valencia, Spain 2019. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Vicente Sabater. Assistant engineer – Iñaki Ariste Aznar Additional recording by Pablo Schuller at SchullerSound.

Tell us a bit about each track…

We Were Not Born Yesterday – The track represents the feeling of certainty, life experience and the  sad realization of constant loneliness that we are facing each day. The world is spinning wild, and we need to try hard not to lose ourselves in its fast pace. We are better at it, because: “We were not born yesterday”.

 Movie – Filled with melancholy and peace, the song represents the unbreakable connection between the past, reality and future. The movie of the past is still playing in our heads.

 The Only Light (Album version) –“The Only Light” – my only light. Filled with passion and regret.

 Time – Old-fashioned theme, very melodic, I would love to hear it in a movie. Very light song, full of hope. The lyrics speak for itself.

 “Only when the light’s going down

Lonely hearts start longing love and

Only when the night comes to town

All the thoughts start spinning in the

Skies above without taking breaks

Stars are shining, playing, running

And you find yourself sitting there

All alone and cold, wondering

When your soul will get some space to

breathe? And soar so free, just as the

Moon is clear and sun so shameless

Just as burning skin doesn’t mean

That your heart is getting warmer

It will happen but,

We don’t know where,

We don’t know when,

We don’t know how…”

ONE – I recorded a choir made of my voice at the end of the song. Slow, peaceful ballad about love and wisdom.

 Hungry eyes (feat. Perico Sambeat) – Sarcastic tune about the end of the relationship.

 Frozen in Silence – Song about realization how small and insignificant we are in comparison with the universe. I was imagining stars laughing at us from above when we try solving our problems. The lyrics are inspired by a poem of Afanasy Fet “Among the stars” (1887).

 Patience (feat. Perico Sambeat & Ivan Cebrian) – The only tune on the album without lyrics. Hypnotic, epic, mystic, deep. The sound represents the storm of emotions whilst trying to stay patient and calm.

 My Blues (feat. Ivan Cebrian) – Gentle and romantic song. I wrote it inspired by a couple from TV series (won’t say the name J …ha-ha). It talks about how suddenly someone realizes that his/her blues (yearning) is the person you least expected it to be. Features lots of vocal harmonies and a soulful solo of Ivan Cebrian on the guitar.

 Confusion (Album version feat. Perico Sambeat Big Band) –There are two versions of this tune. One as a single, a bit shorter for the sake of the official video. The album version is almost 8 minutes long, featuring longer solos of Ivan Cebrian and Perico Sambeat. The lyrics speak about memories. No matter how deeply engraved they are in our hearts, the memories will fade away. This song is a dedication with the message – “I wish you light and love”.

Can we see you play live in Valencia in the future? At the moment, I am at the promotion stage of the album, I would love people to hear it on Spotify, iTunes, add it to their libraries and playlists. There have already been various concerts of the album presentation, so please follow me on Instagram, Facebook artist page, Twitter and subscribe for my Youtube channel, as well as my official webpage www.viktorijapilatovic.com

Interview by Owl

More information on Viktorija Pilatovic:

 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/1iYC1d7ZKA2fVCYmj8Q8cf?si=rx2Xv3gHTTmYaCl-lhh3qQ
iTunes https://music.apple.com/mn/artist/viktorija-pilatovic/766038363
Bandcamp https://viktorijapilatovic.bandcamp.com/

Social media
https://www.instagram.com/viktorijapilatovic
https://www.facebook.com/viktorijapilatovicjazz
https://www.viktorijapilatovic.com/

https://twitter.com/viktorija_pilat
https://youtube.com/viktorijapilatovic

Official music video
https://youtu.be/m31U58QbDfA