topic of the month
FICTION
On June 2016 three guys in their twenties gathered to their first rehearsal and so was born Fiction – Macedonian modern rock band, acoustic trio between three friends.
T
he guys are sitting side by side, discussing on Macedonian their point of view to the upcoming interview. We are sitting in Beertija Pub with rain banging the roof and thunder yelling in the sky. Petar, the vocalist of the band explains how he and Viktor, one of the guitar players, were playing some gigs in cafes and pubs in Skopje before Fiction was formed and points out that they needed better sound. “And more money to be honest” Viktor laughs in the background. The history of the guys goes way back from playing together. Petar and Filip, the other guitarist, met on the first grade in high school, but later on it was Victors’ idea to invite Filip to play with them. “We were both guitar teachers with Filip, and we were drinking beer together after lessons. It was the friendship that brought us together to play and create music, and so was the band formed.” Viktor explains. The guys started to have rehearsals together and had their first gig together in a café place in
4 - VOICES
GTC, in the center of Skopje. The path continued in different pubs for 4-5 months, and not long after that, guys expanded the band to a full electric band. Petar, Filip and Viktor formed acoustic trio by themselves to play covers in pubs, but wanted to “level up” as Petar stated, to play their own songs in festivals competitions. “When it’s about our own music, we play like 5 or 6 people together. We started to create our own music exactly after one year we were formed. The first song was “После Дождот” (“posle doždot”, eng. “After the rain”)” Viktor tells the story how the song formed; it was a bit difficult time for him, and he states how Petar and Filip were there for him, bringing positive energy and shoulder to cry on, which became to be the idea of the song. “Every each of us gave something to the lyrics that describes themselves and the final product was formed.” The friendship between the guys is sincere and genuine, which
you can see just by looking how comfortable they are together. The thunderstorm on the background creates a cozy mood, while Petar explains the musical cooperation between his bandmates. “When we are making music, everybody has something to say. No one is talking nonsense.” All of the guys have their ideas, which they bring together to create the final songs. The cooperation is strong; even though sometimes there is minor differ in opinion. “It’s something minimal, like drum fill or how the baseline goes… But when that situation comes, we are ready to grab each other’s necks and kill each other” Viktor laughs, and states that it is actually a positive thing, not negative. They all agree that when you make music, there is no enthusiasm if you just agree on whatever the other band members have in their minds. “The tension is very important when you make music. Because at the end the results are always better than anyone of us imagined.”
