Bones in Butter are a Serbian act led by Milutin Krašević. It is a fusion of players from all around the Belgrade alternative music scene: six creative minds with several years of touring and band experience to their name, Luna Škopelja (vocals and samples), Todor Živković (guitars), Dejan Škopelja (bass), Tom Fedja Franklin (drums) and Srdjan Popov (mixing). With their music and poetic lyricism, they create art the way few can and thus define the poignancy of Bones in Butter. So when you absorb their music you know that it has been polished to a fine degree and fitted with the message to take the experience to a different level altogether.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Kamil) Hey Bones in Butter, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. What first got you into music?
Good day to you, Kamil and thanks for having me.
My earliest memories of childhood include music. My parents made sure my sister and I were surrounded by music all the time. I took piano lessons from a young age and sang in the local boy’s choir but what really got me into music was my first contact with punk. On the one hand I was impressed by the attitude and boldness of the protagonists, on the other hand that music made me euphoric and I said to myself: I can do that.
Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of music?
Sure, I like translating written text from one language into another, which actually used to be my day job, and I’m very much interested in 19th and 20th century European history. I’m also a passionate fan of sci-fi TV series.
Your latest song is 'Scenes from the Metro'. Can you tell us more about the making of it and if there were any unusual things happening during the process?
Nothing unusual per se happened but the making of the song still has an interesting background story.
“Scenes From The Metro” is sort of experimental as it represents our venture into the post-rock and psychedelic genres. I tried to conjure an atmosphere that is reminiscent of the 1930s but would also contain futuristic or even dystopian elements, so I sampled a very old song, "Lili Marlen", performed by Lale Andersen, played it backwards and added parts of it to the mix. Interesting fact: "Lili Marlen" was premiered via Radio Belgrade in 1941, during Nazi occupation.
And “Scenes From The Metro” is a sad but true tale, it is the story of a centennial dream, the dream of the Belgrade Metro, a project that has never been implemented - to this day. Belgrade remains one of Europe's last capitals without an underground network.
Can you reveal the recipe for a musical hit?
Should I ever write a musical hit, you will be the first one to know, I promise.
What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop as an artist?
Not much honestly speaking. This is so because I try to keep things simple, try not to put myself under pressure. I prefer to separate my songwriting and recording processes from such ambitious concepts like growth and development. The only thing I want to ensure is that I do not repeat mistakes from previous projects.
What inspires you as an artist? Could it be the sea, the weather or something else?
The weather not so much although I do have sampled rain, storm and thunder sounds before.
The sea offers a lot of inspiration. We did even record a cover of the oldie «Beyond the Sea» last year.
However, I am mostly inspired by historical or political events but also by moral and ethical topics. That’s where I draw my ideas from.
What is one message you would give to your fans?
Believe half of what you see and nothing of what you hear.
Do you have a mentor or coach?
That’s a clear no. Not that I couldn’t use one, my musical skill set is far from being perfect, it’s just that I’m sort of too old.
Do you think it's easy to become established in the music world, or is it difficult?
I guess nowadays it’s more difficult than ever to become estblished as an artist in the music world. Every day almost 100000 new songs are released via Spotify. The music business has been democratized to such an extent that literally everybody can release music. On the one hand, one of the pillars of a modern, democratic and just society – equality – has found its way into the music world, which is an achievement, but on the other hand, a lot of inferior and uncreative material has appeared which makes it increasingly difficult for genuinely talented and innovative acts to become established.
What accomplishments do you see yourself achieving in the next five to 10 years?
I’m not sure Bones in Butter will be fully established in the music world but I hope to have released at least a hundred new songs by then.