In Conversation with:
Baby Lasagna and Vesna Pisarović

Vesna Pisarović interviews Baby Lasagna? Yes, that only made sense. Vesna Pisarović represented Croatia at the 2002 Eurovision Song Contest. year with the song “Sasvim sikura” and placed at the excellent 11. place. That was the reason for such a star-studded interview, au
the fate is actually the fact that in the meantime Vesna achieved an enviable musical career, made a turn in music, expression, image and now enjoys the status of a star and performer whose concerts are sold out in the blink of an eye. Exactly one such star, a musician, was the only one that came to mind when we thought about an interview with Baby Lasagna. Baby Lasagna did something that only Let3 managed until now with their musical number last year, and somehow it seems to us that Baby Lasagna has taken it a step further. Facing a great music star built in communication and one that now shines with a young, fiery glow seems like the only logical move.

V: This is my first ever interview I’ve done in my life, so we’ll see what comes out of this. Do you want me to call you Marko or Baby Lasagna, please tell me.

BL: Marko.

VP: Are you sure?

BL: Yes, Marko, I would prefer it to be Marko.

VP: So… you lock yourself in your apartment, what do you actually dream about? What will be the first thing you do?

BL: I will watch the series “The Office” again. That’s my safe zone, so I think I’ll do it, that’s where I feel safe, when I’m on my bed. In silence, I turn off the internet on my mobile phone and watch “The Office” with Elizabeth.

VP: And tell me, when you watch ALL the episodes of “The Office”, what will life be like after that? Will it make sense?

BL: I’ve seen the series from the beginning eleven times so far. I’m having fun. This is some security trick, I would say.

VP: I remember that when I returned home from the Eurovision Song Contest, films were still being borrowed, I borrowed ten westerns. These are films that I just watch and relax and forget. I bought a burek in a bakery, a beer and that was it. Do you wish now that those 3 minutes were 10 minutes, so that something new would happen from it, or do you always find something new depending on a situation in the performance of that song?

BL: A very good question, a question like this can only come to me from a musician, it seems to me. Well, I was afraid at the beginning and I imagined that before the Eurovision Song Contest, I would get tired of this song, I would get tired of the one on Dora, but I never got tired of it.

I believe so, at least I imagine that after the Eurovision Song Contest I’ll have enough of it, but I still don’t feel it. And maybe that’s because I’m not the best singer, so I always try to sing as well as possible. And then I look at what my challenge is; I have to constantly focus on my belly, on performance, on going wild, and then I have a lot of going wild in my public performance. I have to concentrate’: “OK, now you’ve overdone it, now calm down because you have to take a breath…” and so on. I think a lot, so I’m not bored yet. When people ask me when the Eurovision Song Contest is, I have to admit that I really don’t know the exact date.

I’m just like a suitcase, I only know when we’re going on a journey.

VP: My experience is that everything is very professional, there are many rehearsals; rehearsals of cameras, make-up, lights, something different every day. Normally, I’m a pretty nervous person, I always have anxiety, but I didn’t have it for the first time at the Eurovision Song Contest. I really enjoyed those three minutes, everything was like a beautiful dream. I hope that will be your experience as well. You can do it. How do you deal with stage fright, do you “see” it, does it change its form, depending on the day, the situation?

BL: Sometimes it hits harder, sometimes less, but overall this is all new to me in the sense that it’s my first time in the role of a singer. I have been involved in music all my life, but never as a singer, and Dora is my first public performance as a singer. Well, this is something completely new in terms of stage fright. It is much bigger than before. I used to be able to hide behind the instrument, I knew that the attention, or at least much more of it, was on the frontman than on me. Now I’m the one who commands the audience’s attention. My nervousness shows itself by yawning.

VP: I understand you, I’m starting to feel sleepy, my eyes are watering. And yes, I agree, being a singer and having any instrument in front of you is a big difference. I often discuss this with my bands. And it’s really not the same, you have that microphone in front of you, but it’s really nothing. It is no protection, you are your own instrument and you are exposed.

BL: I am now more afraid of the concerts we arranged after the Eurovision Song Contest, than the Eurovision itself. Now I am in the role of frontman and I will perform songs for the first time in that role and for the first time I will communicate with the audience.

VP: I would advise you to try not to burden yourself. My mom once told me, and she was right: “Vesna, please, you’re good on stage, you’re just not for a conference, don’t talk.” I always remember that.

BL: I’m so glad you said that now. I completely agree. I knew about Rammstein until now, but Rammstein is not a band, it’s a theater. It has a huge production. So it’s easy for Till when he doesn’t say anything because everything around him is set alight and the audience is going crazy. At the end of the concert, he just says “Danke” and that’s it. And that’s where my whole little world falls apart, so it’s better to keep it simple.

VP:Aas for the style of your songs, music; I see you were inspired by some bands like Electric Cowboy. How do you create songs, how much do plugins play a role in creating a song, how important is it to be original or to use something that interests you and then interpret it in your own way? You are original in your own right, that’s why I’m interested.

BL: I think that people easily recognize copies, that they easily recognize fakes and that’s basically what the problem is when it comes to the question of inauthenticity. But if you make your own music, even though it comes from the heart, from the soul, it doesn’t matter if it sounds like something. We as listeners will simply know that it is sincere and original. Not only that it is sincere and that it is yours, but it came from the heart, not from some understanding that the song sounds good.

VP: I agree, but at the end of the day we all have a similar choice of information, and inspiration itself is again an original, individual thing. And tell me, the sound you see further, how do you see it, how do you see the stage, what kind of band will it be in your future concerts? How many backing tracks will there be, how many live performances will there be, how do you see it?

BL: Everything is still in a process of development and when I meet with the band, I see how we are actually talking about further developing that certain vision. Although there is little time left, there are always some deadlines that squeeze creativity, but they are very necessary.

I’m planning a drummer with me, if we’re talking about the formation, a bass guitar and a DJ at the same time, depending on the needs of the song. Given that, for example, “Rim Tim Tag Dim” is quite a rock moment on the album, but on the other hand, we also have EDM songs that don’t have guitars at all, they are more DJ-style. We also have a funky thing, and then depending on the song, we will rely more on backing tracks, that is, on matrices, and the more lively, funky thing, we will play it live a lot more. Everything I do is in the service of creating a good show, that people feel good, that we feel good, that we all have fun, and now, whether we play live or on matrix, it doesn’t matter to me.

Yes, especially in pop, as my singing teacher said, when you come on stage, you grab people by the chin and don’t let go until the end of the concert. That’s it. And which means you use, you know best, it depends on your aesthetics, and what you listen to and like.

VP: Tell me, regarding life outside, could you imagine that if something interesting happens during this period, because you don’t know, we always make plans, but life is there to spoil or change those plans, could you live outside ?

BL: Well, most probably no, in the sense that I know that it would be difficult for me, it would affect my state of mind. At least I imagine that it would, but the only way I could leave is if I knew that I would be back in a short time. It would be a sort of mass for me, like a harbor where I would constantly anchor myself when I was having a hard time. I was just talking to Elizabeth about what would happen if we had to move away and it is difficult to do, almost impossible. But if it was a really great opportunity, we could go for a year or two, but that is also a stretch.

This character from my poem is, let’s say, forced to leave due to life circumstances. And I would rather go for fun, adventure. He leaves with a heavy heart, he leaves because he has to. There is a difference.

VP: How much do you want to be informed, how much do you get informed and how much do you protect yourself from it? To what extent do you think you can change something?

BL: Well, I don’t consciously or unconsciously protect myself, I just don’t consume that information. Not even for any specific reason, like I want to preserve myself or I don’t know, to remain apolitical. But purely because I’ve had enough, I’m so lost in it that, for example, when I read a newspaper article, I don’t know who the people are, who they are and what kind of affairs they are involved in, it’s like reading Japanese.

I don’t run away from politics, but I find it boring. But I understand both people’s arguments and my own brain’s arguments when they tell me that maybe I should get informed because I still partially bear the responsibility as a citizen of the state. So, I don’t know, I’m often torn between those two extremes: being totally  apolitical and that voice telling me that I should get informed to know what’s going on. But in this current situation I am totally uninformed, unfortunately.

VP: Your song is political, it talks about migration.

BL: This situation is not new, it is not something from today, nor from yesterday. There has always been migration and people who will leave from different situations, mostly political and economic. So I absolutely agree with you. She is political. I paid more attention to the feeling caused by the reaction of political activities than to the political activities themselves. Honestly, I didn’t say anything clever in the song, I just told a sad story.

VP: How are you with English?

BL: I studied in English and I passed an exam at the British Embassy to qualify for a higher level of English. So yeah, I’m good.

VP: Because somehow it seems to me that many people sing in English, but hardly anyone manages to communicate in English, because I think it is, and I notice it now from my phonetic and singing side, you have a very good English pronunciation, and that is definitely your advantage.

BL: Vivi Blogs, the biggest Eurovision community, told me that you can’t tell where I’m from by pronunciation; that I could be from Ireland, America, London…

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VP: A little about fashion. For me, fashion is Scandinavian fashion. And for you?

BL: What Elizabeth tells me to wear. I don’t know what “Scandinavian fashion” means. It’s great for me to watch a fashion show, I’m fascinated by how fashion expresses itself.

VP: How do you deal with these public appearances, which are now intensified? Do you have any excuse for saying: “I’m on Mars today, I can’t come” or do you really go according to the schedule as you are called?

BL: Unfortunately, I don’t have time for everything, so I have to turn people down. Sometimes, but also when I say reject people, I mean media appearances. I try to do as much as I can. But sometimes people are terribly busy and then they can’t do anything but simply say – no. There were also unpleasant experiences, various persuasions, through acquaintances in the family and some suspicious roundabout approaches. But as for people on the street and how they react when they see me, that’s OK with me.

VP: Tell me: what is love for you? Do you see love as a kind of truth between two people who look at the world with different eyes, but then with selflessness and with the desire that this truth of two people lasts for a long time? How you look at it, how important is it and is love the truth in everything? And how important is it to you?

BL: I was talking to a friend about this, and we have different opinions. He said there are naive and stupid as two brothers. He mostly said how bad it is to be naive. And basically I think being naive is to be good. And I think that love is a unique truth. In the sense that love for me is selfless and not only between two people in a romantic way, but any kind of love: towards strangers, towards the enemy. And that you should always be at your service, be naive. Love is naive and the ultimate value for me. Love is not deliberate and dangerous.

VP: You said it very nicely. In the end; people are killed and wars are waged because of love. And love is really the greatest truth. May love guide you and protect you. I wish you good luck and just think – simple. And the universe will already be at your service.

Photos: MARKO SUVIĆ
Creative leadership: FILIP KOLUDROVIĆ
Fashion: ANA NIKAČEVIĆ
Make-up: SAŠA JOKOVIĆ
Hair: ANTE PAŽANIN
Assistant stylist: IGOR MAKOVIĆ