DUSAN KRANJC TO 2CELLOSBRASIL ABOUT SHUGO’S FOSSY (ENG)
1) How you got this idea to create this band in 2011? I mean, how this idea to mix jazz, pop, rock and traditional music started? The members are from different genres?
The band started as a project by our bass player Boris Boskovic who lives in Munich and apparently has some extra time to write weird songs. No really, it is a bunch of material that he planned to record for a long time and it actualized with help from the rest of the band and their ideas. We all come from different genres, yes. That helped to create a unique fusion sound.
2) Why the choice from this name for the band ?
Shugo is an Istrian term for a meal. It is a sauce with meat and you just put a lot of stuff in it and cook it so it kind of represents our music J. Foosy is another term. It represents a fat… cat I think.
3) As I read about on http://www.shugos-foosy.com/, the band started in 2011, next to 2CELLOS. Which one came first? Until this time, the band stoped or you continued this project?
The plan to do it happened long before however it was very hard to get all the band members at the same place and at the same time but we somehow did it. It was all recorded on the spot with very few rehearsals.
4) What are the main influences of Shugo’s Foosy?
I don’t know. I think it would be Balkan folk music with a little bit of jazz and… Africa. If that makes any sense. The first song on the album sounds a little bit like “Zawinul Syndicate goes Balkan” instead of African… And it is my favorite track. There are quite a few tracks that deviate into Latin music which we all like. So I guess all of us had different influences. There is also a slow rock track. Everybody had their own input.
5) Besides you (Dusan) the other members of Shugo’s Foosy have parallel projects?
Yes, most of them play. Alen, our guitar player is on tour with a famous Croatian pop star, Leon (keyboards) does regular jazz gigs and our bass player Boris plays and teaches in Germany.
6) I’d like to know more about Grains Of Sand, the first album of the band : How was creation process of this album ? Are authorial songs?
Yes, all songs were written by the band.
We rented an empty wooden house in some Croatian village in the woods for a few days so we could just let go of our daily lives. That is how we got the inspiration to improvise.
The creation process was really fast. The first song “So Sixy” is actually the first take. So is the ballad “VTA”. We never played it before. We tried to record it again a few times but we couldn’t get the feel right so we just left it as it was on the first try. Most of the tracks I do are first takes. After I play three times, I burn out and all of the best things are on the first recording. Most of the album was done like that. The tune “Heita” is probably 2nd or the 3rd take and we only had the theme melody without ever practicing the song. That is the magic of jazz. Some things are better left unorganized. If the musicians are good you go with the flow and see what happens. One gives the idea to the other and you build on that.
7) Do you have plans to launch soon a video from a single?
We tried but it actually takes away from the energy of the song. It is hard to do a video of an improvised song because it was live only once. You can’t really repeat the same thing and it looks weird. We will probably record live shows rather than “acting” in the video.
8) (To Dusan) Do you have plan to tour with Shugo’s Foosy? How you plan to carry this two works?
We can’t do long tours now. We will probably have a few shows in Germany soon. Some jazz festivals in Europe are also interested to have us, some electronic, dub and reggae festivals too… This music can easily blend anywhere.
We had requests by “IN CONCERT SMOOTH JAZZ MAGAZINE” to feature us also.
It is a project that can work without long rehearsals and without taking time from our busy schedule.
Listen “So Sixy” the new single of the band on: HERE
The first album “Grains of Sand” is available on Amazon: HERE
