Legendary guitarist, author and singer Nikola Čuturilo Čutura recorded, together with pianist Ivan Aleksijević Pancevec, an album called "10 na 3, 4", which will be released by the production company Long Play during autumn or winter on vinyl, CD and digital platforms. As an announcement single and music video, Čutura presents a new version of the song that he once composed as a member of Riblja Chorba, "Crvena su gudmag priznuta", originally recorded on their album "Ujed za dušu" (1987).
Čutura's new album "10 na 3, 4" represents a specific breakthrough in his fruitful career. Along with one new song, "Django", a tribute to the great Django Reinhart, there are nine already known tracks in new arrangements. Čutura, in various periods, wrote them for other performers, then for the needs of series or he recorded them himself, but they were not included on his "regular" albums. Now they are released in a stripped down, intimate version - just voice, piano and guitar.
In addition to the mentioned, announced single, the songs originally written for the YU group ("In vain") and Dejan Cukić ("Priča o ljubavi") have been given a new look. There are also tracks written in memory of the great Laza Ristovski ("Tiho") and Nikola's late sister Marina ("Maro, Maro"), which were originally interpreted by opera singer Vukašin Savić. Themes created for the popular television series "Ulica lipa" ("Your man") and "Sva ta ravnica", the song "Neko bi zvezde skinuo" which was originally sung by Ogi Radivojević, were also given intimate versions. "Neko kao ja" in its original version was on Čutura's compilation of the same name, and "Dobar dan" was released as a single.
This, as Čutura calls it, chamber album was recorded in winter in Pancevo, in the studio of the famous jazz drummer Dušan Duca Ivanišević. Explaining the name "10 on 3, 4", Čuturilo says: "It's very simple. There are 10 tracks and we got ready to play them 'on 3, 4'. There is no recording, they were played and sung 'from the booze', in a 'term and a half', in seven, eight hours. We were just chasing an adequate, good 'take'. It is the fastest recorded album in my life. Those songs deserved a new, better life. In any case, they sound different".
The red buttons are pressed, Čutura and Pačevac, photo: cover art
Čuturilo adds that a video was recorded for all the songs. As with most of his earlier releases, the producer is Vlada Negovanović. The sound master is Danijel Vuković. Both the vinyl and CD editions of the album have original photos of the famous Branislav Brajan Rašić, the cover designer is Dejan Matekalo. The executive producer of the album is Zoran Vulović.
The selection of the track "Red buttons are pressed" is particularly interesting because Chorba never performed it live, and later neither did Čutura with his band.
"The song is equally, if not twice, more current than it was when it was written 40 years ago. At that time, I think it was unofficially banned for broadcast," Nikola remembers and reveals information unknown even to many passionate "soup lovers". Bora and he initially wrote "red buttons" for Dušan Prelević. At the beginning, Prele was delighted with the song, but in the end, it still ended up on Chorba's album.
The release of the new album will be accompanied by the publication of the first collection of texts by Nikola Čuturilo in the form of a book, entitled "From last to first".
"There will be about 100 of my texts arranged chronologically - from the last song, from the album '10 na 3, 4' to the first one that was published. There will also be a few unpublished ones, as a surprise".
One interesting thing, just about the lyrics, is related to the album itself.
"There are very often song lyrics on the covers, but I've avoided that now. They will certainly be listened to, because in this, camera form, it reaches the ears first. Instead, for each song, I wrote a short story that implies how and why that track was created, some interesting event around that song... Then I didn't hate it, so for the book, in addition to the 10 stories that will go, I did another 20 for the selection of important songs that I wrote," Čutura concluded.
