In the build-up to the first national final of the season, Skopje Fest, escXtra.com spoke to one of the contestants: Goran Naumovski! Goran will participate together with Sanja Kerkez and their song Mig Bez Tebe. Read what he had to say below!
X: Hey Goran and Sanja! First of all, thank you for taking the time to speak to us! How are you, such a short time before Skopje Fest?
Goran Naumovski: Thank you very much for your support and the interest in our upcoming festival “Skopje Fest”. We are really excited to perform our song, just few more days before the festival, and really happy that we got the chance to collaborate together and give life to our song “A moment without you” (Mig bez tebe).
X: Could you introduce yourselves to us?
G: Sanja Kerkez is a lead roles soprano soloist at National Theatre in Belgrade, a real opera diva with numerous roles in her repertoire. Over the years she won numerous awards by performing in Serbia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Greece, Norway, Japan and France.
I am a pop singer and my singing career started in 1998 when I released my first single. In 2001 me, Ana Mickovska and Vladimir Dojchinovski formed the R’N’C Band, released few singles, won some prizes as a band and most of the time we were performing live gigs, concerts, festivals, TV shows… The band still exists and we still perform together. In the meantime I took part as a solo performer on several festivals in Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, our national festivals “Makfest”, Ohrid Fest” and “Skopje Fest”… In 2009, 2010 and 2014, I got the chance to collaborate with the Macedonian Opera and Ballet, and took the role of a music producer and performer on their traditional concert “Vasilica”.
X: Who are your musical idols?
G: We cannot really say that we have music idols, we got a lot of musicians/singers that we admire for their talent and work.
X: The random song choice from YouTube for you: What can you tell us about the song Mozev?
G: “Mozev” (I could) it’s a song that I performed on the latest Makfest festival, another renowned pop festival in Macedonia. It was my first collaboration with Andrijana Janevska, our famous singer, songwriter and a producer, and I was really happy to finally record her song because I’ve always liked the songs she wrote for herself, the vocal lines and the harmonies in the arrangements. The song is a ballad that tells a story about a love that ended, the regret of ending it and all the things we could’ve done if we stayed together.
Actually, my performance on Makfest this year, brought up the idea of a song , a pop and opera mix, that can be performed on Skopje Fest. Andrijana Janevska, again as a complete author of the song, created “Mig bez tebe” for me and Sanja Kerkez.
X: Why do you want to go to Eurovision?
G: At the time when I had the demo version of “Mig bez tebe” I wasn’t even aware that the winner of Skopje Fest will represent Macedonia on the upcoming Eurovision, I was just glad to have a new song that I really like. If I get the chance to represent my country I would be really happy and honoured.
X: How did you and Sanja Kerkez start working together?
G: The song required a really good opera soprano, someone who can bring the emotions and the dramatics on the stage. I had the chance to attend several operas in Skopje and Belgrade with Sanja Kerkez as the lead role, and I was amazed by her voice, beauty and the stage presence that this diva had while performing. Both Andrijana and myself agreed that she would be perfect for this song, and we were really lucky that she was available during the period of Skopje Fest. I’m enjoying working with her and I’m really happy that I got the opportunity to record the song and share the stage with her on the 12th of November.
X: What can we expect from your song Mig Bez Tebe?
G: Since we really enjoy working together, I’m sure that we’re going to have a really good performance, you can expect a song filled with emotions, a really interesting and very original mix of pop and opera song , as the author of the song, Andrijana Janevska would say, a real mini pop symphony ! 😉
X: Is Eurovision an annual event to watch for you? Are you a Eurovision fan?
G: I always liked Eurovision and the concept of different countries competing with music. In the past Eurovision was a family gathering to watch it together and guess who is going to win. 🙂 I am a still fan of Eurovision, and if I am available during the night of Eurovision I usually gather with friends and watch it together. I had the chance to attend it live only once, when Eurovision was held in Belgrade, and I can say it was a really great experience for me.
X: Do you have an all-time favourite Eurovision song?
G: There are lots of songs that impressed me in this competition. I remember the interesting vocal of Amina performing “Le dernier qui a parlé”, the legendary “Hold Me Now” by Johnny Logan, “Where Are You” by Imaani, “Deli” by Mor Ve Otesi, “Molitva” by Marija Serifovic, “Crno I Belo” by Kaliopi, “Everything” by Anna Vissi, “No One” by Maja Keuc and many many more….
X: Finally, do you have a message for the readers of escXtra.com?
G: Try to live your dreams and never give up no matter how hard it seems! Life can sometimes be tricky, but love and the right people next to us can make our lives beautiful. I would also like to say a big thanks to the escXtra.com team and all of your readers for your support!
