Serbian producer Vladimir Krkljush making waves in reggae
Published:Wednesday | March 23, 2022 | 12:08 AMSade Gardner/Staff Reporter
Everything is sound for Serbian producer Vladimir Krkljush. He was making melodies from pots and furniture as a toddler and was enrolled in music school at age five. It was during these early years that he first heard reggae music.
“Back then, our radio stations would normally play all the new music that comes out, so it was normal to hear new songs of Jimmy Cliff, Peter Tosh, Black Uhuru and ASWAD with other new material, and I liked it very much,” Krkljush, 42, told The Gleaner. “It wasn’t actually until around 1997 that I got ‘sucked’ in reggae. What really fascinated me was the way how everything was so nicely arranged. It’s like a wonderful, colourful painting where every colour has its place. So many little details, so much emotion that you can hear, one word, godly music.”
By the following year, he was a multi-instrumentalist who played in different bands. But his childhood dream of being in the music industry unfolded as the country grappled with civil unrest.
“The ‘90s here in Belgrade looked almost the same as Jamaica during that political violence era in the ‘70s, except much more drugs were involved,” he shared. “There were lots of weapons on the street, lots of ridiculous crime, and police were beating first then asking questions afterwards. Lots of people died, and lots of people fled north into Austria and Germany. I was here the whole time; never had anywhere to go nor the money to go. I also never wanted to do the wrong thing.”
And so, as the chaos and uncertainty ensued around him, he invested in music software and immersed himself in music production.
“When I was feeling down, feeling oppressed, Jamaican music came to me, told me that I’m not alone, gave me strength, and now it’s time for me to give back as much as I can.”
He described his connection with Jamaican artistes as one that came through the beautiful world of manifestation. He’s the instrumentalist behind The Carey James’ 2019 reggae number Uptown Tenement Yard and also worked as a mixing engineer and musician on Carey’s subsequent Save Me mixtape.
“Carey is a very talented and conscious artiste,” Krkljush said. “He is doing his thing from the bottom of his heart, just like me, and you can definitely feel it while listening to his music.”
He’s also done a great deal of work with Chiney KiKi, from Your Love with Torch five years ago to her multi-genre Emotions EP released in 2020. He also produced the RnB-rock track Do You and the electric-reggae song Frenemy on her 2021 Kushites collaborative EP with Evie Pukupoo.
“I really enjoyed working on it. It was something a bit different, and getting to know Evie was something special.”
Through Chiney KiKi, he met singer Phil Watkis with whom he co-produced the one-drop reggae love song Never Search, released last month.
“He is also one of the people with whom I have [a] perfect mutual understanding. We brainstorm, we talk a lot. You see, when you are working together with someone to make something wonderful, there can’t be vanity, all the cards need to be on the table, none hidden. We have some nice and wonderful things for the future.”
Yet to come to Jamaica, Krkljush aspires to record an album here with various Jamaican artistes and musicians, the sales from which he wants to donate to a children’s health fund. Until then, he is focused on completing an album with his roots-reggae band, Soulcraft, and other projects.
Reflecting on his music career, which started more than two decades ago, he said his highlight “is that I managed, somehow, to reach Jamaica with my music from the faraway land of Serbia. But I guess it was inevitable, and it just shows that all things are possible.”