OTHERS ABOUT ZRINKO

SINIŠA ŠKARICA

ZRINKO TUTIĆ OR A CONSTANT STRIVING FOR PERFECT VERSATILITY

 

Zrinko Tutić

or the Perennial Aspiration

for Perfect Versatility

 

 

Zrinko Tutić, described by someone as the "great wizard of the Croatian entertainment scene," happily takes on the role of "author of general practice." Indeed, he is like a Pisces (born in Banja Luka on March 2nd) who, much like many in that sign, could not resist the allure of pop glitter and adventure. However, true to his Pisces nature, he initially started swimming confidently in the calm waters of a classical education: learning piano and music theory at the age of six, completing a music school. Here, the trail somewhat fades.

 

 

Unlike characters in Karl May's novels or Blueberry comics who confuse potential trackers – biographers and music critics – by retracing their steps and repeating them in various directions, Zrinko's path is not that straightforward. It's a tactic often employed by many pop figures. His tracks are not just those of a singer or composer, a pop poet or producer, a manager or an entertainment professional. In his case, you won't find a simple breadcrumb trail in the enchanting forest of showbiz that would quickly reveal the starting point or final destination. Zrinko is neither a "star" nor someone who has chosen to stand in her shadow, where composers or producers usually settle or perhaps are chosen. Simply stepping onto the "hot" entertainment scene of Zagreb, he followed his instincts and influences (The Beatles, Dylan and Donovan, Western coast singer-songwriters, Italian and French singer-songwriters, Novković, Dedić, Kabiljo and Kalogjera), shaping his personal life and musical worldview over the past thirty years.

 

 

From the Selection and the first published poems ("Stari kovači" and "Magle," 1973 for Jugoton), the first compositions for others (Ksenija Erker, "Doći će dan" and "Reci mi istinu"), compositions for children (from 1977 to 1980, over a hundred songs, work crowned by the TV musical "Bajka o maslačku" by Sunčana Škrinjarić, the TV series "Marko Marulić"), Zrinko, in search of his personal expression as a pop storyteller, felt capable of the challenging role of a singer-songwriter, appearing in 1981 at the Zagreb Festival with the outstanding "Doris." This marked the beginning of a series of four solo albums, culminating in the year 1985. It was a sign of the authorial maturity of this increasingly sought-after composer and lyricist who, above all, assists his friends and "pop svengalis" Đorđe Novković and Rajko Dujmić, in writing for big stage names like Mišo, Novi fosili, Neda, and Srebrna krila.

 

 

At the same time, participating in almost all domestic music festivals, winning numerous awards, and when he emerged on the international stage in 1986 with "Željo moja," performed by Doris Dragović, where he achieved notable success in Bergen, Norway, Zrinko decided that the time had come to take complete control over his work.

The Croatian discography has been marked in recent years by around thirty high-selling albums and nearly 2 million copies bearing the signature of Zrinko Tutić – the producer. Artists such as Doris, Bebek, Tajči, Massimo, Severina, and Maja Blagdan are proof that he has acquired the Midas touch in the music industry: almost everything he has touched has turned into gold. Success stories from about twenty titles released abroad, particularly in Northern European countries like the Benelux, Scandinavia, and Germany, where songs such as "Ti nemaš snage" performed by the Eurovision winner Sandra Kim from Bergen and "How Are You Now" with the Dutch star Corry Konings notably boosted the Tutić family's finances.

 

 

"Moja domovina" is certainly a distinct story from our turbulent times, a tale of 150 voices and musicians, an impressive number of nearly all that the Croatian pop scene could offer, united like never before around these precious Tutić, Dujmić, and Bratoš miniatures. Together, they infused it with the power of a kind of musical elixir, repeated doses of which we almost reflexively awaited and absorbed in those initial months of war, in the trenches, in the shelters, the thirst became more intense as the thunder of fierce weapons and the wailing of ominous sirens became more real and closer. "Moja domovina" has become more than a hymnic patriotic song, inseparably linking suffering and pride, pain and strength, losses and love, and ultimately Death and Life. It is the final leitmotif of the first year of the war whirlpool and the recognition attained for the Croatian cause.

 

 

Another, cinematic story of the "Croatian cause", Žmegač and Terešak's "Zlatne godine", a kind of "hommage" to Spring, posed a special challenge to the ambitious Tutić. After all, pop composers do not receive every day an offer to be credited as the authors of the music for a film or "original soundtrack", and in return, the "Zlatne godine" (Golden years) received, of course, the eponymous "golden" hit, heralding another "Golden" – Stipišić Gibonni. Following that, there were "Putovanje tamnom polutkom" (Golden Arena), "Nausikaja", "Kad mrtvi zapjevaju" (Golden Arena) and "Garcia", as well as the musical identity of HRT in 1993 and 1998.

 

 

Today, Tutić is the father of his numerous musical family. Raised in a patriarchal manner, perhaps it could not have been otherwise. A workaholic and the "godfather of pop" (or vice versa), a man sought after, asked, and trusted, loud and straightforward, handsome and ever-present, accommodating and articulate, convincing and effective. This is simultaneously the best recommendation and compliment to his constant endeavour for perfect versatility!

 

 

"The great wizard of the Croatian music scene", "author of universal practice", "godfather of pop music" or "Midas of discography"? Perhaps this choice, at least in part, will help you find your answer.

 

 

Siniša Škarica