MY HOMELAND

ZRINKO TUTIĆ AND RAJKO DUJMIĆ

TO CREATE SOMETHING THAT WILL LAST FOREVER

Although born in a country ravaged by war, out of defiance and resistance, today it is sung even in happy circumstances – it accompanies the celebration of the greatest sports achievements. The authors of this song are some of the most renowned composers in this region, Zrinko Tutić and Rajko Dujmić.

I was driving back from the sea towards Zagreb, literally alone on the road in the car. I could hear planes, tanks in the distance, and the whole situation somehow painfully affected me. What could I do? What I know best, write a song, convey all those emotions into music and gift it to the people. I wrote the song after a few days, but something was missing, so I called Rajko Dujmić. With Rajko, I have written so many songs that we understand each other perfectly and complement each other. After all, he played all my singer-songwriter songs. We also invited Arsen Dedić, who intervened in one part, but did not want any credit attributed to him. Our motivation was not driven by the idea that it would become the unofficial anthem today. Over a hundred people participated in it, but the emotions it evoked are still something that gives me goosebumps. Its greatest value lies in the fact that new generations are singing it today, said music and lyrics co-author Zrinko Tutić.

Recording a song involving over a hundred people in a war-torn country was a significant and dangerous endeavour, and all participants shared the same desire and goal, to create something that would last for eternity. Producer Vladimir Mihaljek Miha conceived the Croatian Band Aid inspired by similar global projects at the time. The green light for recording the song was given by the then editors of Croatia Records, Siniša Škarica and Vojno Kundić.

Hrvoje Hegedeušić and Želimir Babogredac were the recordest, and their task was to ensure perfection from a technical standpoint.

The memory of creating the song "Moja domovina" evokes pride in each of us, and fortunately, we had a visionary like Zrinko. It was a wave of emotions; the opening bars of the song awoke the strength and will that things would get better. Everything that was accomplished is deserving of great recognition and applause.

The song "Moja domovina" is a special piece created with a large number of performers, meticulously crafted, richly arranged, and produced. It was recorded at the edge of technical possibilities, using a 24-channel technique with a significant number of performers. After ten days of mixing and production, when we heard it, especially when we saw the music video, we were very proud. Rajko Dujmić cried tears of joy. We felt that it was the voice of all people from Croatia. The song received a large number of airplays and became a part of our everyday life. "Moja domovina" entered homes and hearts of everyone, and interestingly, even the new generations accepted it in the same way, as explained by Želimir Babogredac.

Band Aid gathered a large number of performers, over 150 of them, from different generations and energies, with various life and musical perspectives. Artists like Mišo Kovač, Oliver Dragojević, Mladen Bodalec, Zvonko Špišić, Dino Dvornik, Dalibor Brun, Doris Dragović, Jasna Zlokić, Severina, Jasmin Stavros, Sanja Doležal, Danijela Martinović, Krunoslav Kićo Slabinac, Matko Jelavić, Meri Cetinić, Ljupka Dimitrovska, Ivica Šerfezi, Stanko Šarić, Zdenka Vučković, Josipa Lisac, Tereza Kesovija, Jura Stublić, Zorica Kondža, Drago Mlinarec, Boris Novković, Vlado Kalember, Zdravko Škender, Emilija Kokić, Ljiljana Nikolovska, Davor Gobac, Aki Rahimovski, Ivo Robić, Arsen Dedić, Gabi Novak, and many other great singers, proudly contributed to creating a timeless song.

The music video was filmed in a studio on Šubićeva Street, edited at the Zagreb Film building in Nova Ves, and under air raid alert at HRT, the edited video was delivered by Rajko Dujmić, to the legendary editor Miroslav Lilić, who instantly decided that the video premiere would be featured on the central news programme.

"Moja domovina" is a magnificent song about nobility and unity in good and bad times. It exudes pure joy, a love song to the land we all cherish, offering solace in the hardest times and admiration in our happiest moments.