Croatia

The making of the Anna Aliena music video “Sanjam”

Finally it’s out now! It was a long way and lots of work because I had to visit plenty of places to shoot my brandnew music video “Sanjam (Snovi lete)“. You don’t know what these words mean? Well, once again it’s Croatian saying “I dream (Dreams fly)“.

This slow ballad captures a love which has not fulfilled. A bride is walking through an empty church. No bridegroom will wait for her at the altar. This was the hardest part in the making of the video. At the end of February we suffered from minus degrees in Germany and inside the church it wasn’t much warmer. So I was freezing like hell in my bridal dress!

After the church scene I got a terrible cough which lasted for more than one week. How I hate to stay in bed during the day, but that’s what happened to me. My “wedding“ made me sick!

Credits: Anna Aliena / Go!Diva Records

Plitvice in the music video “Sanjam“

Luckily I had completely recovered when I flew back to Croatia in the middle of March. Do you remember my very special incident at the Lakes of Plitvice? It’s actually not the reason why I returned to the breath-taking national park which was still covered with snow.

Room 228 is in the past – this time I was lodged in a real luxury chamber at the picturesque hotel village Ethno Houses Plitvica Selo. If you ever travel to Plitvice, you should stay there: It perfectly fits the natural surroundings because it’s built like a traditional village of the Lika region.

My wooden room looked like a honeymoon spot. It was not only cosy, I also had a huge jacuzzi in my bathroom. I felt happy and sad at the same time – how I would have loved to share that room with someone. Somebody to love … Nevertheless, Plitvica Selo inspired me to film some new scenes of the „Sanjam“ music video – the lonely bride in the matrimonial bed.

The next day I went for a walk at the lakes of Plitvice where my camera caught all the tremendous waterfall scenes including a rainbow above a deep cascade. Spring hadn’t started yet, not even in Croatia. A guy from the hotel told me that the snow in front of the reception had been three metres high by the end of February!

Credits: Anna Aliena / Go!Diva Records

The waves of the rough Adriatic Sea

I continued my journey to the rough Adriatic Sea. Bura and yugo were raging at the beaches of Opatija and Krk island. The sun tried hard to break through the thick clouds, sometimes successfully. The Baltic Sea wouldn’t be much different in autumn and now waves crashed against the concrete beaches of the old Austro-Hungarian seaside resort. They inspired me to catch even more scenes for the music video since yearning can be just as violent …

Credits: Anna Aliena / Go!Diva Records

I left Opatija to see a nice German-Croatian couple on the island. We drove around and ended up in Baška. In June 2016 I was hiking in the mountains next to the holiday spot which is always overcrowded with tourists during high season.

Last month I witnessed the most powerful sea storm I’ve ever experienced on my journeys to Croatia. While I was leaning on a wall to film the waves of Baška, a cat jumped up to kiss my face and cuddle before it suddenly vanished.

Credits: Anna Aliena / Go!Diva Records

The tunnel of dreams is real

If you wonder about the tunnel in the video, I must admit that it’s not in my head, but in Zagreb. Grič tunnel was a bunker in World War II and now it’s often used for art exhibitions and festivals. During the most beautiful European Christmas market visitors can find creative decorations inside the tunnel.

The rest of the music video was made in my flat in Berlin. How do you like it? Please have a look at it on my YouTube channel and let me know your honest opinion if you feel like it!

Video-making in Croatia – finally!

I’m gonna fly away. Yes, finally! One whole year I had to wait for my return to Croatia to make the “Tvoje Plave Oči“ video on some islands in the Adriatic sea. While writing this, I’m sitting on a train, listening to Croatian music.

I’m still thinking of the muse who turned me into this sentimental crooner. In secret I was even hoping to see the person again, but apparently destiny has had different plans in store. To be honest, I cried a little although I have a couple of reasons to be happy now: crystal sea, clear blue sky, my camera, a beautiful dress and three new versions of “Tvoje Plave Oči“ (the snippets are available at my Soundcloud).

The original version started in German and in the first chorus I switched to Croatian as my voice teacher was unable to translate the lyrics of the first verse. Last autumn my Croatian had already been good enough to be able to add the lyrics I actually wanted:

Pjevali su priće o ljubavi na moru
Romantične pjesme bude jaku čežnju
Onda počelo je putovanje
Moje sunce bio si ti
Moja radost, moja muza
koju tuga će ljubiti

No idea what these words mean? Google Translater may surely help you! 😉 After all this dull waiting I’m really looking forward to producing the video though there will be no blue eyes in it. But who knows … Life if full of surprises!

Suzi From Josip Hatze: New Music Video

My first classical music video is out now! “Suzi”, the last song from my forthcoming Serenada EP, was written by the Croatian composer Josip Hatze (1879 – 1959). It’s a song dedicated to a tear based on the lyrics from Milan Begovic. Last summer I started to discover Croatian language and music for very personal reasons. These personal reasons do not count any more and I’m really grateful to have widened my cultural horizon. Soon I will sing more repertoire from Croatia. I’ve also been planning concerts with the brilliant pianist Zeljko Vlahovic, my dear friend from Zagreb.

“Suzi” is the saddest song from the record, the ending of a story about unrequited love. For that reason I also made a gloomy video in black and white. Here’s the text for those who understand Croatian:

Tiho suzu oko spušta.
Gorka suza k’zemlji pada.
Oh, padaj, padaj, gorka suzo,
Oj, meleme moga jada!
Što bih da mi tebe nije?
Ja bih jadan brzo sveo.
Oh, padaj suzo, žali nade,
Žali blago nesuđeno!

“The Muse“ press photos in the making

During the production of a new record I always wonder how I should present myself on the cover. On Swinging Berlin I used to be a pink object of art who is hardly recognizable as the person behind the mask. In 2014 I had already been aware of the fact that my appearance would change on the following EP. But in which way? Honestly, I had no idea!

If you read my previous articles, you may remember that I suffered from a lack of inspiration until summer. In addition, parts of my equipment got broken without my fault and it took several weeks to get them back from the repair service. A couple of days later I went on a holiday in Croatia as you know from the article “The Story Behind ‘Tvoje Plave Oči’“.

When I took a series of sunset pictures at the beach of Starigrad-Paklenica, I wouldn’t visualize how they might look on the cover or on the press photos for my new EP The Muse. I was merely thinking of the muse who triggered off the fire to complete my record!

Back in Berlin, I wrote the songs “Deine Blauen Augen“ / “Tvoje Plave Oči“ and “I’m Gonna Fly Away“. Finally I realized that my artwork for The Muse should be connected with Croatia where my creativity had flourished more than I could ever have dreamed of.

So I contacted the photographer Christina Katz who had also taken my press photos for Alien Pop in 2013. In the beginning of July we met for a photo shooting at her studio in Berlin. In comparison with my former productions, I wore very light and natural make-up while posing in front of Christina’s green screen. Of course I had already chosen a couple of holiday pictures for the background. During the session I imagined how I would smile at the muse if he were standing next to the photographer. Never again will I see him in this life, but the simple thought of looking at each other evoked a sparkle in my eyes.

After the photo shooting I selected the best pictures for a photomontage. Eventually Christina took me back to my most romantic sunsets of this year. If you buy The Muse on CD, you will also be able to enjoy them in the booklet.

The Story Behind “Tvoje Plave Oči“

… is a story about unfulfilled longing and two people who liked each other too much when romance was forbidden. It would be unfair to tell you who this person was and under which circumstances we got in contact. We accidentally met during my summer holiday in Croatia. He also loved singing.

In the evening before my departure he asked me to sing a duet. He had chosen “My Way“ from Frank Sinatra. Since we were not allowed to be together, the union of our voices turned out to be the highest level of togetherness we could ever experience. So we kept on singing. In our songs we finally touched very gently and tenderly. We looked at each other intensely. He had such a charming smile, sensual lips and sparkling blue eyes. How much did I want to hug and kiss him!

When the music was over, we withdrew to our hotel rooms at the Lakes of Plitvice. I will never forget my room number 228. For a little while I was waiting for him to knock at my door. In fact, he wanted to know my room number before we wished each other goodnight. In the same breath he had revealed to me that he was lodged in number 202 …

At first I was wandering up and down the room, still hoping to see him again. A couple of minutes later I was almost determined to steal into his room and show him all the things my voice had merely insinuated. However, my courage had left me before I was able to start. Thus, I tried to sleep in vain. As far as I remember, I was crying a little. The pain of parting weighed heavily on my heart.

Suddenly I received a very clear idea of a melody and the original German version of the song: “Deine Blauen Augen“ (“Your Blue Eyes“). In June I had a very poor knowledge of Croatian. “Hvala“ (thank you), “molim“ (please), “Dobro jutro“ (Good morning), “Dobar dan“ (Good afternoon) and “Dobra večer“ (Good evening) were the only things I could say in that language. I took my diary and a pen to scribble the lyrics while singing very low volume. My voice was mixed with tears anyway … Eventually I was calmed down by my own songwriting and fell asleep.

A couple of hours later I returned to Berlin. It was cold and raining. So I locked myself in my cellar to arrange the song which was given to me in beautiful Croatia. After all I felt sad and creative at the same time. My vocal coach Snezana Nena Brzakovic translated my German lyrics. As she is from Serbia, I asked my Croatian fan Nina Čović to proofread the text. Nina changed a couple of words, then I went to the studio and recorded the track at the beginning of July.

Even though my heart suffered from a little scratch, I’m grateful now. “Tvoje Plave Oči“ has brought me lots of new fans and a loving memory. In addition, the translation has motivated me to learn Croatian. It’s a difficult language, but I like the sound. I also intend to return to Croatia to make a music video for the song. When I’m back, I would like to express myself properly in Croatian …