Appearances by this Serbian 4 piece are as rare as Hens Teeth, so when I discovered that they were going to be playing at this years Euroblast, I quickly contacted David Maxim Micic to arrange an interview with them. So, direct and still sweaty from the stage at Essigfabrik I had my own private 10 minute conference with the Potatoes. It was Tubular.
CP: Can I start by saying that I a huge fan and your performance tonight was a dream come true for me in so many ways many ways.
David Maxim Micic (guitar): Thank You so much. It was such a great joy for us performing at Euroblast. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
CP: How do you guys go about writing the music?
Milan Jejina (drums): David writes it all! Haha. No seriously he does.
DMM: I do write all of the music, but they are doing their own EP without me, just the 3 of them.
Aleksandra Djelmas (vocals): Me and David have jam sessions just him and myself and then he will go away and turns it into songs. Then I can get involved again writing the lyrics.
CP: I’m very interested in how you approach writing the lyrics. I don’t know your linguistic background or when you started learning English, but do you think in Serbian then translate your ideas into English?
AD: Well, my Mum was an English teacher so I’ve been speaking English ever since I can remember. So when it comes to music and singing, my native tongue is English. Singing in Serbian for me would be like singing in Arabic. It would make no sense to me as my musical brain is focused exclusively on English.
CP: What comes first the vocal melody or the words?
AD: Oh the melody always comes first.
DMM: That is often something that we will work out in the jam sessions that we have.
AD: The words come much later when the song is almost complete, musically.
CP: How about the music, Has any traditional Serbian music had any influence on what you write?
DMM: Its funny you know. I was never that much into Serbian music but you just grow up with all of the traditional songs. We always heard these songs from long ago, they were always there, around us as we were growing up. And a lot of Serbian music is naturally played in odd time signatures, you know like 7/8 and 11/8. So writing and playing this Progressive, Djent style is very easy for us because it is just reflective of what music was around us when we grew up.
CP: Your songs have a finely honed Pop edge to them. Have you ever been tempted to go even further and develop an even more mainstream sound for just a couple of songs maybe?
AD: We’ve never really consciously pushed the Pop angle, I mean its what comes out when we sit down to write. I listen to Metal at home, but I also listen to a lot of Pop music. David listens to a lot of Soul, Jazz and R’n’B. So it isn’t just a pop influence taking our music away from traditional “metal” sounds. Its a mixture of styles, so I don’t think we could go deliberately more Pop, because it was never the prior intention.
CP: I loved it tonight how several of the songs you had extended sections that went much heavier than your material usually is, as if to say “We can be heavy, we can be brutal, its just we choose not to”.
MJ: I’m glad you noticed that. For me its all about expression. The rigidity of a rhythm or the heaviness of a groove is about expressing an emotion or mood, be it anger, frustration or hatred. Its taking those feelings and translating them into musical expression.
The way we work together is an amazing thing. We can express anything together. So heavy or not heavy. Its just about expressing our moods and giving a great show.
CP: Ok, lastly. I know its memorable, unforgettable and unique but why Destiny Potato?
DMM: Well I started the band before I knew any of these guys and I was never a fan of serious band names, you know like Iron Maiden and stuff like that. And I just wanted a name that stood out on its own, wasn’t serious and didn’t clash with anything else. And It was just Destiny Potato, and always has been.
– John Whitmore
