Angel 1992

featuring JELENA DAMJANOVIĆ,
MIODRAG STANKOVIĆ and DARKO MATIĆ

THE SONG WAS WRITTEN ON A SOUTHBOUND 31 BUS TRAVELLING FROM CAMDEN TOWARDS HIGH STREET KENSINGTON. THE SUMMER OF 1991 WAS COMING TO AN END, YET WAR WAS STILL RAGING BACK HOME. ALL THE PEOPLE WHO CAME WITH ME ON A STUDY TRIP ORGANIZED BY THE BRITISH YUGOSLAV SOCIETY HAD LONG RETURNED, YET I WAS STILL IN LONDON, UNABLE TO DECIDE WHAT TO DO.

I MISSED MY FRIENDS, WE WERE ENTERING OUR FINAL YEAR AT UNIVERSITY AND LECTURES WERE ABOUT TO RESUME. MOST IMPORTANTLY, DŽELA (JELENA MIKLJA, NOW DAMJANOVIĆ) AND ĆOMI (MIODRAG 'TOMMY' STANKOVIĆ) WERE STILL IN BELGRADE AND THE SECOND SONG WE HAD RECORDED TOGETHER (THE LAND OF THE BLIND) WAS GETTING A LOT OF AIRPLAY THERE. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE, I HAD A BAND THAT MADE ME FEEL GREAT, WITH WHOM MY SONGS SOUNDED EXACTLY AS I HEARD THEM IN MY HEAD, YET THE WORLD AROUND US WAS FALLING APART AT THE SAME TIME.

SO HAVING AGONIZED OVER IT FOR MONTHS, I FINALLY TOOK A PLANE TO BELGRADE AS SOON AS THE FIRST CONTINGENT OF UNITED NATIONS PEACEKEEPERS LANDED IN CROATIA. AT THE TIME, MOST PEOPLE WERE HEADING THE OTHER WAY AND AS I BOARDED THAT EERILY EMPTY YUGOSLAV AIRLINES AIRCRAFT, I COULDN'T HELP BUT FEEL THAT I WAS MAKING THE BIGGEST MISTAKE OF MY LIFE.

IT TOOK A FEW WEEKS FOR THIS SENSE OF UNEASE TO WEAR OFF AND BY SPRING OF 1992, THE SONG WAS RECORDED IN MILAN ĆIRIĆ'S STUDIO IN BELE NJIVE, NOVI SAD, WITH JELENA DOING THE LEAD VOCAL FOR THE FIRST AND ONLY TIME IN OUR SONGS. BY JUNE OF THE SAME YEAR, THE WAR HAD ESCALATED AGAIN AND SPILLED OVER INTO BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, THE SONG WAS TOPPING THE LOCAL CHARTS AND MIDORAG AND I WERE IN EXILE.

IN AUGUST OF 2016, JELENA AND I MET AGAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME IN TWENTY FOUR YEARS AND SANG ANGEL TOGETHER AS A DUET IN VLADA'S (VLADIMIR NEGOVANOVIĆ) STUDIO IN BELGRADE. THE SONG WAS RERECORDED BY THE ORIGINAL 1992 LINE-UP (JELENA, MIODRAG, DARKO AND MYSELF, PLUS NADIA WHO PLAYED AN ACOUSTIC GUITAR AND SANG SOME OF THE BACKING VOCALS). JELENA RECORDED MOST OF HER VOCALS IN BELGRADE THAT AUGUST, 2016 AND JUST ADDED ONE LINE SHE RECORDED ON HER IPHONE IN TORONTO SOME EIGHTEEN MONTHS LATER. MIODRAG RECORDED HIS GUITARS IN HIS APARTMENT IN LONDON IN 2017 AND DARKO PLAYED THE BASS FROM HIS SOFA IN NOVI SAD (2016).

I came from the park
The smell of death and birds
I just came out of the dark
I was alone in heaven
This tunnel
There's no light at the end of it
Just the end
There's always an end
A patient winner

Drive just drive
Don't tell anybody anything
Close the doors
Open your eyes
Drive just drive
Don't say I'm gonna regret this thing
'Cause you know
To be my angel
You don't need wings

I just came out of the dark
Darkness at the end
The end of the road to nowhere
The road to heaven
Alone in heaven
Do you wanna be
I come from the other side of the river
The other side of the window
The other side
I'm coming

Drive just drive
Don't tell anybody anything
Close the doors
Open your eyes
Drive just drive
Don't say I'm gonna regret this thing
For you know
To be my angel
To be my angel…

To be my angel
You don't need wings.

WRITTEN AND PRODUCED BY DUŠAN TOLMAČ
MASTERED BY eMASTERED

RECORDED IN BELGRADE (2015/2016), NOVI SAD (2016),
KIKINDA (2016), LONDON (2017) AND TORONTO (2018).

RECORDING ENGINEER (BELGRADE/NOVI SAD):
VLADIMIR NEGOVANOVIĆ

ACOUSTIC GUITARS/PIANO/SYNTH/CAJON/VOCALS: DUŠAN TOLMAČ
ACOUSTIC GUITAR/BACKING VOCALS: NADIA ROMERO