Percussionist Borna Šercar on AI visuals, bottle-playing, and his musical journey with Matej Meštrović

Percussionist and drummer Borna Šercar is set to take the stage at the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall on September 27 for the "Clasick Crossover Revolution." He will perform alongside his long-time collaborator and friend, pianist Matej Meštrović. The concert promises a unique blend of music and visuals, with Meštrović creating special AI videos to accompany each composition.

“

The audience can expect a lot of energy, laughter, and good music. Nothing will be as expected.

Šercar described the upcoming performance as a high-energy event filled with laughter and good music, emphasizing that it will defy expectations. He explained that he and Meštrović will perform live to backing tracks, with arrangements by both artists. The AI videos are designed to thematically complement the music, telling stories of journeys and life itself. Šercar expressed his eagerness to see the audience's reaction to their prepared material.

“

Matej and I will play live to backing tracks. Some arrangements were made by him, some by me, and all are supported by AI videos that thematically follow the music and tell a story of travel, and ultimately, of life.

The collaboration between Šercar and Meštrović spans over fifteen years, beginning with the "Orient Expresto" project. Their musical understanding and mutual respect were evident from their first professional meeting in Vienna. Seven years ago, they sought to expand their artistic expression, leading to a duo project where they not only performed music but also incorporated poetry readings between compositions. Šercar read his own poetry, while Meštrović featured works by renowned Croatian poets. This experimental approach evolved further when Meštrović improvised on the piano while Šercar painted a picture, creating a new artistic form. They even gifted the resulting artwork to their most dedicated fans.

“

Matej and I have been collaborating for about fifteen years, starting with the Orient Expresto project where we had our first concert in Vienna and where we actually met professionally.

Šercar also touched upon his unique use of bottles as a percussion instrument, known as a "flashophone." He explained that playing bottles is not significantly different from instruments like the xylophone or marimba. It functions as a keyboard percussion instrument with two rows of bottles tuned to two octaves, featuring "black keys" on the top shelf and "white keys" on the bottom. Šercar began experimenting with bottles during his studies at the Academy of Music in Zagreb.

“

Playing on bottles, or flashophone, actually doesn't differ much from a xylophone or marimba. It is a keyboard percussion instrument with two rows of bottles tuned in two octaves, with 'black keys' on the upper shelf and 'white keys' on the lower.