🎵 Story Behind the Song: “Dragi Džoni”(“Dear Johnny”)

The very first song I ever composed and produced for someone else was called Dragi Džoni — a sweet tune about a boy and his beloved dog, Johnny.

The lyrics, written from the boy’s perspective, were simple and heartwarming: he sings about how beautiful his dog is, how they play together, and how much he loves him. That pure emotion instantly sparked a melody in my head, and I followed it instinctively.

Without planning it, the music I created echoed the children’s songs I grew up with — the kind sung by Dragan Laković or the choir Kolibri. I even used similar instrumentation: gentle acoustic sounds, bright flutes, soft percussion — all wrapped in a nostalgic warmth.

Only later did I realize that the harmony and tone of the song somehow reminded me of Hej Vojvodino, the anthem of the football club Vojvodina from Novi Sad. Strangely enough, the client who commissioned the song, Sandra Škrbić, is also from Novi Sad. Coincidence? Maybe. But music has a funny way of circling back to where it belongs.

This song marked the beginning of a beautiful journey — of telling stories through sound, and bringing other people’s emotions to life.


🎧 What I Learned from Making My First Commissioned Song

Dragi Džoni taught me something important — that inspiration doesn’t always come from within. Sometimes it comes from someone else’s story, their memories, or even their love for a pet. All I did was listen closely and let the emotion guide the music.

It also reminded me how much childhood songs shaped me as a musician. There’s something timeless in their simplicity — the kind of honesty we often forget as adults.

Since then, I’ve worked on many projects, but this first one still holds a special place. It showed me how music can build bridges — between generations, cities, and even football fans.


🎼 Have a story you’d like turned into a song?
Let’s create something meaningful together. Reach out anytime!

#musicproducer #songstory #childrensmusic #composerlife #nostalgicvibes #customsong #draganlakovic #kolibri #voivodinamusic #storybehindthesong #alexsrbmusic

The Surprising Story Behind “I’m Not in Love” by 10cc

🎙️ 1. Inspiration from real life

Eric Stewart, co-writer and singer, was prompted to write the song when his wife Gloria remarked he’d stopped saying “I love you.” Stewart decided that overusing the phrase would dilute its meaning. Instead, he flipped it: he’d craft a song that begins “I’m not in love” while, throughout, listing subtle clues that he actually is udiscovermusic.com+15theguardian.com+15reddit.com+15.


🏝️ 2. Bossa nova beginnings

The song started as a soft bossa nova-style guitar shuffle, inspired by tunes like The Girl from Ipanema. When Stewart played the demo for Graham Gouldman, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme, the response was underwhelming. Kevin bluntly called it “crap,” and the track was nearly shelved faroutmagazine.co.uk+8theguardian.com+8tapeop.com+8.


🧠 3. A melody that wouldn’t go away

Despite the band’s doubts, Stewart overheard studio staff humming the melody. That convinced him the song had potential, and they decided to rework it — radically smoothradio.com.


👥 4. The iconic vocal “choir”

Kevin suggested stripping everything down to voices. The band spent weeks recording each member singing “ahhs” on every note of a chromatic scale—over 200 tracks in total. These multitrack layers were looped to create a lush, choir-like backdrop tapeop.com.


🗣️ 5. That whispered line

The memorable whispered phrase — “Be quiet. Big boys don’t cry” — came from studio secretary Kathy Redfern. Lol Creme persuaded her to add her distinct phone-like voice, giving the track an intimate, almost playful moment udiscovermusic.com+8theguardian.com+8faroutmagazine.co.uk+8.


🎚️ 6. Finishing touches & unconventional structure

They then layered bass, Moog, Fender Rhodes piano, ambient reverb, and tape effects—intentionally avoiding a typical verse-chorus structure. When finished, even 10cc were astonished: “What have we created? This is brilliant!” eirinilachana.com+6axs.tv+6independent.co.uk+6.


📈 7. Release & legacy

Despite its six-minute length (edited to 3:42 in the U.S.), the song was released as a single. It soared to #1 in the UK and Ireland, top 10 in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Germany, and more theguardian.com+15en.wikipedia.org+15axs.tv+15. Today it’s celebrated as a masterpiece of sonic innovation and emotional nuance.


🎧 Why It Resonates

  • Emotional Subtlety: The lyric cleverly says the opposite of what’s felt.

  • Innovative Production: A “virtual choir” created entirely from voices gives warmth and transcendence.

  • Studio Experimentation: Tape loops and overdubbing made a lush, immersive texture.

  • Memorable Detail: A whispered line by a non-musician adds human charm.


This was 10cc’s defining moment — turning a nearly discarded song into a global classic through creativity, collaboration, and studio wizardry. Let me know if you’d like versions tailored for a blog, Facebook, or LinkedIn post!

Francuski instrumental kreće na put do muzičke biblioteke

Romantični instrumental započinje svoj put: "Caffe Montmartre" prihvaćen od strane Taxi Music

Za kompozitora i producenta muzike, jedan od najispunjavajućih delova kreativnog procesa jeste videti kako muzička kompozicija napušta studio i započinje svoje putovanje u svet. Danas sam srećan što mogu da podelim mali, ali značajan korak napred — moju instrumentalnu numeru.. “Caffe Montmartre” je prihvatio Taxi Music da pošalje jednoj od njihovih partnerskih muzičkih biblioteka.

Ova specifična numera je inspirisana bezvremenskim šarmom Pariza — udobnim kafićima, nežnim uličnim melodijama i romantičnim duhom Monmartra. Lagana je, emotivna i filmska — savršeno se uklapa u projekte koji traže evropski ambijent.

Taxi Music je platforma koja pomaže nezavisnim umetnicima i kompozitorima da se povežu sa muzičkim supervizorima i medijskim klijentima koji traže originalne numere. Poznati su po odabiru kvalitetne muzike za upotrebu u TV emisijama, filmovima i reklamama.

Još nije jasno gde će ova numera da "sleti", ali ovaj korak otvara uzbudljive mogućnosti. Bilo da završi u reklami, sceni u seriji ili jednostavno tiho živi u muzičkoj biblioteci, ponosan sam što je vidim kako poleće.

Hvala svima koji podržavaju ovo kreativno putovanje - još muzike stiže uskoro!

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