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What's up everybody, welcome back to the All Things Croatia podcast. I'm your host,
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Stanko Zovak and I'm bringing you the best of Croatia from around the globe.
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This episode is brought to you by Adriatic Tours, the best place since 1974 to book your
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information, go to www.adriatictours.com or click the link in the description. Now,
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eat a modalia and let's get started.
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All right, welcome back to the podcast everybody. Today we have special guest Sam Tutic,
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or known as her stage name, Sam Sara. Sam is an Australian musician with Croatian roots who
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has hit singles, an album, and a brand new song written in Croatian. In this episode,
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we're going to meet the musician behind the music and hear about her inspiration for her new song,
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Nekabu de Mir. Sam, thanks for coming on the podcast.
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Thank you. Thank you for having me.
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Yeah, of course. Thank you for coming on. And so your new song Nekabu de Mir, you're written in
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Croatian and you are releasing, I believe this on Friday in a few days here.
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Yeah, so it's actually tomorrow, my time. So tomorrow you're done.
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Once again, the time zone is...
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Yeah, there it is.
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And so obviously that pays tribute to your Croatian heritage. Can you speak a little
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bit more about that?
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Yeah, so both of my parents are Croatian. My dad's side comes from Bosanska Gradiska
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and my mom's side comes from a little island off of Šipanek called Kapa.
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So yeah, we've got really tight Croatian roots. However, I was born and raised in Melbourne,
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but I've always been connected with my Croatian roots.
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Do you know what year your parents went over to Australia?
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They were born in Australia as well, but their parents, I think, came in
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in the 70s, but don't quote me on it.
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I won't. I won't.
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It was a long time ago for me.
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Yeah, I'm sure. But it's here is video evidence, just in case.
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Obviously, you were around the Croatian culture a little bit growing up. I mean,
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you wrote the song in Croatian. Are you able to speak fluently? How was that writing process for
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you?
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So, yeah, so I mean, I've always been surrounded by the Croatian community. It's kind of
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inevitable. I've got a big Croatian family here in Australia, as well as a lot of family overseas.
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You know, it's one of those scenarios where every second person you walk past is your cousin.
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So, yeah, it's kind of been inevitable to really just be connected with the community
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and those roots. When I was six, I guess I kind of introduced myself into it. I did
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for Chloric Dancing at a little Croatian church in Clifton Hill called St. Nicola
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Tablich with Mladi Hrvati. So that was a nice little intro for me. And I've kind of always
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grown up dancing and being on stages anyway since the age of four. But yeah, the song,
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yeah, the way it just kind of came out was very natural. It just kind of flowed to me. It came
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out in my, you know, prominent language, which is English first. But when it came, you know,
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through, it was like an intuitive splurge that just fell onto the page of these words. And I
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just knew that this would be a song for Croatia. It would be an ode to my heritage. And it's about
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that. So, yeah, and, you know, I mean, I went to Croatia for the first time when I was 12.
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And that really just opened my eyes a lot. And it just made me connect with my heritage on a whole
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other level. And it's always been a dream of mine to play in Croatia. So it looks like my music
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is calling me there now. Yeah, that would be awesome. So you said your first time was when you
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were 12. Have you been back since? Yes, I went three years ago in 2019, whenever, however long ago
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that is now. And that was, it's always been for like months at a time, which I've been very lucky
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and fortunate to be able to do that. And so, yeah, it's always just so nice to go back. And I'll be
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going back next year as well and bring my music there as well. Awesome. Yeah. And I want to talk
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about that in a little bit. But first, can you talk a little bit about how, you know, you got
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started musically? What was your first instrument? You know, how did you, what was the first song
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you wrote? When did you really start? Okay, so I mean, I kind of feel like I came into this life
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with, you know, loving music, the passion for music and wanting to be involved in music in every
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single way. So I don't really remember a time where I wasn't into music. I also have my dad,
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who's always been in bands growing up, and he was very involved in the Croatian community too,
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growing up. He used to play piano accordion for the folklore. He played Sydney Opera House and
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did all of that. So I think that he's the person who, and my mum loves music, she always has as well.
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So they've been very supportive in that kind of aspect. And so to me, music has just always been
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around me and I've always been immersed in it. The first instrument I played was obviously the
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vocals. Then I learned guitar, acoustic guitar. But I also know how to play Native American flute
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now too. Wow, how did you learn that? Yeah, it's just something I picked up. I just, one day I was
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like, okay, I just had this calling. I need to buy a flute. I need a flute. I need a Native American
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flute. I need to know how to play it. And so I got it. And it's actually really funny because
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just the other day I had this conversation with my dear dad. And he was telling me, I was telling
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him how I'm learning this flute. And his dad turns out he used to play the flute as well,
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the Native flute. It was this massive flute and he used to play it on the streets and
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children would just come and watch him and be in awe. And it's just insane. But I didn't even know that.
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So just a crazy coincidence, huh? Yeah, well, he was also a poet. And he also used to sing in all
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the churches. So I guess that's one of my ancestors that I'm spiritually connected with in some way.
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Yeah, that's got to be more than a coincidence. It's such a random thing that can happen like that.
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And how does that even... Yeah, it can happen. Can you cover songs with that? I mean, I'm sure
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there's not a lot of music written with that instrument. I mean, are you playing other music?
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Are you creating your own music with that? I've always... My original music has always come first
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for me. So that's really just where I channel a lot of my time and energy into. I haven't tried
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playing any covers with the flute, but I mean, I'm sure if I wanted to, I could try. But I think that
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the Native American flute is more of an instrument that you honor in the sense where you let... It's
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all about being connected with this flow and whatever note comes out, whatever, wherever your hands go,
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is... It's this intuitive way of playing this instrument. And that's kind of... Because it's
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got healing benefits as well. And it's in that 432 hertz of the same as Nekabur-Emir, which is coming
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out tomorrow. So it's all about that just following this intuitive flow. And that's how music gets
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created. And yeah. Well, you mentioned the 432 hertz. And I did want to ask about that because
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I heard something about that. I think there's a couple, right? It's not just 432, but there's a
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couple other frequencies. Yes. There's a whole bunch. And I think it's called the Sulfagio frequencies.
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So yeah. But this 432 hertz is... It's called the beat of the earth. And pretty much in 1940,
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it became an international standard to change the music to 440 hertz, which actually goes against
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the beat of the earth, the beat of the universe, the beat of us as humans, our nature, everything.
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Whereas 432 hertz is in perfect alignment with the flow of nature, the flow of us, the flow of the
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universe. And so with that, it comes with healing properties. So it's known to relieve stress and
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tension from the body and the mind releasing blocks in our energy, helping with anxiety.
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It helps release serotonin and endorphins, which help keep the heart rate and blood pressure stable.
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And it's also really great for spiritual development and connecting with higher consciousness.
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And there's so much more. And there's scientific studies out there that prove all of this as well.
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But yeah, there's even healers and theorists at the moment that are experimenting with 432 hertz
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in restoring the memory of people who have Alzheimer's and restoring basic bodily movements
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of those who've suffered from strokes. So there's all sorts of healing benefits from this
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frequency. It's incredible. Yeah, that always seems like an underfunded or under researched
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area of study. Yeah, but you know what? The thing is, is that all it takes is for you to do your own
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research to feel it really. I mean, when you listen to these frequencies, you can feel the
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difference in your body and your heart, your soul, everything. You just know. So you feel,
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you feel the effects of it when you listen to music or even when you play music like that?
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Yeah, and to me, honestly, music has always been a profound, powerful healing force in the world.
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I've always been a firm believer of that. No matter what frequency, music has always had the
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capability to heal and to evoke emotions. But it's good to understand the science behind it
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as well and to really make sure that you're connecting with the good frequencies that are
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just going to really help with that flow. And is that something that's done at the instrument level
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that you're changing the tuning or is that something in post-production? Yeah, that's
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something that's literally from the core of the song. It's like, as soon as you're writing that song,
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you're writing it in 432. Or at least that's how I work. I mean, I'm sure everyone's different.
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Oh, very cool. I want to talk a little bit about your career now. And you know,
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for you being so young, I want to know how did how did your career really take off the way it did?
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I mean, you have you've won awards over there in Australia, you've been touring apparently all over
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Australia. And now you've got to go abroad. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's crazy, isn't it? It's been a
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wild journey. It's been absolutely amazing. And I'm very grateful for every single second of it.
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I'm a big believer in faith, honestly. And when one is in, you know, alignment with
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their purpose in this lifetime, and whether you call it a God given purpose, or whether you call
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it a life mission. When we're in alignment with that unique part of ourselves, and we're coming
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from the heart, which is very important. It's always important to come from the heart. Everything
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just flows and you always just kind of end up wherever you're meant to be somehow. So I mean,
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I can't really tell you, it all just kind of happened. It literally did. Yeah, yeah, you're
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just living, living through it, living in the moment. Well, you had you had some hit singles
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that I believe you started out with, were the singles, and then you went on to an album
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that you self produced. So what does that mean exactly? You were you were playing all the instruments,
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you did all the production of it? Yes. Yes. So, yeah, I released my, you know, singles before
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that. And then, and that's I was touring all of Australia, playing all of Australia's biggest
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festivals, playing the theaters, doing all of that fun stuff. And then over the last couple of years,
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I've released as well my own self produced album, which is called Incholescent. And when I say
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self produced, I mean, like from the bottom to the end, from the start to the end, I created it
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all myself. So played it all, produced it like on, you know, technology, how music is produced.
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Mixed and mastered it, did all of it myself, which has been such a nice experience, just to
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really bring my visions to life. Yeah, that's true. You have all the creative control over it,
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but at the same time, I'm sure that's so much work. And I mean, that's such a long process.
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It is. It's a lot of work. You have to be dedicated. And you have to be very passionate.
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Yeah. Are you looking to do that again in the future? Or is it going to be easier to, you know,
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have someone help with all of that? Well, this is what I've done with Nekobutta Mir as well.
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Except I did have my brother come in and play some guitar in it, which was awesome. He's an
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incredible guitarist. So, and he'll be coming to Croatia with me next year as well to play
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and play shows, play wherever we end up. But yeah, so I think that is definitely something
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I will stick to because it gives me a lot of freedom to write whenever I want to write and let
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things intuitive flow as they do. Because I find that sometimes when we're locked into a studio
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and other people get involved, I just find that sometimes that natural flow of freedom kind of
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can get suppressed a little bit. Well, you just brought up the tour again in Croatia. And I think
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it's time we go over that. I mean, that's so exciting. When did you make that decision?
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Again, when I released, when I made this song, it all just came to me. And I knew that I was
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going to be going to Croatia as soon as I possibly could be after the last three years.
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And then this song came to me. And that's, it was just a knowing it was just a, okay,
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I'm going to Croatia and I'm going to be singing this song. And, you know, I'm a big believer of,
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as like I said before, wherever I'm meant to be, I will be and wherever my music takes me is where
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I'm needed is where my music will be of most benefits. So, yeah, looks like that's Croatia.
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And honestly, it's the place I hold most dear and most close to my heart. So,
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it's going to, I'm very excited for it. Do you know which month you're going in yet?
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It will be in around June, July. Well, that's nice. So you'll have the summer.
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Yeah, yeah, for a few months. So it'll be a nice long run. And have you booked any
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tour dates yet or are you just going to go with the flow? That is all yet to be announced.
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That is all yet to be announced. So you'll have to stay tuned.
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Great. Yeah, we won't leak that on here.
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That's awesome. And actually, you know, don't go anywhere, you know, to our viewers and listeners
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here. And if you're listening, actually, I guess I'll cut it to just an audio also, but go on the
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YouTube because we're going to get an acoustic version. Nekabude Mir, thanks to Sam. And
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you know, Sam, I just want to thank you for coming on the podcast here and talking a little bit
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about yourself. I like the song you sent me. I guess I got the pre-release. Was that what I got?
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Yes, yes, you did. So one of the first, maybe 10, maybe 100 people.
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Yeah. You were definitely up there. You were definitely up there. I'll just say I was the first.
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First person to hear the song in its entirety. And now. Definitely wasn't my detail or anything,
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you know. No, no. Okay, top 10. I'll go top 10. And now we're going to get a, maybe,
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which is the first acoustic version. Yes, it is. It is. Yeah. Awesome. Well, thank you again, Sam,
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for coming on the podcast and we'll get the acoustic version going right now.
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No worries. Palapuno. See you next time.
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uh
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you