Luka Nikolić on ditching compromise, cherishing cherries, and meditating in a burning skyscraper.
For Luka Nikolić, the frontman of Serbian indie outfit Bitter Blue, creating music is survival.
Born from a desire to channel life’s wreckage into uplifting pop, his project (featuring bandmates Stefan Milojković, Milan Mirić, and Miloš Dabetić) emerged from Niš with a simple creed: no compromises.
Their 2024 debut EP, Levity, was a therapeutic lifeline, fusing 2000s indie rock grit with choruses designed to haunt your every waking moment.
Now, as the group prepares to release their debut LP, Blueberry Eyes, Raspberry Tears, this September, Nikolić describes the process as “meditating on the top floor of a burning skyscraper.”
In our exclusive interview, we discuss 20 years of unfiltered creation, the mystical pull of early noughties New York, and why his new album represents the first time he feels he has made “actual art.” Step into the beautifully chaotic world of Bitter Blue.
HAPPY: What’d you get up to today?
LUKA NIKOLIĆ: The highlight of my day was picking some sweet cherries from an actual cherry tree, something I haven’t done in years – probably since I was a teenager!
I’ve also been doing a bit of spring cleaning which led me to rediscover some old concert DVD favorites and reminisce about the days when YouTube wasn’t the be-all-end-all of video. I love vinyl records but as a hardcore millennial, CDs and DVDs will always have a special place in my heart.
HAPPY: Tell us a little about where you’re from, and what you love about it!
NIKOLIĆ: I was born and raised in Niš (pronounced Niche, as if to rhyme with “quiche”), southern Serbia’s largest town.
As is the case with most southern places in any country, we’re a hot-tempered bunch with a soft spot for hedonism and hospitality. I love our heritage, cuisine, music of course.
There’s a lot of creativity to be found around here, many amazing artists who’ve sprung from this place over the years.
Not sure if there’s something in the water that runs through Nišava – the river flowing through our city – but lots of people here know how to make a damn good song in any genre!
HAPPY: Growing up in Niš, Serbia, what first drew you to 2000s indie rock and massive pop choruses?
NIKOLIĆ: It’s hard to say, I do think the pop choruses came first though haha! As a kid I was obsessed with Sting and Cher, to this day I think those two people wrote some of the catchiest hooks ever to surface on planet Earth.
I can’t quite remember when and where I first heard Sting’s tune Desert Rose but I do recall feeling mesmerised. The penchant for indie rock came later, guitar is my primary instrument to write on so it was bound to happen at some point.
There’s something mystical about the early noughties NYC that just makes me want to teleport myself to that time and place. Interpol, The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs…all amazing bands, and all with some great stories to tell.
If you haven’t read Lizzy Goodman’s book Meet Me In The Bathroom, it chronicles that period and is quite an entertaining read. I highly recommend it.
HAPPY: You’ve been writing and performing for 20 years. How does Bitter Blue feel different from everything that came before?
NIKOLIĆ: The main thing that’s different about it is that it’s 100% unfiltered. I love being part of a collective, and even Bitter Blue is technically a band.
This time around, however, I didn’t want to make any trade-offs or compromises that come with the territory when more than one person is writing the songs.
It might sound a bit autocratic, and to be fair it probably is – but I’ve simply never been as happy with the end result before.
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HAPPY: The name Bitter Blue feels very specific. What does that color and taste represent for you?
NIKOLIĆ: The name actually comes from a Soundgarden song lyric, neither the color nor the taste represent anything in particular but it’s one of those things where the whole is more than the sum of its parts.
I have a thing for imbuing pretty words with meaning after the fact, in an almost inductive fashion. I also like alliteration as a stylistic tool, hence the B-B part of it.
Over and above all of that, sometimes you just connect to a set of words or notes on a deeper emotional level without necessarily being certain why; all that matters is that they resonate with you and make you feel something.
HAPPY: You’ve said recording Levity was therapeutic to an “understatement.” What made the studio feel like safety instead of pressure?
NIKOLIĆ: At the time, I needed the routine of writing and recording more so than the final product.
The creative process has always been my safe haven, and just generally speaking there are very few places in the world where I feel more at ease than in a studio environment.
That might be strange for some people and it certainly didn’t always use to be the case for me, but there are those magical – albeit rare – times when you feel like you’re channeling something from within rather than adhering to any lofty goals or self-imposed ambitions.
I’m fortunate to work with some amazing people and that was probably the single biggest contributing factor to feeling relaxed.
HAPPY: Which of the five tracks on Levity changed the most from your original demo, and why?
NIKOLIĆ: I’d be lying if I told you I remembered how those demos sounded hahah. Sentinel is probably the track that got polished the most since its original inception, and I don’t mean polished in any sort of ‘overproduced’ way.
There was something about that rhythm section which fell right into place when we recorded that track, and it also happens to contain some of my favorite lyrics on the record: “Let me open up your heart, fill it with nothing but love”.
Kudos to my bandmates for all of the above, hereby sending a massive shoutout to Milan Mirić, Miloš Dabetić and Stefan Mark Milojković!
HAPPY: You say your upcoming debut LP is the first time you’ve made “actual art, not just music.” What’s the difference for you?
NIKOLIĆ: It’s a colorful album filled with a whole lot of life, a little bit of death, and everything else sprinkled in between for good measure. It’s also richer with actual emotion based on lived experience than anything I’ve ever done.
Above all, it’s extremely intentional; every word, note and aesthetic choice is there for a reason. Each conveys a meaning larger than the sum of the constituent parts which make up the release as a whole, and that’s probably the aspect of it I’m most proud of.
HAPPY: Which Levity song would you play for someone who’s never heard Bitter Blue before?
NIKOLIĆ: Someone Better is the obvious choice…so I’m going to go with Flare ;) I like to describe it as the song born from a love affair between Nine Inch Nails and Ariana Grande.
If that sounds like anything that might appeal to you (and even if it doesn’t) – what are you waiting for?
HAPPY: Lastly, what makes you happy?
NIKOLIĆ: Creating, creating and then creating some more. Oh, and picking some sweet cherries in between all the creating, just to break up the monotony a tiny bit!
Got some tracks you need heard? Send ’em through to us!
