One of the most significant and influential bands of the regional rock scene, Pips, Chips & Videoclips, will perform for the first time at the iconic Belgrade club BitefArtCafe on Thursday, April 3rd, starting at 10 PM.
Led by the charismatic Dubravko Ivaniš Ripper, Pips have built an authentic musical universe from the early 1990s to the present day, emotional, intelligent, introspective, and consistently sincere. Their songs have never followed trends; instead, they have created their own distinctive expression, cultivating a strong and loyal audience that has followed them for decades.
The band’s discography includes a series of releases that now hold a special place in the history of regional rock music: Shimpoo Pimpoo (1993), Dernjava (1995), Fred Astaire (1997), Bog (1999), Drveće i rijeke (2003), Walt (2010), and their latest album Vesna (2023). Over more than three decades, Pips have remained true to their identity, developing a recognizable and enduring musical voice.
The band is known for concerts that transcend the classic live format, evolving into powerful emotional experiences where audience and performers function as a single entity. For that reason, performing in an intimate club setting such as BitefArtCafe offers a rare opportunity to experience the band up close.
A Conversation with Dubravko Ivaniš Ripper Ahead of the BitefArtCafe Concert
After more than three decades on the scene, Pips still maintain a strong connection with audiences across the region. How do you perceive that longevity and continuity today?
Anyone’s career, ours included, is a constant confrontation with entropy. That chaos is also the driving force behind all activity. If you last twelve rounds, you deserve respect. You might be a little bruised, but that comes with the package.
In April, you’re performing at BitefArtCafe, a venue known for its intimate atmosphere and dedicated audience. What does the club format mean to you compared to large halls and festivals?
We look forward to both. In a club there’s more compression, we’re all closer, more connected. The energy is more immediate and intense.
Your songs are often described as generational, yet deeply personal. How do you view the lyrics you wrote in the ’90s and 2000s today?
There are songs we no longer believe in and no longer perform. We’ve always preferred playing rather than preaching. Some of those “games” carry lasting energy, childlike joy, melancholy, sadness, irony, and those are the ones that have remained evergreen.
Emotion, irony, and introspection are key elements of your expression. How has your authorial approach changed over the years?
I’ve grown up, like everyone else. But in this job, it’s important to keep the child within you, the curiosity and the restlessness. Age and parenthood change your perspective, as does a quieter social life. It’s natural for the discourse to evolve.
In a time of fast content and short attention spans, how do you see the place of the album today?
The album format in this century feels somewhat misguided. That doesn’t mean we won’t continue making them, but most of what we do doesn’t make excessive sense, and that’s fine.
How important is the band’s collective energy in the creative process?
When I write a song alone, it’s a three. When we work on it together, it can become a four. (Of course, the band can also ruin it.) A five doesn’t exist, that’s reserved for the gods. The best Pips songs have been created through teamwork, even though I spend most of my time alone in the studio.
How do you perceive the regional music scene today?
I don’t follow it too closely, and little intrigues me, probably because the day is too short to keep up with everything.
What can the audience expect from the April concert in Belgrade?
The focus is always the same: to entertain you. Nothing more, nothing less.
What is most important for the audience to take away from the concert today?
An extract of inexplicable childlike joy on the edge of absurdity.
The concert represents one of the band’s rare club performances in the region, and significant audience interest is expected.
There are bands that do not belong to just one scene, one city, or one decade.
Pips, Chips & Videoclips are exactly that kind of band.
Tickets: https://tickets.rs/event/pipschipsvideoclips_24283
BitefArtCafe
Mitropolita Petra 8