Friend approaches Of flesh and blood as a complete work, made to be experienced in its entirety. In conversation with Zarko DavinicIts editor-in-chief DSCENE magazineit frames the album as a conceptual body rather than a collection of individual tracks. The record captures a period shaped by emotional tension, where personal experiences unfold through sound. He treats the album as a contained moment, one that contains conflicts, displacements and emotional extremes that no longer define his present, but remain preserved within the work.
At the heart of the work is a clear decision to push for full emotional exposure. “I wanted to be honest to the core, completely stripped emotionally and allow the audience to really get to know me by listening to the album from start to finish.This intention shapes both the structure and the rhythm of the record. The album moves through eight songs and an interlude, gradually building towards a closing sequence where this opening becomes hard to avoid. He describes the process as an act of expansion, not reduction, where creative control required him to embrace everything rather than hold nothing back.
“risk” presents this world. Positioned as the lead single, it acts as an entry point into the emotional logic of the album.We chose it because it conveys a cross-section of the entire album through its atmosphere, emotion, genre and energy.The piece reflects a time when instability and tension defined his everyday life. These conditions no longer shape his present, which he describes as more stable and calm, but remain embedded in the material. The album acts as a record of this previous state, where each track contains pieces of these conflicts.
As the narrative unfolds, different versions of the artist emerge. Some stay close to what their audience already recognizes, while others move into more exposed territory. The final stretch of the album brings this shift together. He singles out the closing songs as the most difficult to release, describing them as moments where emotional control disappears. “Every time I listen to the album from start to finish I completely fall apart at the end.” The closing tracks remove the distance and present an immediate acknowledgment of vulnerability, framed through a simple yet purposeful statement of being human.
Beyond the album itself, the conversation moves to pressure, a condition that extends both to his creative process and his public presence. His relationship with pressure has changed over time. Earlier in his career he associated it with performance and productivity. Now, he recognizes the need for distance when working on material that carries personal weight. “I feel more and more the need for my own comfort zone, especially when I’m working on something important artistically.This need translates into a controlled environment, defined by trust and a sense of security, where creative work can develop without outside interference.
This distinction becomes more pronounced when describing the difference between music and social media. Music remains a constant point of return, a place where he feels aligned with himself. Social media operates under a different set of expectations. “There, you often have to be smiling, cheerful, interesting and interesting to keep people’s attention.The gap between these expectations and internal states creates tension. Over time, this tension led him to protect parts of himself that he had previously shared more freely. Visibility remains a part of his work, yet he approaches it with increasing distance and control.
I wanted to be honest to the core, completely stripped emotionally and allow the audience to really get to know me by listening to the album from start to finish.
Despite the expectations that usually accompany a debut album, she describes the making of the album as largely free of outside pressure. The process followed an internal logic, guided by instinct and cooperation despite the anticipation of reception. “We worked only according to what we felt and how we saw this whole world without compromise.This approach extended to the entire project, from songwriting to visual direction. The album reflects a closed system, where every element was developed from the same source without adjustments for outside expectations.
Maintaining this autonomy requires constant negotiation, particularly with regard to public perception. He describes a deliberate effort to keep his connection to the music as the central focus. “I try to remind myself why I wanted to get into music in the first place.This reminder acts as a form of protection, allowing him to separate the act of creation from the responses he produces. Social media remains unavoidable, yet he establishes distance wherever possible to prevent it from reshaping his relationship with the work.
Social pressure enters the discussion through questions of identity and expression. He points to the rigid expectations surrounding masculinity as a persistent source of tension. “The pressure I felt most strongly related to stereotypes of how a man should or should look and act.His answer does not imply avoidance. Instead, these pressures become material within the album itself. The songs and visuals translate this experience into a direct message that focuses on self-acceptance and visibility, without conforming to external norms.
His collaboration with Love is a central axis in this process. He describes the relationship as instinctive and compelling, built on a shared understanding that shaped the direction of the album. “I felt like I had something he needed… and he had something I needed.This exchange works on both a creative and a personal level, allowing the project to develop without formal negotiation. The result reflects a unified perspective, expressed through two distinct voices aligned around the same core themes.
When he describes the album as a space, he frames it as immersive and continuous. “From start to finish, the listener goes through a rollercoaster of emotions.The structure does not offer analysis in a conventional sense. Instead, it presents a sequence of experiences that move between tension and release, without smoothing the transitions between them. The final piece brings this process to an immediate conclusion, where the listener encounters the same statement that defines the work as a whole.
The album remains committed to this idea. It doesn’t try to distance itself from the emotion or reorganize it into something easier to navigate. Instead, it holds these experiences in place, allowing them to exist without revision. Through this approach, of flesh and blood it establishes itself as a solid record of a particular time, shaped by pressure, exposure, and the decision to proceed with both without compromise.
Photographer LUKA STEPANOVIC
Photographer’s assistant UROS PAGIOVITS
Styling MANTA IAVORINA
Grooming and Makeup ARTHUR HATT
Production BORISLAV UTESINOVICH
Talent FRIEND
Filari wears total looks from HUGO Spring Summer 2026 Collection, available now.
