Musicians unite in new patriotic Croatian song “Zemlja heroja”

Musicians unite in new patriotic Croatian song “Zemlja heroja”

A strong message with renowned Croatian musicians in the patriotic song “Zemlja heroja”(Land of Heroes) is the result of a project created by Mario Rucner. 

The song “Zemlja heroja” started as an idea back in 2014, but now Mario Rucner, along with his musical colleagues, felt that the timing was right for its completion and release.

A significant contribution was also made by Dražen Žanko, who liked the song and, together with Sven Gleđa, worked on it and contributed to its finalisation. 

Dražen Žanko

Musicians such as Marko Perković Thompson, Mate Bulić, Stanko Šarić, who is one of the best Croatian tamburica players, Tomislav Bralić from Klapa Intrade, ex Ladarice, Marko Duvnjak on drums, and Denis Špegelj on tamburica also got involved. The mix and mastering were handled by Tomislav Mrduljaš.

Marko Perković Thompson and Mario Rucner 

“Zemlja heroja” was envisioned as a tribute and a thank you to everyone who contributed to the creation of Croatia, especially the mothers who gave their sons, husbands, families, as well as all branches of the military and the missing civilians, as stated in the first part of the song.

Mate Bulić and Mario Rucner 

In the second part of the song, after a viola solo from Mario Rucner and the sound of a MiG-21 flyby, Rucner, followed by Mate Bulić, address the current situation and the long-standing emigration of the population due to economic reasons. In this part of the song, the population is encouraged to stay in their homeland.

Mario Rucner

In addition to the strong musical names, the video features our legendary war pilot Ivan Selak, many veterans, fighters, representatives of various brigades, from infantry and motorised units to armoured battalions and saboteurs, all the way to representatives of the Croatian Air Force. 

Ivan Selak

Special guests in the video include the children of Škabrnja.

Children of Škabrnja.

The producer of the project and the author is Mario Rucner, while Sven Gleđa is credited for the music and lyrics with the expert support of Dražen Žanko. 

The video for the song “Zemlja heroja” was shot in various locations in Croatia, from Medvedgrad to Škabrnja, Zadar, Sinj, and all the way to Slavonia. 

Filming took 15 days

The idea of the video was for a particular performer to be filmed in their hometown. The filming took almost 15 days, and the editing was done by Luka Hrvatić.

Stanko Šarić with Mario Rucner

The authors of “Zemlja heroja” emphasise that this song represents a thank you to all those who contributed to the creation of our country. 

The video gathered a large number of guests: “At the very beginning of the video, a representative of the mothers in the song and the sister of the fallen war pilot Zlatko Mejaški Meša appear. There are also representatives, veterans of many brigades of the Croatian Army, as well as our prominent war pilot Ivan Selak.

Tomislav Bralić and Mario Rucner

“I would like to emphasise that all the participants in the song and the video are dear friends and acquaintances, to whom I would like to express my thanks once again. Of course, with a four-and-a-half-minute video, not all veterans and all those responsible for today’s free Croatia could fit, but this song is dedicated to all of them, and we sincerely thank them for everything. I would especially like to thank my great friend Veljko Zorzut for his help in realising the video,” stated Mario Rucner.

Judging by the renowned musical names, as well as the message itself and the very emotional delivery of the song, this tribute to all our heroes will certainly capture the hearts of the audience, as was evident upon the release of the video when “Zemlja heroja” trended at number 1 on YouTube.

Youu can watch the music video for “Zemlja heroja” below.