Kuroo's Coffee

Joker Out hosted two co-creators of the group that translates their content into different languages.

During the conversation, the two of them also mentioned how much work goes into the project and the challenges of translating slang.

For the 9th episode of their podcast, Joker Out invited fans Anja and Breda. They are part of the Joker Out Subs community, where fans of the band translate the group's songs, interviews and video content into different languages on social media.

Žana E. Čeh, 1st of June 2026.

"This is the coolest project we know of that has emerged in recent years." Photo: Screenshot.

In 2023, Anja posted the first Joker Out video with English subtitles on TikTok. Today, Joker Out Subs consists of more than 60 fans from around the world who regularly translate their songs, interviews and video content into different languages. They already have 20,000 followers on social media and have provided translations for several hundred different Joker Out-related videos. "This is the coolest project we know of that has emerged in recent years. It's incredible how many people you've enabled to enjoy our content," said frontman Bojan Cvjetićanin.

"For me, it all started when you went to Eurovision. I had heard of you before then, but I hardly knew any of your songs. After Mission Liverpool, I listened to a few of them and liked them, especially 'Tokio'. That's when I started following you," admitted Anja, who noticed how rapidly their fanbase grew during the music competition. "I've been part of fan communities before, but I'd never seen anything like this happen for a Slovenian public figure," said the Slovenian.

She decided to post a translation on TikTok of part of their concert at Cvetličarna, in which the singer explained how the song 'Ne govoriva več o tem' was created. Within two days, the video had gained half a million views, and several international commenters expressed a desire to learn more about the band. She and a friend, whom she had met online through their shared enthusiasm for Joker Out, then decided to try translating the entire Cvetličarna performance. As this was a considerable undertaking, they invited Slovenians they had found in the comments to join the project.

"I've never seen this much interest in learning Slovenian, especially because of a band. I found it incredible," she shared. She added that the Joker Out Subs project then began to expand, and Breda also became part of the group. "She sent me a message asking if I wanted to join. She said the work would take five minutes a week, which is the biggest lie in the world," Breda admitted with a laugh, adding that they invest a great deal of effort into translation work.

"I thought it would be like it was during my studies, but it wasn't. A lot of slang and dialect words have to be translated into English, which can be very difficult at times," she explained, adding that discussions often take place among the members about how to translate a Slovenian expression into English.

Joker Out: In the Shelter of Euphoria

The Brotherhood of the Band

We caught them at a very special moment - when their schedule is a little more relaxed, and their late-autumn European tour is slowly appearing on the horizon. In between, they’ve taken a breather, gone to the seaside, and played shows at a pleasant pace. It sounds like the perfect send-off for what’s next - and it is, they say. We can catch a glimpse of the future, and all of us in it, through Karneval, their biggest event yet, one that surpasses a regular concert in every sense. Now we know a bit more - about that, too. Bojan, Kris, Jan, Jure, and Nace - no need for introductions, right?

TEXT: Ajda Gregorc

PHOTOS: Urša Premik

STYLING: Alenka Birk

Any excuse for a midweek escape to the seaside is a good one - especially if it involves a trip to the Istrian Monaco with Joker Out, later followed by a chat in Ljubljana. Bojan arrives first. The conversation quickly turns from a dialogue into a multi-logue, filled with priceless comic moments. They’ve already been asked every possible question, so I skip the usual “what are you tired of being asked, and what questions are you craving” part. Instead, we snack on Ljubljana’s famous cinnamon and hazelnut rolls. If you want to find Bojan in his natural habitat these days, the easiest place to do so is right here. “Give me another one, please.”

Now that you’ve had a bit of time to settle - what are your impressions from Opatija? Can a fashion shoot be more exhausting than a session in the music studio?

Jure: Definitely not more exhausting than recording music.

Bojan: I actually really enjoyed it. We had such a great time. On a thankfully sunny day, we escaped a little - it felt like a mix of holiday and work. Plus, we were dressed differently than usual, so there was a bit of character playing going on.

Kris: It was so hot in those outfits.

Bojan: Oh, yeah. We can never get it right - if we’re filming on a warm day, the styling always involves too many layers; if it’s cold, we never have enough. So we’re always either freezing or overheating - never just right.

Who got most into their character, and how far did it go? The pieces from that era really do have a transformative power.

Bojan: Every Porsche we saw was ours. (laughter)

But in the end, you landed back on those good old pedal boats…

Bojan: Yeah, we landed back in reality, didn’t we? (laughter)

What’s your first memory of Cosmo? Did you ever 'accidentally' flip through it at the hairdresser’s or steal your sister’s copy?

Bojan: Mine’s probably tied to the seaside, actually. I think Cosmo was was always among the magazines people packed for summer vacations. I kind of see it in combination with pebbles.

Kris: Same. Though I think I’ve consumed Cosmopolitan more often in a glass than in print… (laughter)

Speaking of summer - this year you finally got to enjoy it a bit more in your personal life as well. Jure, you rode 1,500 km along Slovenia’s borders on your motorbike. Nace, you started teaching bass guitar.

Kris, you did some 'field research' at Sziget Festival, where we ran into each other. Bojan, you came straight from filming 'Pisma snova' (Letters of Dreams). And Jan, we managed to dig up that you were recently at the seaside too.

Joker Out: That’s right, it did us all a lot of good. It was unforgettable for each of us.

If we had pushed ourselves any further, we could have reached a breaking point, because it was already clear that we were all exhausted.

At the start of the summer, for the first time since your huge milestone concert there in September 2022, you relived Križanke together at Festival202.

Bojan: We returned to it much more relaxed than three years ago, since that first concert was part of the momentum and machinery that started with our show at Cvetličarna. Back then we felt like we had to keep those wheels spinning nonstop. That Križanke show was also our last with Martin (Jurkovič, our former bassist), which made it very special on their own. I’m really glad that this time - at least in my experience - we got to shake that stage again together with Nace, because it holds a unique place in any musician’s career. And being there this year among all those incredible bands who shared the stage with us made it even more meaningful. Something like that definitely won’t happen again; it was a one-of-a-kind moment we’ll only appreciate more as time goes on. It truly was a magical evening.

Kris: You watched that first Križanke concert from the audience, right Nace?

Nace: No, I had a gig.

Bojan: I remember exactly where and with whom - at the castle, with Lukas!

Nace: Exactly!

Kris: What about the afterparty?

Nace: Couldn’t make it, I was playing again the next day. Our first concert together was actually at Kampus.

Bojan: You were there?

Nace: Yeah, and you guys were my opening act at the Battle of the Bands in 2017. I was one of the judges.

Bojan: And how many points did you give us? (laughter)

Nace: Can’t remember. (laughter)

Kris: We came in second. He probably said the bass was great, but the rest was pretty lame. (laughter)

Bojan, what kind of feelings do you take home with you from that Balkan film shoot, which is still ongoing?

Bojan: Always very positive ones. I’ve had the chance to work with incredible, legendary actors and an amazing crew. Everyone involved in the film is a professional who has already worked on projects I grew up watching, so I’m actually a fan of theirs. It’s a really inspiring environment for me. I learn so much every single day. Of course, as a non-professional in this field, there’s room for improvement at every step, and the veterans on set actually help me with that, which is really wonderful.

Can you tell us a bit more about your character?

Bojan: Kemal is the spoiled son of a wealthy politician who’s always gotten everything he’s ever wanted. As a result, he believes he can do whatever he wants in life, with no limits whatsoever. In the film, he wants to be loved by the main actress Hana and goes to great lengths to win her over. I’m actually playing a negative character this time, which I like, because until now I’ve always played positive young guys. This role is the complete opposite of who I am and what I want to be, so it’s been a really great experience.

The movie is set to come out in 2027, right?

Bojan: That’s right, or maybe even by the end of 2026.

You mentioned that you’re feeling less pressure now. What kind of period are you in as a band? Have you reached a point where you can just enjoy the view, or are you already setting new goals from there? Up to now, you’ve been almost a textbook example of how to plan and achieve them.

Bojan: I think we’ve reached a really important point - a moment when you make sense of everything that’s happened so far, while also looking at what’s coming next. Even though we’ll celebrate ten years together next year, things only really started moving fast after the pandemic, around 2021 and 2022. Then came Eurovision, and with it a complete 180-degree turn - going abroad, performing internationally... It’s hard to even process it as it’s happening. It can actually be quite tough on your creativity and on the relationships within the band.

The fact that we made it through that, recorded an album, and are still happily playing together - that was a major peak. But like with hiking in the mountains: once you’ve crossed one peak, you have to descend to the next valley, rest a bit, and gather new strength. Now it’s very clear to us what we’ve achieved and how well we handled things. We have new goals ahead, but we’re also allowing ourselves to breathe, both as a band and as individuals, which I think is the most important thing.

If we had pushed ourselves any further, we could have reached a breaking point, because it was already clear that we were all exhausted. It wasn’t about any negative energy within the band, but rather that everyone was simply drained. That’s why it’s so important to recharge - and I’m really glad that this year we all managed to go to the seaside.

This kind of life doesn’t allow for extreme dives into individuality - especially not toxic individuality - which I think is a very good thing.

Jure: This is the first year we’ve actually taken it a bit easier. We know what we’re doing until the end of the year and next year too, but we also have enough space and time for personal things - to just breathe normally.

Bojan: I’ll put it this way: for the past two or three years, even on my days off, I was quite nervous because I felt like we were missing out on something work-related. But this time we had much more free time, and I felt completely at peace. I’m not worried about whether we’ll record anything or not, because I genuinely feel that our creative energy is still strong and high-quality. And I know we have more than enough time. That’s brought me a real sense of zen in my head.

Have you ever almost scrapped a song or project that later turned out to be a success?

Bojan: Gola, for example, was kind of on that path... I remember we started working on the verses back in 2016, and then we just stopped.

Jure: Carpe Diem too.

Jan: We once had a different chorus for Gola, something with milk in it.

Bojan: White as milk. (laughter)

Jan: Yeah, yeah, white as milk.

Bojan: That chorus was bizarre. It happens a lot.

What’s a musician’s biggest fear before releasing a new song or project - and has that ever actually happened to you?

Bojan: That you release the music video and it’s not in stereo, but in mono. (everyone nods)

Kris: Yeah, that’s always risky. At festivals, they often record your performance, mix it their own way, and release it - without your approval, so there’s always that bit of fear about how it’ll sound. They released one from Belgrade recently, but thank God it sounds good.

Jan: I broke my guitar at our last concert - that was my biggest fear, and it actually came true.

Bojan: Surprisingly, you didn’t seem too sad about it. Oh right, I remember why - because you said it would sound better now. (laughter)

Jan: I just told myself, “What can be done, it’s broken. It’ll get fixed, no point stressing about it.”

How did it happen?

Jan: Nace’s bass has a stronger neck than mine, and we bumped into each other.

Bojan: They were sword fighting, those two. (laughter)

How much can you predict the audience’s reactions now that it’s so geographically spread out?

Bojan: You can’t.

Kris: Every artist says you can never please everyone, but with us that’s even more true, because we cover three different regions, and we often hear things like, “Why don’t you have a song in our language?”

When you come to the Balkans, which you openly said you wanted to conquer, does it already feel like a second home, or still like an unexplored playground? Most people there know you by now.

Bojan: Uh...

Jure: The customs officers already let us through without any issues, so it’s almost a second home. (smiles)

Bojan: When you start playing abroad, the ideal scenario is that you play a few shows in one country and think, “Okay, I know it now.” But the reality is different. In Slovenia, we literally had to play over a hundred concerts, visit every village, every town - whether there were a thousand people, ten thousand, or just Jan’s dad and a photographer in the audience. That's actually happened before. We still have a lot left to discover in every country outside Slovenia. I’m sure there are still hidden gems here at home too, but abroad there’s definitely plenty more to uncover.

Kris: For example, we still haven’t played at Vurberk Castle.

Jan: Or in Jesenice.

There’s always someone who pulls you back down to earth. In our case, there are four of them.

Even though it seems like everything happens through social media these days, physical presence is still very important, isn’t it? It often happens that we go to a concert, and only then do we really start listening to that artist.

Bojan: Or we stop. We’ve seen that happen too. (laughter)

Kris: Back then we were playing around 60 shows a year, in every corner of Slovenia. It was the post-Covid period, when people were going to lots of concerts, and you had the chance to win them over live. These days, that excitement has calmed down a bit, and I don't think it's possible to reach a part of the audience that way anymore.

People have been wondering lately whether the new wave of Slovenian music will keep going, since it’s in a bit of a quiet phase after that big bang.

Bojan: It definitely will. But these are natural fluctuations that can’t always stay right at the top. What happened after Covid wasn’t exactly natural. If it stayed like that all the time, it would just be insane. (laughter)

Then you wouldn’t have had this blessed period of well-earned rest...

Bojan: Exactly. If everything’s good all the time, is it really good?

That’s a nice bridge to the next question. When success becomes the norm - sometimes even a bit annoying because of all the attention - do you have to remind yourselves that this is what you wanted? Who, apart from you, Bojan, actually dreamed of this, and who kind of stumbled into it by accident?

Jure: I think we all wanted it; otherwise, we wouldn’t be where we are now.

Kris: When I started playing in high school, I just really enjoyed going to rehearsals and playing, even if it was just for a few people.

Others: And because of...? Admit it. (laughter)

Kris: Yeah, also because of girls. (laughter) I never imagined it would become this serious, but I just went with the flow.

Bojan: If Kris were 14 again today, he’d be a gaser¹ or a trapper. (laughter)

¹Young member of a Balkan subculture

It’s always great to see musicians who manage to live that dream, since many don’t - so many stars have to align, on top of hard work and talent. If we start tying success or failure too much to our sense of self, we can easily turn into that slightly cranky uncle at the checkout, fighting for a coupon at the front of the line, if we exaggerate a bit.

Jure: We argue at checkouts too. (laughter)

Jan, I ran into you on the road the other day; someone cut you off, and you honked... I know, because you have the sponsor car.

Jan: Really? Oh no, then it must have been bad. (laughter)

Jure: Staying calm behind the wheel is a real challenge sometimes. (laughter)

At media and private events, you’re often the most anticipated people in the room - and the ones everyone wants to talk to. Which one of you has the biggest social battery? Or more precisely - who has more than Bojan?

Jure: Bojči definitely wins this one.

Kris: My social energy is either zero or a hundred. Sometimes I show up somewhere and there’s just no way to get me into a normal conversation, and other times I’m the most talkative person there.

And the opposite - how do you “make use” of your fame the most?

Jure: I’d say mostly for concerts where we get in for free.

Bojan: Literally. I don’t even know if that kind of thing really happens in Slovenia - where someone just gives you something for free. I’m not saying they should, but I honestly haven’t noticed, for example, that I ever got a free meal at a restaurant or anything like that. With concerts, though, you almost always get on the guest list practically everywhere, which is nice. But even then, if we feel it’s right to support someone, we’ll buy the tickets, even if we could be on the list.

A lot of people probably compare themselves to you in terms of career and lifestyle. Do you ever catch yourselves looking at your peers who’ve chosen a more traditional path - studying, getting their first full-time job, following a routine?

Bojan: At least five times a week I have an urge to live a nine-to-five life.

We could probably already qualify for honorary status as founders of some sort of brotherhood.

Jure: I’m the complete opposite. When I see someone driving home from work, I think, 'Thank God I don’t have to wake up at six in the morning.'

Nace: Right? Plus, you live in Logatec. (laughter)

Kris: My friends are all finishing their master’s degrees right now, or they already have, and they’re at that point where they have to finally decide what they want to do with their lives. A lot of them fall into a bit of a crisis because they really don’t know. In those moments, I realise how lucky I am that life offered me this path before I even had to start questioning it.

Bojan: That’s really valuable. But still - maybe not nine to five, since nine is a bit early - but it doesn’t sound too bad... (laughter)

Kris: In the Netherlands they’ve introduced a four-day work week.

Jure: Bojči, we’ll make you a proper schedule: you’ll be at our rehearsal space at eight, then you’ll clean for six hours... (laughter)

Bojan: That’s how Magnifico works. He gets dressed, goes to the studio, stays there until lunch, goes home, and then comes back to work again . Even if he doesn’t do anything, he’s still at his workplace. (laughter)

How do you balance your personal life ambitions within the band? You’re at that age when people often start thinking about family, marriage, and so on - how will you handle that when it comes?

Jure: Not happening. (laughter)

Bojan: The clause still stands for the next eight years, and after that we’ll see whether we start adding any new members or not. Nace got a dog, and that already caused a bit of a crisis. (laughter)

The adorable dachshund Pino.

Nace: Pinooo!

Bojan: When it happens to one of us, it’ll happen. Thing is, that person will have to have four godfathers with him at the wedding. (laughter)

Generation Z is often - like every generation before it - under fire from public opinion. You interact with them a lot. What’s your impression?

Bojan: We are Generation Z, except for Jure and Nace.

Kris: But culturally we’re not entirely Gen Z, even though technically we belong there. When we were kids, we had the kind of technology that defined millennials, so culturally we feel closer to them.

Jan: Considering the Slovenian timeline, Nace is still...

Nace: DVD. (laughter)

Others: Blu-ray! (laughter)

Jure: But yeah, we probably spent more time playing outside with the neighbours.

Nace: I feel like young people today face much more external pressure, mainly because of social media. It makes it seem like everyone’s rich and successful. That pressure to already have it all while you’re still very young is probably huge, and I think that makes things a lot harder for them than it was for us, since we didn’t grow up with that.

Kris: At the same time, I feel like we often don’t fully understand them - there’s a kind of barrier between us, Gen Alpha, and Gen Z. Even with my sister, who’s ten years younger, I notice the difference. Next to her I actually feel kind of old. She likes to tell me that I say slightly “boomer” things. (everyone laughs)

Ten years - who’s still the same person, who’s changed, and who’s still dreaming? Bojan, Kris, and Jan - has it all gone by quickly for you?

Kris: Yeah, Martin and Matic (our former bassists²) have completely changed. (laughter) It’s almost impossible not to.

²T/N ex bassist and drummer

Bojan: We’ve definitely all changed; at our core, we’re still pretty much the same people we were when we first met, but we’ve grown from early teenagers into adults who earn their own living. We could probably already qualify for honorary status as founders of some sort of brotherhood. I think we’ve really grown in terms of collegiality. This kind of life doesn’t allow for extreme dives into individuality - especially not toxic individuality - which I think is a very good thing. It’s been healthy for us to go through waves of hype and maybe even a few ego trips together. There’s always someone who pulls you back down to earth - in our case, there are four of them. Over these nine years, it’s really been a healthy environment to grow up in.

When I look at it through the eyes of my family, my parents - it’s easier for them too, because they know that wherever I go and whatever I do, these people are with me. They trust them, because we’ve already been through so much together.

It’ll probably be the first real carnival that many people will experience in their lives.

Jan, Kris, and Bojan, you’ve been here since the very beginning - has the time flown by for you?

Kris: I barely even remember the first five years… I don’t know, it all kind of blends together, especially around the Covid period.

Bojan: That was pure rock’n’roll, right? Days were nights, nights were days. That’s what it sounds like. The first five years were just one big 'blur' of youth, but honestly, it all went by so fast. Still, when the guys mention where we were two years ago, I can’t remember anything either - not the places, the cities, or the timelines…

Jan: But once someone reminds you or gives a reference to what happened somewhere, it comes back to you...

Bojan: Yeah, but if someone asked me what season it was when we played a certain show, I’d say winter, and they’d say July. Everything feels like it either happened yesterday or fifteen years ago, when in reality it was just two years ago. Before Covid, during Covid, after Covid - it’s all the same time.

How do you celebrate each other’s birthdays? Is there always cake involved, like at the announcement of your big Karneval, which will take place on the 20th of June next year?

Kris: Yeah. For Nace’s birthday, which was the most recent one, we celebrated in the van on the way from Skopje to Ljubljana.

Bojan: It was really nice. We waited until midnight backstage at the concert, sang to him, and blew out the candles together.

Jure: Well, I for example, don’t remember that anymore. (laughter) I don’t even know where we were.

Kris: We celebrated your birthday in Koper, didn’t we? At the Slovenian Army Days.

Jure: Yeah, and the year before that we had just finished the Sea Star Festival in Umag, and the next day was my birthday - that was great too.

Bojan: We often celebrate Jan’s birthday together, since it’s on New Year’s Day, the 1st of January.

Jan: When going from 2023 to 2024, there was even that guy playing the accordion!

Jure: Next year I’ve got two big milestones.

Bojan: What?

Jure: Karneval and my 30th birthday.

Bojan: You’re turning 30 next year? What? Oh, wow. Right, of course - we’ll be 27 next year. Damn, tough years ahead.

Kris: I’ll be 26 next year.

Jan: I’ll be 27.

Bojan: Nace, I’m coming with you to Turkey for that full-body medical check-up. (laughter)

Nace: Yeah, they scan and check your whole body and tell you if you’re healthy, and then you can relax if everything’s fine.

Jure: When we go to Thailand again for a holiday, we can stop in Istanbul on the way. We’ll buy a cheap flight with a 32-hour layover and come home with our heads wrapped up. (laughter)

Kris: My birthday rarely gets celebrated together because we’re always on tour.

Bojan: Although we did celebrate mine in London.

Nace: At The Boogaloo Pub.

Bojan: Really? Oh yeah!

Karneval will take place under the open sky, on Kardeljeva ploščad in Ljubljana, right near the spot where your band played together for the very first time almost ten years ago. Will the weather be okay?

All: It will!

Bojan: No need to worry, we’ve already booked that.

What’s something nobody knows about it yet that Cosmo readers can exclusively find out? We won’t tell anyone.

Bojan: It won’t just be a concert, but a full-day event for all generations. It’ll probably be the first real carnival many people will experience in their lives. We’ll really do our best to create an authentic carnival experience.

Kris: It’ll be the first concert you’ll actually want to arrive early for.

Bojan: Exactly, that’s a good one.

Even though this era of theirs doesn’t have an official name, the best way to describe it is simple: the “Jokers” currently look relaxed, happy, and well-rested. And more connected than ever - no sugarcoating needed. The view they’ve worked so hard to reach doesn’t just look up at the sky, but toward new peaks ahead.

Everybody's invited to the Karneval!

Joker Out's COMMENT ON A COMMENT

Post motive: Bojan’s character Kemal from the film Pisma Snova (his profile)

Comment:

@/keyjahn Finally playing an adult!😉

Bojan: “In fact, I’m really happy that I finally don’t have to play a high schooler or a teenager anymore. But when I look back – in all those cult films, like Grease, for example, the teenagers were played by 35-year-old guys. And then we were all wondering why, at sixteen, we didn’t look like that. (laughs) So maybe I still have a year or two left to play a teenager. Let’s put it this way: for the first time in my life, I played a role where they didn’t dye my hair. They left my gray hair – and I really liked that.”

Post motive: Announcement of concert dates for the autumn tour

Comment:

@/unknownuser You should have a concert in Sarajevo, we’ve been waiting for it like parched earth for the sun since 2023.

Kris: “We know, Sarajevo is a tough nut that we still haven’t cracked.”

Bojan: “It’s on the wish list.”

Post motive: Karneval announcement

Comment:

@/binafortuna If I didn’t have my own wedding on the same day 🤭️😅❤️

Bojan: “The only valid excuse.”

Kris: “She should come celebrate it at the Karneval.”

Post motive: Post with their drinks

Comment:

@/mc99621 No sweeteners or sugar, go ahead and drink this.

Joker Out: “Our lives are sweet enough without sweeteners and sugar.”

Post motive: Jacuzzi after Castle Festival

Comment:

@/ifrinferher Bojan, I gave those sunglasses to Jan, not to you. Return them immediately 🤨

Bojan: “Yeah, I know, I remember. The sunglasses we get on stage always end up in the rehearsal room, because our Kiki usually grabs them off the stage. Then everyone takes whichever ones they like – or doesn’t take any. Back then, the glasses were basically communal property, and I was just wearing them. Sorry, Jan, I’ll never do that to you again… until the next gig. Will you forgive me, Jan?”

Jan: “No.”

Bojan: “No?”

Jan: “No.”

Bojan: “You can’t just leave that in the interview.”

Jan: “But isn’t ‘no’ actually ‘yes’ in Greek?”

Bojan: “It is.”