Exclusively for Shilo Magazine: Interview with Tose Proeski after his successful concert in Sydney, 28 September 2007
SHILO: Congratulations on the successful concert and the great performance tonight. How do you feel at this moment by your own macedonians here in Sydney again?
TOSE: I absolutely feel like home. It is very important to be surrounded by people that are positive no mater where you are in the world. Here I am surrounded by my own people so the feeling is surreal.
SHILO: How do you manage to look relaxed and have such a drive to perform after a long and exhausting trip to Australia?
TOSE: I live for my music and for my fans. It gives me strength and motivation when I perform in front of my audience. Once I get motivated it’s easier for me to endure the physical challenge.
SHILO: Are you seeing someone at the moment or maybe have someone special in your life?
TOSE: No I don’t have a girlfriend or a special someone at the moment. I am always on the road, traveling on tours and concerts, so I don’t have time to concentrate on my private life. I am expressing my emotions through my songs.
SHILO: Perhaps you will find that someone special here in Australia
TOSE: LOL Who knows maybe- in the future.
SHILO: You only had one concert in Sydney is there any reason why?
TOSE: I am really pressed for time. I am doing a Humanitarian concert in Macedonia on the 5th of October. I had nothing scheduled for this period so I thought I’d come here and get in touch with the Macedonian community here in Australia.
SHILO: You are involved in many humanitarian projects and you are also an ambassador for the children’s embassy through the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
How can the Macedonian community in Australia help such an organisation?
TOSE: In order for us to help the Macedonian community more effectively there are a number of changes that need to be made on behalf of our government. As soon as these changes are made it will be easier for the community here to be more involved with investments and charity events. When I say all of us together I am including myself as I myself live outside of Macedonia as I am only there one month per year. We have to help regardless of where in the world we live as Macedonia is our fatherland.
SHILO: Are you working on any albums or promotions and what should we expect from Tose in the near future?
TOSE: There is a new project coming up soon that will be something new and completely different from what we are used to. A new album is also underway which will be in English from song writers. This will hopefully be my big break in the European and world market.
SHILO: You are somewhat seen as an ambassador for Macedonia in the world. Therefore we wish you great success with your new album as you will also be promoting Macedonia even further.
TOSE: I use every opportunity when I am abroad to promote Macedonia. I hope that my new album will be a world scale success which will promote Macedonia even further. I would also like to let the world know that Macedonia has a quality that not many people are aware of.
SHILO: We have seen a lot of people here tonight especially a lot of teenagers, are lots of young female fans something that you see at every Tose concert? Tonight was no exception as these teenagers are first or second Macedonian generations born in Australia whose primary language is English. What was so surprising and great to see was that they all new your songs word by word regardless whether it was from an old or more recent album.
What message would you like to pass on to these people?
TOSE: I would just like to say that heritage is deeper than the place of birth. Don’t forget your language and your roots. The more languages you know the more you are worth as a person. Do not forget your mother tongue no matter what.
SHILO: Tose is there anything else you would like to say to our readers?
TOSE: I would like to greet the readers of this magazine and I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and thank the organiser Zoran Kukunoski for the excellent organisation of this event in coordination with my manager Liljana Petrovic.
SHILO: One question for Liljana: How easy or difficult is it to manage a mega star like Tose?
LILJANA: It depends from which angle you are looking at things. When you do all this out of love it’s not hard, but it can also be very challenging at times. I would just like to thank all of you, who support Tose, and to ask you to continue to do as he is surely on its way to world stardom.
http://www.shilomagazine.com.au/en/tose-proeski-s-the-last-interview-given-in-australia-before-his-tragic-death-for-shilo