Rizo Balic

Rizo Balic recently came to our attention as a prolific composer in a wide variety of genres, one who has been at this for decades now. He was born in Montenegro, but has called the UK home for over 20 years. While living in Yugoslavia, his main influences became figures of that pop and rock scene: The White Button, Silver Wings, Early Frost. He arrived in the UK, barely knowing English, having learned only a handful of words from American movies and TV. When he began studying the language at evening school, he also became infatuated with many American and European musical acts, such as ABBA, the Beatles, Elton John, and Madonna.

He says that these artists played a major role in his musical development. Formerly, while studying in Belgrade, he had written poems, and now began translating these into song lyrics. He eventually took a night course in studying music theory and composition, as well.