Label: Društvo za eno glasbo
Production: Janez Križaj
Release year: 2014
Album length: 67:44
Genre: folk rock
Buy the album!
Brencl Banda is yet another Slovenian musical phenomenon from the Sotla “wine-growing region”, or let’s just say the Sotla homeland, whose driving force and engine is the main songwriter (for the most part), arranger, composer, guitarist, vocalist and bandleader Andrej Boštjančič Ruda.
A four-piece outfit with, as of today (and I hope I’m counting right), two studio albums under their belt played a show on March 22, 2014, at Rimska ulica 2 in Ljubljana, in the Salon za Eno glasbo. At the end of this November, that show got its official release as a live document titled »Live / živo«.
The document, 17 tracks and a little under 70 minutes of music, takes the listener straight into the heart of the band’s musical essence, to the core of what they have to say. I can’t tell whether the whole recording is on this disc or whether some of the songs played are missing, but there are definitely some “adjustment” cuts between the tracks. Either way, »V živo« shows an extraordinary, even astonishing tightness from four musical acrobats who bridge genre divides for fun and melt them into a colorful musical mosaic of eclectic value. Both studio albums already proved that, but if you happen to have missed them, »V živo« is actually an even more authentic place to start discovering the Brencl Banda story. Authenticity served up on a platter!
Since we’re talking about Andrej’s homeland, it’s more or less expected, if not downright obvious, that a concise touch of the traditional folk way of hearing music from this southern corner of Slovenia runs through all the tracks. Andrej is an extremely effective conduit of this cultural heritage into the Brencl Banda musical dossier. Songs like Petrino kolo, Hruškova, Zelena, Martinova, Tja čez daljno morje, Pismo and Juriš, among others, offer in their musical content many a piece of folk customs, rites and habits. If that’s the starting point, then fusing it with other genres is the upgrade, and it leads to eclecticism. From the flirtation with neoclassicism in Na vrtu, where the arrangements could easily make room for Spanish flamenco, to the bluesy, stinging Mi smo Ob_up (properly “heavy” confessions in the verses), to Jinamor, where the accordion cries out in a “French” way, while Sonet, especially its intro and outro, could easily grace a Slovenian film soundtrack with any string of “peasant imagery” at the center of the script. Anovi carries an exceptionally beautiful lead melody, with an excellent framework for a possible predatory alternative rock track. In a completely different arrangement, of course, plugged into the mains.
Throughout the whole live recording we get superb playing, full of lucid and playful breadth, and a relaxed vibe of the quartet’s players enjoying the repertoire to the fullest. On this free-spinning carousel of intense folk melos blending with a rich sense of adventure and “wild” improvisation, we experience remarkable communication between friendly building blocks, vocal interpretation included. The album »V živo« is a playful romp and a manifesto of full-on momentum. No brakes. The chemistry, the heart, the passion and the fire are all here! Hand in hand. All the way through. From the opening to the closing note. With this live document, Brencl Banda add yet another shining pearl to the mosaic of vivid Slovenian musical macramé, one that translates the traditional heritage of folk melos from different regions through a free-spirited play of improvisation, in a way that’s all their own and one of a kind.
author: Aleš Podbrežnik
score: 9.0 / 10
Track list:
1. Gustavson D
2. Mi smo ob_up
3. Petrino kolo
4. Jinamor
5. Še oj še
6. Hruškova
7. Igraj kolo jabolko
8. Zelena
9. Martinova
10. Anovi
11. Tja čez daljno morje
12. Na vrtu
13. Črešnjevska
14. Pismo
15. Juriš
16. Sonet
17. Puna Luna
Lineup:
Andrej Boštjančič “Ruda” – guitar, vocals
Klemen Bračko – violin
Rok Šinkovec – accordion, vocals
Matija Krivec – double bass
