Label: Celinka
Release date: 2014
Production: Janez Dovč
Genre: Folk/World Music/Pop/Art Rock/Jazz Fusion
Rating: 9.0/10
Yep. Slovenes can be team players too. Janez Dovč, the lead protagonist and visionary behind the “Sounds Of Slovenia” project, managed to get over 30 musicians on board, all of whom have drawn creative inspiration from the melos of traditional Slovenian music at one point or another in their careers, which means their own discographies are tightly bound up with it too. A complex idea at first glance, it actually had an easier road to realization than you’d expect, since the musicians involved are names who have known each other very well for years and have already been linked in the past through bands, various art projects and musical challenges. These are seasoned musicians and artists who have left a lasting mark on the Slovenian scene through their work in bands like Katalena, Jararaja, Manouche, Katice, Siddharta, Elevators, Fake Orchestra, Brina and Silence, through their collaborations within the Big Band RTV Slovenija, or as acclaimed solo artists and, of course, singer-songwriters too!
Sounds Of Slovenia came out last November as a “garlic disc” (ČeDe): 200 bags of garlic, each with a code that lets you download the album online. Of course, the release has been available online all along as a paid download, but you’ll have a hard time getting your hands on the garlic packaging these days. Stocks have most likely run out. And somewhere around mid-February this year, Sounds Of Slovenia also got a vinyl edition.
The first four tracks on the album were recorded in the studio, while the other four come from a live performance at the Lent festival in Maribor in 2012. The Lent performance also came with rich visuals. Looking over the contents of the release, you’re honestly not that surprised at first when you read the titles of the folk-turned-beloved standards from the Slovenian folk music heritage, again and again. Passed down from generation to generation, these songs have gone through plenty of transformations. Adaptations and reworkings are especially popular these days, above all thanks to the interesting results they produce as successful experiments in crossing Slovenian folk melos with other musical genres! In their arrangements, the musicians lean especially on the free-spirited philosophy of jazz “soloing”, and on the other side they enrich the backdrop with symphonic arrangements. The songs often take on a touch of chanson. “Sounds Of Slovenia” thus presents eight standards of Slovenian folk music in new packaging! Fresh, different and (for that very reason, once again and then some) utterly captivating!
From Istria (Tamo doli poli mora) to Prekmurje (Zrejlo je žito) may be a short trip, but even the smallest geographic shift across our little country brings the incredible colorfulness that the character of Slovenian folk melos can boast. That’s the first element, and right from the starting point it sets up the variety among the eight tracks. The second element that deepens the contrast is the choice of vocal soloists. These are proven names: Eva Hren, Brina Vogelnik, Vesna Zornik, Aphra Tesla, Rudi Bučar & Marino Kranjac, the female vocal ensemble Katice, Metod Banko and mezzo-soprano Irena Preda, who with their vocal specifics and polished expressive character breathe a special, you could say unique and thoroughly distinctive stamp into the songs. And then there’s the watchful musical ear for the fine mechanics of detailed arrangement across all eight tracks, with the visionary mind of Janez Dovč behind it. The plethora of musicians involved works as an orchestra in the shared collision of the chosen arrangements, and the folk melos shows itself through the content of a playful chanson that Frank Sinatra would have loved to hear (Ko psi zalajajo), in the recognizable vocal pose of Metod Banko (Silence). There’s the swaggering, eccentric vocal dossier of Aphra Tesla (Pleničke je prala), and the tender, fragile Zrejlo je žito, carried on wings of astonishing melancholy by the exceptional mezzo-soprano Irena Preda, which, in an atmosphere of “mid eighties” feel, gets turned upside down by Pikl’s almost Floyd-esque guitar wailing. Eight songs, eight complete wholes. No dips in quality. Everything is made with exceptional commitment and care. A selection of highly talented and experienced instrumentalists livens up the arrangements with solo spots, and one of the first names in that department is once again Vasko Atanasovski with his universal collection of wind instruments (Lepa Vida). In Tamo doli poli mora, you can’t miss the importance of Goran Krmac’s tuba, which, alongside Bučar’s vocal essence, gives the song its special stamp, while in the faster Pleničke je prala, Hace’s dynamic, active and incredibly supple bass line stands out. The contrasts are extraordinary, the elements that build the overall sonic density coexist in remarkable symbiosis, and the special traits of the lead vocalists add that necessary dot on the “i” which gives the album “Sounds Of Slovenia” its stamp of absolute uniqueness, even though it draws on a universal musical language conceived many centuries ago on the sunny side of the Alps.
In short: if you’re looking for a provocative smashing of taboos and set forms, sparkling this time in a masterfully repackaged exploratory excursion called “The New Slovenian Resonance”, you’ll be thrilled with this one, while all the “ethnologists” and “soul-searching” lovers of Slovenian folk melos surely have this release in their collection of favorite albums already.
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Tracklist:
1. Oblaki so rdeči (feat. Eva Hren)
2. Lepa Vida (feat. Brina Vogelnik & APZ Tone Tomšič)
3. Šla bom na goro (feat. Vesna Zornik & APZ Tone Tomšič)
4. Pleničke je prala (feat. aphra Tesla)
5. Tamo doli poli mora (feat. Rudi Bučar & Marino Kranjac)
6. Da bin znala (feat. Katice)
7. Ko psi zalajajo (feat. Metod Banko)
8. Zreilo je žito (feat. Irena Preda)
Lineup:
Aphra Tesla – vocals
Eva Hren – vocals
Irena Preda – vocals
Katice – vocals
Metod Banko – vocals
Rudi Bučar – vocals
Vesna Zornik – vocals
Brina Vogelnik – vocals
Marino Kranjac – vocals, bagpipes, violin, mandolin
Boštjan Gombač – clarinet, flute, backing vocals
Davor Klarič – keyboards, Hammond
Goran Krmac – tuba
Gregor Budal – clarinet, backing vocals
Gregor Volk – backing vocals, violin, guitar
Irena Zdolšek – zither
Janez Dovč – accordion, “Rhodes” keyboards
Jani Hace – bass guitar
Luka Ipavec – trumpet
Nina Volk – oprekelj (a type of hammered dulcimer)
Nino Mureškič – percussion
Robert Pikl – guitar
Rok Štirn – trombone
Sergej Ranđelović – drums
Tomaž Gajšt – trumpet
Vasilij Centrih – violin
Vasko Atanasovski – saxophone, flute
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Jelena Ždrale – viola
Miloš Simić – violin
Tamara Gombač – cello
Akademski zbor Tone Tomšič – choir vocals
