A Cosmic Journey with Miha Kralj at Kino Šiška (2016)

Arhiv Arhiv Last updated 11 June 2026

Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik

Location: Ljubljana / CUK Kino Šiška / Slovenia
Concert date: September 22, 2016
Attendance: 400
Ticket price: €17.00 / €20.00

Miha Kralj, the Yugoslav and later Slovenian keyboardist, composer, singer and sonic pioneer of electronic and ambient music, played one of the rare solo shows of his colorful career in the big hall of Kino Šiška. We’ll remember it above all for the incredible, nostalgia-soaked atmosphere that filled the room from the very first composition, not to mention the virtuoso technical execution under the direction of our musical master and sound innovator. After almost four decades, Miha performed »Andromeda« live again, and with his outstanding set he made every fan of electronic textures, rolling ambient curtains and all kinds of synth technology happy. The stars of that gear were the Korg and Roland synths, a smaller Oberheim synth and a gigantic Moog modular for programming sound patterns, to name just a few of the keyboard instruments from his rich treasure chest.

Mr. Kralj, who made his name across the former shared country as a solo artist and innovator with the cult album »Andromeda« (1980), followed later by the lesser-known but no less interesting »Odyssey« (1982) and »Electric Dreams« (1985), staged his concert on a grand scale, with a laser show and several special guests who joined him on stage one by one. He played the opening part completely alone, or rather in the company of his keyboards, which surrounded him on all sides, so his hands were full the whole time. Most importantly, he visibly enjoyed himself throughout, and that helped build the thoroughly positive atmosphere that quickly took over the hall. He played at least one track from each of those three solo albums. Some in the crowd had expected Miha to perform the entire »Andromeda« album live, but they were more than satisfied with the selection of tracks from his impressive musical career.

During Miha’s set, rich projections of space and countless planets drifted across the room the whole time while colorful, vivid lasers whizzed around, so a few times we felt like we’d hopped aboard a spaceship on a cosmic voyage toward distant galaxies. Most of the work from Miha’s career has this kind of ambient power, and if you added electric guitar, bass and drums to his mostly synth-driven music, in some cases you could end up with a really interesting space rock, one of those experimental genres that has always been badly missed on our turf. Of course, as a solo musician Miha has always preferred to follow his own visions rather than pay much attention to the trends of the day, and that’s exactly as it should be. His synths still sound the way they did in the eighties, so he had no trouble recreating the magical mood of his most celebrated creative period.

The first guest, Anja Gaberc on harp, joined Miha during the famous instrumental »Andromeda«, from the album of the same name, which for most of the older members of the audience is etched in memory as the music that accompanied slow-motion footage of ski flights in Planica in the eighties. In »Sezona senc« by the band Prah, Miha was joined on vocals and acoustic guitar by Andraž Hribar, the son of his former musical colleague Milan Hribar, with whom he played in the bands Intervali and Celeias. After that period, Miha was a member of Prah between 1975 and 1980, and played with them often all across Slovenia. Special praise goes to guest singer Brigita Lupša, who sang »Vesoljne smeti« and »Zemlja kliče S.O.S.« superbly, the latter being the well-known song Miha took to Slovenska popevka in 1983, and to guest violinist Lazaro, who thrilled in »Galactic Car« and »Future Shine«. For the finale, Miha had a very special surprise in store. He invited his old comrades, the original (and still living) members of Dekameroni (1969-1972), up on stage, and together they played and sang their big hit »Sava šumi«, which has long since become a folk classic and which many forget was written by none other than Miha. The reunion of Dekameroni and their first performance since 1972 was sadly only symbolic, but it’s hard to imagine a better ending, one that let Miha cover practically every chapter of his rich creative journey. In the end, after a set of about seventy minutes, came a thunderous and more than well-deserved ovation.

Miha Kralj, whom some call the Yugoslav / Slovenian Jean-Michel Jarre, although he himself shrugs off that nickname, reminded everyone present in Katedrala, the big hall of Kino Šiška, of his musical greatness, which even after all these decades still shines with undiminished power. For his contribution to the development of (not just Slovenian) electronic and ambient music, he would undoubtedly deserve more respect and attention than he usually gets from the media. The sound during his set was enviable throughout, which is hardly surprising for such a sonic perfectionist. Miha’s music, especially the album »Andromeda«, should be protected by our culture ministry as a national treasure of special cultural significance, but in these voracious times of barbaric capitalism, when music and culture in general are ‘of secondary importance to our society’ (a phrase we keep hearing from the mouths of all sorts of representatives of state institutions), that sadly won’t happen. First we’ll need a serious change in consciousness and state of mind, even if it takes a thousand more listens to Miha’s futuristic ambient journeys and sonic visions that heal body and soul.