Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Mistermarsh
Label: Celinka
Release: 2017
Runtime: 47:21
Rating: 4.5/5
Behind the moniker Mistermarsh hides the well-respected Martin Štibernik. The man is an accomplished musician and an incredibly talented composer who knows exactly how a track has to be built to catch fire full-blooded in his hands. Meaning instantly. Right off the first listen. So Mistermarsh is a master of enchanting musicality, peaking in the choruses of songs that are skillfully backed by flirty, seductive rhythms, the kind that often push any listener to bust a move.
It’s no accident that the most prominent names on the Slovenian pop scene have recruited Štibernik for their albums (as producer, arranger) and for their backing bands too, led by: Jan Plestenjak, Vlado Kreslin, Nina Pušlar, Omar Naber, Bebop, Alya, Karmen Stavec. Many of these names don’t fit the Rockline picture, but the point of this info lies somewhere else entirely this time. Simple. These names are proof that Štibernik not only can, he knows how. He knows how to handle listenability in a composition, and he’s also an excellent producer with a bagful of refined attentiveness, which helps him finalize a given track and often squeeze the optimum out of it. On top of that, the man handles all sorts of instruments with ease. He’s simply an instrumental and sonic jack-of-all-trades. He needed some help only with writing the lyrics and occasionally with the drums. So he played pretty much everything himself, and he also shaped the album’s whole sonic identity on his own.
»Altamira« is the follow-up to the 2015 debut »Home«, confirming that Štibernik didn’t earn his spot among the colorful crowd of Slovenian singer-songwriters for nothing. A special spot, we might say! Mistermarsh knows where the trends in popular indie and urban pop rock are heading on the international scene. That’s why »Altamira« is a logical follow-up to the seriously exemplary debut “Home”, a splendid picture of urban pop. He’s finally started using his own songwriting ideas to create his own standalone studio achievements.
The songs on »Altamira« are arranged with serious skill. The building blocks of the soundscape are neatly laid out and coexist in an excellent, incredibly harmonious dialogue with each other. Martin’s pleasant, warm, caressingly inviting lead vocal is often joined by extra backing vocals, and what’s striking is Štibernik’s innate, almost intuitive sense for pinpoint contrast within the songs, which results in exceptional dynamics in how things unfold and a vivid variety of moods within the compositions. Along the way, Mistermarsh skillfully uses the trendy hooks that shape today’s international radio-hit charts. One such song, if not the lead track of the new album, is the new Slovenian mega-hit called Veliko mesto, which, now that the album has finally come out physically, has already become a “folk” song for everyone. Immodestly put. The composition is so strong that, with an optional English translation, it could briefly shake up the top of the international charts. Martin Štibernik is also fully convincing as a vocalist, and that goes for his distinctive flair for passion and emotion too. Alongside the indie pop rock elements, you can pick up folk and ethno touches in the song structures. Even more. World music elements too. These elements coexist in an excellent conglomerate of musical arrangement.
There are even more hit-single candidates on the album. In fact, the candidates are practically competing over which of them could still make it into the hit category. That lets Štibernik carry on his career calmly and carefree, since »Altamira« will, all by itself, bring him to the position of one of the most prominent tailors of contemporary Slovenian mainstream music. In this respect, with his work Mistermarsh is really a key name in shaping a healthy image of what Slovenian “mainstream” music can currently reach. So »Altamira« and Martin Štibernik with it restore hope for a quality pop and rock scene on home turf. This is an album that can serve as a little bible for many artists on how, in terms of fundamentals and above all song structure, combined with refined sound-production techniques, to squeeze the maximum expressive impact out of their compositions.
Misermarsh – Veliko mesto (official audio):
Lineup
Martin Štibernik – vocals, all instruments, programming
Sergej Ranđelović “RunJoe” – drums, percussion and backing vocals on track no. 8
Jure Rozman – drums on tracks no. 4, 7 and 9
SPECIAL GUEST:
Rudi Bučar – vocals and guitar on track no. 8
Production
Martin Štibernik
Track list
1. Veliko mesto
2. Čigava pojava zabava
3. Vojak
4. Lupina
5. Prašna cesta
6. Altamira
7. Čudež
8. Prah
9. Preša dni
10. Še eno stoletje
