Artist: Siti hlapci
Label: Cela Pametna Založba
Release: 2005
Rating: 2.6/5
Siti Hlapci are a reggae band, and with Si ti hlapec they’ve recorded their second album, the follow-up to their debut Tukaj in zdaj. Reggae has quite a decent audience in Slovenia, especially since the festival on the Soča, dedicated to this kind of music, took off, and Siti hlapci are among the better-known acts in the scene.
Siti Hlapci pull a few pretty good tricks to keep the album from getting too static. Tadej Tratnik and co. bring in a bunch of guest musicians, who lift the average-ness of the music quite a bit, since it’s at times so motionless that you feel like you’re about to nod off. The various brass and woodwinds are especially Also, the band’s lyrics are mind-numbingly boring, with themes that have been chewed over a hundred times already. Some will no doubt find them clever, but they just put me to sleep, same as the music.
Like other bands of this kind, what matters for this lineup is creating hypnotic, monotonous melodies that always follow the same beat and similar rhythms. Personally, I need more variety and change in my music, though I get that some people can be carried away by this stuff. Still, I think Siti Hlapci lack the sharp edge this kind of music needs. Everything is too polished and tidy.
I can’t say anything bad about the musicians themselves, since everything is played at an enviable level. Maybe the vocals just don’t do it for me, because they remind me too much of some syrupy Kingston types. Good thing Tadej Tratnik surrounded himself with truly talented musicians who managed to bump the album up a few levels, otherwise it would’ve been really rough.
Siti Hlapci play pretty average reggae. They don’t bring anything new to the table. In a genre that’s built on monotony and chants anyway, it’s hard to contribute fresh ideas. I’m sure Siti Hlapci will appeal to fans of four-quarter reggae beats, but I’d have to be in some kind of daze for this music not to start boring me after ten minutes.
Lineup
Tadej Tratnik – vocals, rhythm guitar, percussion, keyboards
Samo Šalamon – guitar, backing vocals
Ivan Mijačević – keyboards, backing vocals
Uroš Murko – keyboards
Samo Pečar – bass guitar
Tadej Furlan – percussion
Matej Horvat – drums
Production
Teodor Armanović and Tadej Tratnik
Track list
1. Jah love
2. Mleko in med
3. Ni še pa bo
4. Srečen dan
5. Vrzi stran
6. Biznis
7. Pot ni lahka
8. Človek ima pravico
9. Tukaj in zdaj
10. Peški cona
11. Vstani se
12. Pust
13. Dub pust
14. Dub cona
15. Dub biznis
16. Dub sije na nas
