Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Avbar, Katarina
Label: Goga
Released: 2011
Runtime: 45:35
Rating: 4.3/5
Singer-songwriter Katarina Avbar put out her solo studio debut, »Beležnica«, last year. She first turned heads when she wrote the music for the dance piece »Ples ali išče se Lily Marlen« by choreographer Rosana Hribar. After that she appeared on the stages of the »Slovenski šanson« festival and at the seventh and eighth editions of Kantfest. She also joined concerts of the »Rokerji pojejo pesnike« project. Her song Odkar te ni, written together with producer Aldo Ivančič, is familiar to everyone who owns the compilation Val 202: »Val 09 – Imamo dobro glasbo«.
Katarina is an exceptional conveyor of reflection through musical sermon, and her delicate vocal approach plays the central role on »Beležnica«. She is a mirror reflecting the flawless glow of feminine, full-hearted sensitivity, one that sets moods into a dynamic, vivid foldout made of longing, fragility, tenderness and understanding in the light of compassion for those close to us, feelings that call for total surrender and acceptance. Katarina knows how to touch the heart contagiously, too, by painting the passion of wide fields of mysticism, of paths leading into the cities of the world of imagination and fantasy, as well as answers about the world that lies beyond the everyday, as in the movingly truthful Tja. In Tja, a song where Katarina’s vocal sounds especially mysterious in the production (as if it were coming from an old vinyl dug out after many years), she offers, through a sparkling metaphorical confession, the starting points for answers to the question of where the road leads once we’ve reached the point of fulfilling our mission: when the circle closes, a new one can begin, and the road never ends. Of course, there’s also room for playful sarcasm, as caught in the ego-trip character at the center of the song Igor, and the song Ali veste is a story of its own, with Peter Dekleva pulling out of his rich arsenal of musical insight motif-based solutions that gently echo even the Delta blues.
»Beležnica« is yet another unique little stone in the mosaic of the Slovenian singer-songwriter scene. Katarina invited one of the most interesting, or let’s rather say it this way: most insightful, sparkling and distinctive musical creators in Slovenia to collaborate. That’s the brilliant guitarist and producer Peter Dekleva, known to many for his work within the lineups of, and/or the solo artists associated with, Srečna Mladina, Adam, DMP, Golem, Gušti & Polona, Tinkara Kovač,… A fact that in itself proves Peter Dekleva is a very in-demand musician. His multifaceted shaping and broad sensitivity for translating musical information put him in a special role this time: main arranger of the singer-songwriter music on the album »Beležnica«. He dressed Katarina Avbar’s songs in what sounds, at first listen, like a simple but remarkably mature outfit, one that most effectively spotlights the feeling, deeply lived-in quality of Katarina’s very pleasant voice. Dekleva essentially builds a whole sonic landscape that opened the door for Katarina to the field of fully realized ideas, combining the message of her poetry with leading melodies. The arrangements are woven throughout on a platform of short, concise strokes of minimalism. The main accompaniment of acoustic guitar on the lead motifs is enriched by shyly bashful ornaments of special effects or extra guitar lines, with which Peter Dekleva masterfully condenses the picture of each song as a whole.
The pairing of metaphorical insight with a captured melody peaks above all in the choruses, which hit the listener especially hard, most of all in songs like Klobuk (the melody of the line »…ugani…« with sparkling solutions in the vocal interpretation through the tune of the vowel »U«) and Ti in jaz (the melody of the line »…ti in jaz…«). The album never runs out of truthfulness, and it hits hardest when it’s delivered with a touch of delicate intimacy, as in the song Oz. The tenderness swells like a gentle breeze, with a fragile, playful acoustic guitar accompaniment in the background. The listener can’t escape similar impressions when led by the message of the songs Pesek v oči and especially the closing Med besedo in molkom. The connection with the deeply confessional message of the song ALI – ali, with its closing recital, is just as stirring!
Katarina’s poetry stirs the imagination and pushes you to think every time you listen to the album »Beležnica«. That’s the essence of singer-songwriting. This alone is enough to convince you that »Beležnica« is a tremendously fruitful and authentic piece of work of great artistic value, since its guiding principle throughout is the truthfulness of authentic feeling paired with the melody of its lead motifs. Twelve varied songs with a clearly expressed character, Katarina Avbar’s self-made, artistic authorial confession (together with Peter Dekleva) stands convincingly in a happily captured chemistry of relaxed rhetoric and genuine coexistence, and so adds one more exquisite gem of heartfelt poetic confession to the already rich pulse of Slovenian singer-songwriting.
Line-up
Katarina Avbar – vocals, kazoo
Peter Dekleva – bass guitar, guitar, piano, drums, percussion
Peter Kocan – piano (track no. 10)
Production
Peter Dekleva
Tracklist
- V odsotnosti nečesa
- Klobuk
- Kdaj pa kdaj se zgodi
- Tja
- Ti in jaz
- Igor
- Ali veste
- Oz
- Pesek v oči
- Sence in prah
- ALI – ali
- Med besedo in molkom
