Location: Orto klub
Interview date: 28.01.2010
Ahead of the launch of Bor Zuljan’s new album (Rockline review HERE), which recently went down at Orto bar, we sat down with the acclaimed guitarist, songwriter and producer to talk about new music, guitars and future plans. The media reception on the ground floor of the Ljubljana club drew plenty of familiar faces from the Slovenian scene, and even more people packed into the upstairs room, which was jam-full well before the show kicked off. Before he hit the stage, though, Zuljan had a few words for Rockline.
Rockline: Can you start by telling us a bit about the album? How long did it take to make, and who worked on it?
Bor: The album came out ten years after my solo debut That’s it, and it captures some ideas that took shape over that time. It’s really material from the last two or three years, which I arranged, produced and recorded somewhere between September and November last year. During that time I threw myself completely into the project and gave up all my other musical collaborations, of which there are plenty over the course of a year. The music I make is first and foremost my own personal experience, so I handled practically everything myself. With the new album I’m presenting myself not just as a guitarist, but also as a songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist.
Rockline: So you played all the instruments yourself. Even the drums?
Bor: Of course. They’re not recorded live, though, even though I used to play drums myself. Maybe that’s exactly what helps me conjure up a sound with modern technology that’s pretty much indistinguishable from a live recording. A lot of people have been asking me about that lately.
Rockline: Is it even still possible to make a guitar album that offers something new? Does the guitar have a future at all?
Bor: Everything connected with music has a future. It’s a proven fact that people can’t survive without music. That said, it’s true that musicians have been turning the same twelve semitones around for centuries, and we just can’t discover anything radically new there. It’s very hard to build a combination out of that sequence that’s totally new and original, so I don’t think it’s worth stressing over.
Rockline: What about the guitar sound itself and how it’s processed? We know the eighties brought a real revolution in that area. Is it possible to take another step forward there?
Bor: Hard to say. It’s true that practically nothing has happened in that area in the last twenty years. But that doesn’t apply just to guitar, it goes for music production in general. The last change worth mentioning came with the arrival of computers and widely available recording software and other similar digital tools, which make studio work a lot easier. How things will develop from here, I wouldn’t dare predict.
Rockline: You have an endorsement with Ibanez guitars. How did that deal come about?
Bor: I’ve been an official Ibanez endorser for almost fifteen years. Some time ago, the brand’s reps, together with the Slovenian distributor, were looking for the most recognizable guitarist in our part of the world, and they proposed working together. I’ve always been an Ibanez fan anyway, and I was also the first in the former Yugoslavia to own a seven-string Jem, which Steve Vai designed back then. I’ve always leaned toward guitars whose characteristics borrow from other types of these instruments, and I found that in the Jem series models. So far I haven’t found a guitar that would pull me away from this brand and model.
Rockline: You share the album cover with a 10th anniversary Jem. Is that your favorite guitar?
Bor: Maybe not the favorite, but it’s a guitar that’s very close to my heart. Ibanez used the best materials to build it, which is why it also has a totally unique sound.
Rockline: Do you have the 20th anniversary Jem in your collection too, the one Steve recently showed off on his DVDs?
Bor: Not yet. To be totally honest, I’m not really into it. When it comes to guitars, I’m more of a traditionalist, so overly bold innovations and color experiments like the ones this model offers don’t really grab me.
Rockline: What are the plans for the future?
Bor: Mainly getting the new album in front of as many listeners as possible. I’ve got a great backing band, and it’s time we brought the ideas from the record to the stage too. In spring and summer I plan to play mostly in Slovenia, and there are also a few bigger European open-air festivals in the works. So one of the goals is, among other things, playing abroad.
Photos: Jernej Vene
Photo Gallery
