Label: HAD
Year of release: 2013
Production: Gal Gjurin
EP length: 17.42 min.
Genre: Folk Rock / Art Pop
Čedahuči are a fresh addition to the Slovenian music scene, and from the word addition it’s easy to get to the word quality. The two go hand in hand when it comes to Čedahuči. In 2013 they put out their first official studio document, a self-titled five-track EP. The band’s potential was soon spotted by Gal Gjurin, a longtime friend of Čedahuči’s two lead figures, Blaž Učakar and Matjaž Jakin, which made them, if I may use a patronizing term, Gal’s protégés.
Working with Gal Gjurin in his HAD studio (Gal also took on the role of the album’s producer, and he certainly helped the band with sonic and arrangement finesses) yielded an EP that gives a direct look into the band’s compositional and lyrical talent, even though they’ve barely taken their first steps in the studio.
The band took its name from the river that divides the US states of Alabama and Georgia, the Chattahoochee, which in the language of a group of Native American tribes from that corner of North America means »colored stones.« A kind of spiritual bond between the band and that original, honest, unspoiled rootedness of man in nature, the way Native Americans knew how to live and understand it in their day, is already strung together by the opening track Geronimo, which works like a wake-up call and gives you an instant look at the pragmatism of the folk and rock elements, with the light, quick, catchy melodic definition of a pop contour. The common denominator of all five tracks is the clear shape of the compositions. Choruses (with pre-choruses) and verses are written with captivating musicality, and the moods roll dynamically through them, building with a crescendo into a singable chorus. It’s hard to pick a favorite on the EP, because every single chorus carries an exceptionally strong melodic value that grabs the listener instantly.
The EP’s standout is especially the solemnly murmuring, mystically seductive Pismo, where the Hammond organ of Icelandic singer-songwriter guest Sigurdur Gudmundsson adds a charming dimension of poignancy, one that stirs the emotions with particular effectiveness in its yearning melancholy and moves the listener’s soul and heart. The fragility and gracility of the unpretentious unfolding, on which the colorful interplay of the lead male and female vocal lines floats, reaches a special expressive power in the emotional Če hočeš grem, where the folk element in the arrangements is emphasized even more. In the closing Listje pada z mano na tla, Gal Gjurin takes the reins, also contributing the lead vocal. This sophisticatedly delivered track, too, achieves great sensuality. A recognizable melancholy runs through the whole EP, the kind known to melos of Slovenian geographic origin.
Čedahuči carry that timely pulse of baking folk melos with rock, and in the glow of its picturesque stringing together of natural sonic pastels, it could at any moment be a darling of radio frequencies. The EP »Čedahuči« is a work of short, concise strokes, where the starting axiom of effective composing, »less is more,« hits its expressive peak.
author: Aleš Podbrežnik
rating: 8.5 / 10
Tracks:
1. Geronimo (03:21)
2. Čas pride in gre (01:58)
3. Pismo (04:47)
4. Če hočeš, grem (03:49)
5. Listje pada z mano na tla (03:41)
Line-up:
Blaž Učakar – vocals, guitar, Rhodes piano, accordion, bass guitar on track 3
Matjaž Jakin – vocals, guitar, drums on track 3
Tina Javornik – vocals
Andrej Ilar – accordion
Ivan Zuliani – drums and percussion
Žan Jurca – percussion
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Sigurður Guðmundsson – Hammond organ on track 3
Gal Gjurin – vocals on track 5, electric bass guitar (3, 4, 5), acoustic guitar (5), clavinet (2, 3), electric guitar (2)
Domen Gracej – voice, trumpet (4)
Marko Kragelnik – cello (2)
Jerica Polončič – violin (2)
