Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Korošec, Grega
Label: Celinka
Release: year
Duration: 41:12
Rating: 4.5/5
Grega Korošec is yet another one of those hidden Slovenian music wizards who create in their own secret little corner with quiet diligence, conscientiousness and dedication. In solitude. Grega is basically a fully fledged D.I.Y. sorcerer: composer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist and producer! On top of that he’s also a vocal interpreter and poet, so we can safely count him among Slovenia’s singer-songwriters! All in one, then! What sets Grega apart from many others is that this incredibly talented, idea-rich artist has a finely tuned knack for effectively fusing two fundamental musical worlds. One builds on strings of natural sonic shades, rock in its primordial form included, and the other is the world of electronic music, where Grega gets a wide palette of experimentation options through the prism of all kinds of sound manipulation tricks!
Grega Korošec’s debut is about as honest an imprint as you can get of his inner perception of universal musical magic. Grega is also remarkably convincing and powerful as a poet, one who knows how to bring the world of his poetry and its guiding messages to life, vividly and in a deeply lived-in way, right before the listener’s eyes. When the fifth Val compilation CD »Val012 – Imamo dobro glasbo« came out in 2012, the author of its review wrote the following about Grega Korošec’s track Tisoč žerjavov on the compilation:
»Grega Korošec brings a moment of pleasant harmony and a genre detour to the compilation with the song Tisoč žerjavov. What’s especially satisfying is the combination of a sensitive vocal and a wealth of guitar arrangement ideas (watch out for the addition of atmospheric »loops«), which reflects this musician’s creative talent. The vocal harmonies give the song an element of recognizability. They’re not Peter Green’s albatrosses, but they’re Grega Korošec’s cranes! Lightness, ease, switching off. Let’s hope for Grega’s full-length studio debut.«
So it was an early prophecy, and it came true and soon took shape in a studio debut. On it, the sensitive artist has strung together a vividly colorful musical conglomerate of 11 tracks in total, full of polished authorial charisma and originality, drawing an honest imprint of his emotions and passions. He can be »loud« with his voice, as in the opener Bazar, or subtly soft and yearning, which surfaces especially in the album’s most melodious moments, like the chorus and outro of M Latin, or the excellent Molotov that follows it, with its cabaret-swing and jazz-flavored figures, and above all in the exceptionally moving title track. Regardless of the genre-blending, Korošec fertilizes his ideas with contemporary know-how and a modern-sounding production, where, in the arrangements across the album, organic sonic warmth keeps effectively talking to software sampling approaches (the aforementioned M Latin, the title track, Monet). The opener Bazar has a guitar phrase that fleetingly, but really, truly fleetingly, nods to the speeded-up lead guitar phrase of the Elvis Jackson song This Time. Repackaged into a completely different arranging milieu, of course.
The musician has contrasted every song in detail, point by point. Into the basic motif he has carefully built software loops, here and there even taking care of vocal harmonies, and he also didn’t forget to boost the atmosphere with saxophone parts (Molotov). Grega carries within him a refined sense and a big talent for layered fusing of sonic elements into a concise, vividly filled-out soundscape. He backs up the guitar phrases with veils of synthesizer curtains in the background, which deepens the grip of the moods. He also knows how to masterfully »slip« programmed sub-rhythms underneath the basic rhythms in the form of percussion effects (Izvir). All of this proves that the man spent a long time on every detail of this CD! That’s why absolutely everything is exactly where it belongs. The playing and use of guitar, which carefully clings to organically clean sonic pastels, also reflects, across the album »Deklica iz stekla«, the musician’s fondness for free-flowing jazz forms. The album closes with the solemn instrumental Birth, which, through the gentle density of synthesizer veils and software sampling, shifts into an awakening celebration backed by a loop of tribal percussion. Although flirting with trendy indie electronica is firmly present throughout the album, it’s precisely the closing track that is its moment where this principle completely overpowers the classic organic sonic approach.
With the album »Deklica iz stekla«, Grega Korošec has delivered a decidedly special musical product to the scene. As mentioned, it’s an honest imprint of the artist’s great multilayered maturity,his flexible perception of the music magic of the universe and an idea-driven transformation that sparkles in the absolute vocabulary of authorial originality. It’s an album steeped throughout in that typically inherited Slovenian melos of longing and melancholy! But infused with optimism and hope. An album that gazes toward and strives for the ideal of harmony between the human individual and the immaculate primordiality of Mother Nature, which at every moment overpowers the inner demons of black thoughts of hopelessness and destruction. Both musically and in terms of exhaustive, deep poetic confession, Grega Korošec has, with his studio debut alone, jumped into the company of the most insightful third-generation Slovenian singer-songwriters. It reflects an exceptional creative potential, which brings an element of highly appealing musical surprise to the author’s vision.
Lineup
Grega Korošec – vocals, backing vocals, guitar, bass guitar, piano, synth, effects, drum and percussion programming
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Andrej Križanič – drums on tracks 1 and 10
Blaž Švagan – saxophone on tracks 2, 4, 7 and 8
Leon Lukman – bass guitar on track 7
Production
Grega Korošec & Janez Križaj
Track list
1. Bazar
2. Monet
3. Deklica iz stekla
4. Cirkus
5. Stolp (Kako velik naj postanem?)
6. M Latin
7. Molotov
8. Napake
9. Izvir
10. Tisoč žerjavov
11. Birth
