Label: Multi Records
Release date: July 2013
Production: El Kachon
Album length: 38.42 min
Genre: Blues / Rock
Want something out of the ordinary? Something that was in heavy rotation on the radio in the early seventies, or even at the turn of the sixties into the seventies? When rock was young, carefree, innocent even, and ran wild on the wings of the pioneering spirit of the genius talents who made it? Then try the (progressive) blues-soaked album from El Kachon, a band from Dolenjske Toplice. Lower Carniola? They’ve always been devoted to bluesy sounds down there. And the area has produced some excellent bands in the past too, like Drevored. There’s always been a healthy number of fans of bands like Lynnyrd Skynnyrd, Govt ‘n’ Mule and The Allman Brothers Band, and there were even those who swore by Grateful Dead, and so on…
When “In the Bush” starts spinning, your head fills with images of the unique, original music of the prehistoric age of the human era, from Allman Brothers Band (the opening Snakebite, soaked in the Mississippi Delta) to the psychedelic touches of old-school Iron Butterfly… Roughly speaking, of course… This is an album that came out some 43 years later than it should have. Eroticism, rough “macho” swagger and all the essential ingredients that come out of the blues, the things the greatest works in rock history are known for, are by no means missing from “In The Bush”. And that’s the main trait of this album, the reason we can call it a record bursting with the purest authenticity and musical honesty.
The production is exactly what this kind of music needs to breathe at full capacity! It caught all the live authenticity! It feels like the record was played in the studio the way you’d play a gig. The sound is incredibly alive, dynamic, tight and decidedly colorful, full of strong contrasts. A warm rhythm line, stretched out by a melodic, lively bass that glides along with a supple softness, and the raw, unpolished jangle of the electric guitar, which goes after pure, unfaked organic tone without hiding behind distortion. The guitar work has rare power and quality. Every bit of the transitional passages gets seasoned with a solo ornament. That alone shows the nature of musicians who truly enjoy what they do with all their blood and soul, and pour their creative maximum into it.
In the instrumental sections, the songs reach for an almost progressive fluidity. You get the feeling that El Kachon can squeeze far more out of this on stage than the studio product delivers. Of course, the album is meant for listening, and you need a healthy (moderate) measure when arranging compositions, which the band is clearly aware of. Still, some sequences, especially in the instrumental parts, make it clear that this is a great jam band with plenty of dynamite fuse to spare, one that can spin out a musical story and “dig into the idea” with real inspiration and flavor, when it comes to showing off the chemistry of playing together.
The band slyly underlays the lead rhythmic texture with percussion, and a melodic, warm-blooded, lively bass line nestles masterfully into all of it, gratefully and effectively filling out the available expressive space (What If). As alive as it gets. El Kachon thought of everything on the vocal side too. Seven people, and of course several different lead vocalists. Duets combined and so on. In A New Mistake, which with its mix of catchy melody and bluesy introspection could have been the album’s lead single, the two elements are crossed so effectively that the contrast between the lead female and male vocals sounds excellent. This band also has a great sense for livening up the lead vocal track with harmonies from the backing vocals (What If). If the naughty, raw and feisty Snakebite kicked off the album with an overdose of “macho roughness” (Come And Get It comes close to it in that naughtiness before the end), then the next one, Don’t Start, driven by a funk-spiced rhythm and a female vocal, is a real melodic counterpart, the negative image of the opener Snakebite, conjuring up the two faces of the El Kachon story right from the intro. One more thing. English comes naturally to the septet!
El Kachon definitely come across as a proper mini progressive blues orchestra. They backed the setting of the accompaniment with the tangible chemistry between keyboards (organ), winds and, of course, the unpolished electric guitar. A perfect example of effective arranging sparkles in one of the album’s most polished songs, Everything I Get, with its solid funk-blues backbone! The band doesn’t hide its playfully cheeky moves when it brushes up against a flirty blues-rock density (the song Solo Moon). Same Time Same Place is a power blues rock march that could easily take Snakebite’s place as the album opener. Then there are those soothing, dreamy moments again, like the closing One Fine Day, where the soft, subtle side of the band is brought closer to the listener. At these points a bittersweet but deeply felt female vocal takes the lead, while the instruments (decorative guitar and keyboard solo touches) adapt to that softness with especially refined finesse and naturally effective tonal shades. Simple as that. The septet’s hard-working chemistry works at full capacity, which makes this an album that instantly wins you over with its honesty and musical authenticity.
It’s hard to pin down the story of “In the Bush” in any concrete, single-sided way, because it couldn’t care less about today’s trends and takes its cues only from honestly expressing whatever its creators’ hearts dictate. This is an album of absolute specifics, lost in time and space, and on top of it all, it comes from Slovenia! Considering the band was founded in 2011, the musicians had honed their chops in other lineups before that and brought an enormous amount of ideas, experience and know-how with them, and above all they merged exceptional talents into one compact body called El Kachon. The septet’s team spirit is extraordinary, and it feels like nothing could break it.
“In the Bush” is definitely a standout for the Slovenian music scene and one of the best records the Slovenian market received in 2013. A band that can teach other bands a lot about the elementary, creative qualities of healthy, authentic songwriting. Simply put. The brilliance of one-of-a-kind chemistry hasn’t felt this fresh, invigorating and captivating in a long time, as it does with El Kachon and the album “In the Bush”!
author: Aleš Podbrežnik
rating: 10 / 10
Track list:
1. Snakebite
2. Don’t Start
3. Everything I Get
4. Solo Moon
5. Same Time Same Place
6. Still
7. A New Mistake
8. What If
9. Come And Get It
10. One Fine Day
Lineup:
Tina Gerbec Radaković – lead vocals on tracks 2, 3, 6, 9 and 10
Tomi Perinčič – guitar, lead vocals on tracks 1, 4, 6 and 8
Andrej Barbič “Krt” – guitar, lead vocals on track 5
Mladen Cetina – keyboards
Dejan Gerbec Radaković “Sondža” – bass guitar, lead vocals on tracks 1, 7 and 9
Primož Malenšek “PimpS” – percussion
Žiga Dobravc – drums
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Boris Peternelj – trumpet on tracks 3 and 8
Vasko Blaj – saxophone on tracks 3 and 8
Sonja Benčina – trombone on tracks 3 and 8
Rado Božič – horn arrangements
Ajda Božeglav – backing vocals on tracks 4, 6, 7, 8 and 10
Simona Lešnjak – backing vocals on tracks 4, 6, 7, 8 and 10
