Label: Celinka
Release date: 01.09.2018
Producer: Dejan Berden
Over the years Ethnotrip have developed a chemistry all their own. It’s a singular weave of instrumental playing, ruled of course by an endearing, endlessly yearning female voice. They’ve tried their hand at a nice bundle of ethno adventures. If the self-titled studio debut was still a bit cautious and politely reserved, its follow-up »Kdo bo pil iz bistrega studenca« is a document on which Ethnotrip drove their (re)interpretation of traditional folk songs and melos from home turf, and from elsewhere too (the Balkans), to the max of expressive power with their musical vision.
And now Ethnotrip have finally »caught fire« with their own material too. That’s what counts most. However you slice it. You can be a »musical doctor« of a given genre, no matter how you approach it, whether as a hair-splitting imitator or a stripped-bare improviser who twists the original’s structure so much that someone has to explain to you later that it’s a cover. With their previous two albums, Ethnotrip had already shown they’re an exceptionally high-quality folk/jazz/pop entity, a musical collective of five hugely talented and refined musicians, fronted by a vocalist who speaks to you so softly and sweetly that, thanks to all that »allure«, you can hardly resist her.
They certainly keep the typical character of Prekmurje melos, which vividly brings melancholy and mysticism to life. But they stay faithfully bound to one of their core principles. They hold on to a strongly musical feel throughout, and in the composing they don’t budge from it by an inch. Even when there’s room for a possible dive into a jam, the male half of the band, especially the keyboard (piano) and violin axis, stays diligently restrained and at most gently »teases« by »clipping in« jazzy ornaments of absolute minimalism.
The tracks take over one after another. They speak to you without pretension. The great strength of this release is that the band packed 12 original songs onto it, and every single one has its own fully developed expressive character. Lyrically as well as musically. In terms of the composing itself. The ideas were clearly bubbling over. The band borrowed some poetry from Slovenian poets: Feri Lainšček, Štefan Kardoš, Jasna Jurkovič, Mojca Šipek and Marko Kočar, and set it to music with finesse, using their own ideas and creative insight, into a musical conglomerate that’s all theirs.
Still, however you slice it, Ethnotrip are not exactly an easy bite. Their idiom is intensely musical and infectious, but you have to be ready for a dose of genuine melancholy and anguish. The combination of the extremely powerful message in the lyrics of Veter šumi, an outstanding chorus melody and a sophisticated approach to the interpretation literally shakes the listener to the core. It’s played and sung with such splendor and fine-tuned precision, and with great breadth of true sensuality. It’s just one of the songs that awakens such feelings in the listener and stirs even the most hidden corners of their soul. In that, Prekmurje remains special and unique. Not only because the most interesting musicians come from there, but simply because. They’re the architects and creators of a musical adventure all their own, one nobody else could recreate. Of course there’s room on the album for some playfulness too. Včasih se spomnim has a moment like that, cabaret-ish and jazzy (piano), gazing off into light-footed playfulness. And the fox’s tail? Some kind of whistling in the background of the closing, and especially mystical and mysterious Vsako noč, ko mesto spi.
Mysticism. They’re one of the few on the Slovenian music scene who pull this off in full-blooded fashion, and it adds to their quality. Even nicer is the fact that we’ve finally got a real album of the band’s own material. It’s excellent in every respect. Committedly detailed and conscientiously polished. With original songs, the band has for the first time in its career credibly confirmed, let’s even say established, its musical uniqueness and originality. Not that it wasn’t there before. But with original music it’s much easier to represent the distinctive features of your expression. And Ethnotrip are by no means short on those. That much is certain. With future releases, they’ll only deepen and broaden this homegrown musical nature. For now, though, let’s focus on the excellent album »Preden se zdani«.
author: Aleš Podbrežnik
rating: 9.0 / 10
Track list:
1. Kaplja rose (03:03)
2. Kama ideš (03:44)
3. Preden se zdani (04:03)
4. Odeta v plašč noči (05:43)
5. Samo ge te odin čakat (05:16)
6. Veter Šumi (04:32)
7. Sama (03:18)
8. Za vedno (04:07)
9. Včasih se spomnim (03:45)
10. Tebi špilam (03:15)
11. Ědna (03:07)
12. Vsako noč, ko mesto spi (04:41)
Lineup:
Tjaša Šimonka – vocals
Miha Kavaš – violin, guitar (6, 7), singing saw (12), piano (5)
Primož Kramberger – piano, keyboards (5, 7), jaw harp (11)
Aleksander Varga – bass guitar
Tomi Dosen – percussion, clapping (10)
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Vocal group Bele Tinke – track no. 6
Urban Kolar – trumpet on track no. 6
Aljaž Gyurica – guitar on track no. 4
Dejan Berden – accordion on tracks no. 9 and 11
David Kreslin – vocals and guitar on track no. 8
