Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Grad Gori!
Label: Klopotec
Release: 2018
Running time: 47:19
Rating: 4.5/5
Grad Gori! is a trio of superb, seasoned musicians who, artistically speaking, are practically »jacks of all trades« and don’t deal in music alone. Brina Vogelnik, Matija Solce and Barja Drnovšek are already established names on the Slovenian music scene. Each of them has a long, fascinating musical mileage behind them, racked up over the years. And that fascination with the road they’ve traveled keeps going, even after their paths fatefully crossed and the trio Grad Gori! was born.
So we don’t weigh this write-up down with biographical facts about the threesome, it’s enough to say: seasoned, highly talented, multilayered »polish« (in how they understand musical expression) that doesn’t know much about limits, and above all heart and devotion to the art of music itself. Matija, Brina and Barja are three musical worlds that, colliding inside this trio, found an incredibly complementary and tolerant dialogue, the engine behind all of its expressive quirks, uniqueness and charming originality. In fact, the trio’s shared voice was found almost instantly at the band’s very first jam. Spontaneous, natural, completely organic.
The trio moves within an expressive range that it knows and commands brilliantly, so it handles it throughout not only with great commitment but with filigree skill, too. All three musical worlds give each other free rein to express every idea and a full-blooded plasma of passion and emotion, through playful, sparkling, witty, lucid, but also fragile, melancholic and mystical expression. With a finely tuned aesthetic sense, the trio takes on interpretations of well-known and lesser-known traditional folk motifs plucked from the world’s musical treasury and breathes its own, truly distinctive energetic vibe into them, and thanks to Barja’s nimble fingers they don’t shy away from implanting elements of cabaret, and of neo-classicism, too. The trio often fuses different musical stories into one. It does this by blending folk melos with adapted lyrics.
Its cheerful, playful spirit, a lively carousel of solo flourishes, will follow you at every step of this album. Brina’s vocals, with their supple softness, come across as almost universal. They always speak plainly and truthfully, no matter what sonic surroundings they land in. That way they easily touch even the most hidden and mysterious corners of the listener’s soul and inner world. The instrumental tandem of Solce / Drnovšek builds an exceptionally patient and harmonious dialogue, and even in the most demanding moments, which call for some seriously quick-fingered, highly virtuosic focus (read: skill and control), the two complement each other incredibly well. Passages played a la forte keep alternating with soft ones, where passion and emotion are underlined even more, and this kind of development keeps the listener on their toes the whole way through. In vocal and instrumental terms, the album »Grad Gori!« is a singular achievement, not just in Slovenia but on the international stage. Taking well-known traditional tunes and melodies as raw material, the trio shrewdly stamps its own expressive signature on them, and the result is an album that belongs in the league of those special musical documents with a one-of-a-kind charisma and character. The album simply bursts with sensuality and authenticity. It doesn’t get much deeper than that.
Line-up
Brina Vogelnik – vocals
Barja Drnovšek – violin
Matija Solce – accordion, backing vocals
GUEST MUSICIAN:
Blaž Celarec – percussion
Production
Krešimir Tomec & Blaž Celarec
Track list
1. Lars
2. Amerika
3. Grad gori
4. Johhny
5. Jagoda
6. Franc
7. Lepa Jana
8. Trdoglav
9. Sončece
10. Žvižgaj
