Released by: Društvo kočevskih glasbenikov
Release date: 13.12.2018
Production: various producers
Audio finalization: Robi Bulešić
Genre: Compilation / Various artists
Official BandCamp Profile
Every merry December comes with a Kočevje špila compilation. The new one is called »Strip« and it’s already the seventh in the series. This time it’s a touch shorter, with only twelve artists and tracks finding a spot on it.
As always, the crew in charge of making sure no year goes by without a pick of the best the Kočevje region has to offer in musical terms has put real finesse into designing a very bold and clever package, which takes us through comic-strip anecdotes from Kočevje and its surroundings and leads us into a musical dossier of twelve tracks. Every track has its own story, painted in the comic. There’s no shortage of originality. And that very originality, with its sharp ideas, leads to real authenticity, which is what matters most.
»Strip« kicks off punk. Old-school punk. No unnecessary makeup-and-polish stuff like Zablujenci etc… Straight up and head-on, and with a more internalized feel for what elementary Slovenian punk rock attitude is, the way Sintetika carry it in their bloodstream today with the track Zadrega, you simply won’t find. Next up, keeping the alternative rock penance going on the compilation, is Charlie Butter Fly with the seriously polished and well-defined Muza. A black erotic doom with an extremely inventive, gradual build-up of drama theater into the chorus. Unpolished production, with a bold guitar solo in the outro, and despite all that ambition, it makes up for the extra minute of running time (the track is a bit too long). We can add Finally Free to this league too, directed by vocalist Nika S, which has a noticeable pop aesthetic but, thanks to the production, skillfully stays in the bosom of alt rock. Pop songs are actually missing from the compilation this time, which is something of a surprise. Estrellas with Brez moči probably come closest.
On to metal. The relentless thrashers Nčodnč have once again delivered a sharpened, unyielding “punch in the face, you fool” with the angrily riding and naughty, gallows-humor We Are Gone, which this time builds on creating a gloomy “groove” atmosphere and stays in a mid-tempo. Biting vocals, classically equipped with “gang shout” cries, in the spirit of the good old school of thrash metal. Sketne also roam the metal territory on the compilation with the track Out Of My Element. The strongly contrasting dual vocal approach of singer Nastja is the deciding factor. The track, which is in a version very close to a raw demo recording, could be lifted out of power metal mediocrity by such a “double” vocal approach, into something more mocking and biting, although it’s a long way to Arch Enemy yet.
There’s always room for electronic mischief too, when we’re talking about »Kočevje špila« compilations. Here once again are the rustling samplers Extended Veins (their electro noise terror Blast The Radio can stir up interest even among fans of The Prodigy or the like), and in the second half they’re joined by Joe Krosher (See You Tomorrow), with a more “old-school dance-gazing” and infectiously invasive musical See You Tomorrow, which could easily be spinning in some nightclubs of the late nineties.
Sharp and forever sparkling, the manly thunderer Roman Zupančič brings a singer-songwriter note to the compilation with a new cheeky story, with PMS, gazing toward cabaret swing. Roman remains a funny, biting cynic of the first order. The closing act of the compilation, the track Molzne krave signed by Matthias Mallešič, can also be filed under singer-songwriter. A socially critical singer-songwriter confession that leads you through the grazing lands of the Kočevje region, where spruce monocultures aggressively eat into the slopes. The central phrase is just one and gets annoying in the repetitions, but Matthias solves this very skillfully with vocal tricks, even occasional narration and whispered addresses. On YouTube you can watch as many as ten videos of a shortened version of this track, each one with a different visual theme. Primož Turk with his Skrajneži also vividly preaches about the customs and ways of the Kočevje corner in the mini tragicomedy Letos huda zima bo. If you still don’t know what it’s like when a chainsaw sings out in Kočevje, Primož Turk will lay it bare for you.
But we absolutely mustn’t overlook the compilation’s big oddballs. That’s the all-instrumental jazz rock fusionists (with RIO-avant touches) 4 Dementions and the track Četrtica. A truly special band, different in every way and a guarantee that makes any compilation like this that much more interesting and varied. A lineup that, if it finally gets a debut out, could join similar Slovenian instrumental fusion bands. There are very, very few of those, but each one is an absolute musical one-of-a-kind, so they should be protected by official decree.
»Strip« hits its target. Nothing else could have been expected. After six released Kočevje špila compilations, even we’ve gotten a little spoiled, and the seventh one gratefully keeps on spoiling us. A demanding project that proves what a damn tough nut we Slovenians can be when we band together. Just ask the people of Kočevje. Respect.
author: Aleš Podbrežnik
rating: 9.0 / 10
Track list and artists:
1. Sintetika – Zadrega (03:05)
2. Extended Veins – Blast the Radio (02:49)
3. Primož Turk & Skrajneži – Letos huda zima bo (03:15)
4. Charlie Butter Fly – Muza (05:29)
5. Estrellas – Brez moči (04:59)
6. Nčodnč – We Are Gone (03:33)
7. Roman Zupančič – PMS (03:35)
8. Joe Krosher – See You Tomorrow (03:47)
9. Sketne – Out of My Element (03:49)
10. Nika S – Finally Free (03:28)
11. 4 Dementions – Četrtica (06:07)
12. Matthias – Molzne krave (04:26)
