Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Various Artists
Label: Društvo kočevskih glasbenikov
Release: 2015
Rating: 4/5
Unbelievable. Fourth year in a row and fourth »Kočevje špila« compilation in a row. So. What have tireless general Bito (NčOdNč) and his crew cooked up for us this time? »Kočevje špila – Zastonj« is yet another fresh snapshot of the current music scene, rounding up the Kočevje region for 2015. The compilation serves up 18 tracks and (consequently) 18 acts. Many of them are old acquaintances from the previous three Kočevje compilations. NčOdNč, for instance, have racked up a total of 4 songs across them, which is enough for a standalone EP.
»Kočevje špila – Zastonj« also doesn’t stray far from the tried-and-tested recipe the Društvo kočevskih glabenikov keeps feeding us. Taking a quick look, the new compilation is even more firmly soaked in alternative rock, while once again venturing into folk, singer-songwriter stuff, pop, blues, hard rock, metal, dance music and, new this time, even hip-hop.
The opening track Zapušanska by Zapušanci, as the intro to a new story, more than effectively sets the stage for listening to the whole compilation. It’s alternative rock with an original face, pleasantly refined with a touch of the melos of Slovenian folk music. Zapušanci as »the Kočevje Orlek«? Yes, but strictly »Kočevje-style« please!
Kosmate dlesni have apparently decided to flirt with Croatian lyrics this time. On the first compilation, »Kočevje Špila – Grupni« (2012), they served up a song in Slovenian. Their mocking punk rock charm is certainly now moving closer to the look and work of punk rock bands from the former Yugoslavia. Static (the song To si ti) embody the funk pop rock moment of the compilation, which we also experienced from this band on previous compilation CDs. A band with the potential to conquer the airwaves keeps that pedigree up effectively this time too. The shock element arrives on the compilation with a dose of hip-hop rambling (Gero & Urban Click) in the song Ugasn zvočnike. A nice gesture of support for MCs, though it struggles to fit in with the rock that this compilation is mostly devoted to. Joe Krosher (feat. Urška) already showed on the previous compilation that they understand a disco beat only too well. The new No Rules is also dedicated to dance, but it lacks a pinch of dynamics, in the sense of making more colorful use of the backing layers added behind (in support of) the vocal.
The compilation gets back on »normal« rock tracks with Vse se vrti by the excellent SKA punks Sell Out, who have already shown in the past that they’re made of the right artistic stuff. Let’s hope they become at least as popular in Bosnia and Herzegovina as Dubioza kolektiv are here. They deserve no less. The Cowmonkeys shoot us right into the bosom of »hollowed-out« rock minimalism, catching a breeze of stoner rock swagger. Definitely newcomers to the Kočevje compilations and worth keeping an eye on in the future. And here are the good old NčOdNč again with the song Everyman. Trendy thrash groove, you could say a kind of post-modernism in thrash metal, with some flirting with the »old metal hag« Metallica. What would a Kočevje compilation be without Gabro Brin, pardon, Roman Zupančič? If not nothing at all, then certainly deadly boring, or rather, without salt. The man who revived the band Zadnji Taxi (the song Želel bi si) once again grabs the spotlight with his distinctive vocal approach. Melancholic, yet poetically endearing and real. Picture a man in a half-dormant state of consciousness, caught in the charm of a ballad blues in some random Kočevje late-night dive, surrounded by a thick fog of smoke-filled haze you could cut with a knife. Later on the compilation, the song Le spomin by Matthias & Band radiates similar energy. Except that the lead vocal naturally stirs up somewhat different emotions. Sebatage (originally Sebastjan Vukan) is another singer-songwriter who gets »rescued« in the song Želel bi si by a distinctly nasal, sharp vocal approach that effectively brings the lyrics to life, in an otherwise predictably conciliatory little tune, wrapped in the natural sound of fluttering acoustic guitars. A laid-back pop-blues breeze blows playfully and refreshingly through the song Black And Blue by Voodoo Weekend. It’s a successful combination of a fragile vocal and organic sonic shades in a pleasant dialogue of instrumental accompaniment (led by a clearly defined guitar solo), which carries a distant lucid echo in the »underground« of its confession. Ida Aupič doesn’t hide the courage to try herself out as a singer-songwriter. After her contribution to the compilation »Kočevje špila – Razkačeno«, this is her second time. Let’s wish the dreamy, yearning girl plenty of luck in her further endeavors – the musical potential is definitely there.
If any of you still remember how the compilation »Kočevje špila – Lik Of« (2013) opened, then you know the band 4 Dementions. They’re a more than welcome musical presence, not just in Kočevje but across the Slovenian music scene in general, where this kind of thing is sorely lacking. The band doesn’t hide a special progressive-to-jazz-rock fused conglomerate of an original lineup, which is a mile away from the song they delivered two years ago on the previously mentioned compilation. This band simply has to release a studio album. A witty dive into a treasury of manifold improvisations is right here. Unusual and challenging. The Tolmin end of Slovenia has Feedback, Idrija has Divje jezero, and it seems we’re getting a new progressive rock answer in Kočevje.
More naivety and predictability are allowed by The Perception with the song Povej, which is then jolted out of its opening »slumber« by a delightfully flirtatious funky wriggle. This compilation once again found room for Skaktus too. They’re veterans of the Slovenian rock scene and among the first SKA players in our parts. The song Vsi moji prijatelji feels a touch restrained. It wriggles lazily along, while not hiding the sentiment that can instantly swing the song into a contrastingly deeper SKA/reggae rhythmic groove. Witty, lucid, teasing and fun, with a subcutaneous veil of melancholy. Typical Skaktus, then. Veterans know how to get under your skin in no time. Post-U2 modernism is added in the song Falling (the band Use). A nicely delivered track. Especially in the arrangement, combining the melodies carried by the vocal with the development of the guitar playing itself, which cleverly makes use of the available space in the sound picture. The compilation is closed out by yet another set of old acquaintances of the Kočevje compilations. Ram Session. This time with a song fitted out with a reggae rhythm, which is slightly surprising given what we heard from them on past compilations. After all, Ram Session are the authors of the lucid Kočevje anthem ŠpilEEEj! The song Circus Mind (pt 2.) is a predictable little reggae number, saved from mediocrity by a penetrating and occasionally pleasingly angry vocal.
What to say in closing. A new multicolored musical picture book that mostly delivers material with tangible musical substance and original, distinctive expression. Genre-wise, the face of the Kočevje compilations is even widening with this new »Kočevje špila – Zastonj«, though it doesn’t necessarily need to. I’m thinking of hip-hop and dance electronica, which in their original flavors struggle to sit well with the taste of the original heritage of rock music. However you look at it. Mission accomplished. For the fourth time too. And let’s hope it stays that way for all the years to come. Long live Kočevje rock’n’roll! Kočevje, save the harmony. At least this compilation gives that feeling. Let’s hope that kind of energy gradually spreads to all the Slovenian regions!
Track list
1. Zapušanci – Zapušanska 02:57
2. Kosmate Dlesni – Ja volim te 04:16
3. Static – To si ti 03:03
4. Gero & Urban Click – Ugasn zvočnike 02:52
5. Joe Krosher feat. Urška – No rules (Radio Edit) 03:58
6. Sell Out – Vse se vrti 03:22
7. The Cowmonkeys – Vultures 02:35
8. Nčodnč – Everyman 03:35
9. Zadnji Taxi – Odpelji me srce 03:00
10. Sebatage – Želel bi si 04:24
11. Voodoo Weekend – Black and blue 05:13
12. Ida Aupič – In me ni in živim 03:44
13. 4 Dementions – FM Lydia 05:01
14. Matthias & Band – Le spomin 04:49
15. The Perception – Povej 04:30
16. Skaktus – Vsi moji prjatli (grenko sladka) 02:37
17. Use – Falling 04:08
18. Ram Session – Circus mind (Pt.2) 04:30
