Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Tolmin / MINK / Slovenia
Concert date: 02/05/2016
Attendance: 70
Ticket price: €3.00
This year’s sleepy February, full of wonderful and unforgettable weather swings, isn’t exactly packed with gigs around Slovenia. In general, catching a show in the Primorska region without trekking to Koper or Izola is something of a miracle. Luckily, Tolmin’s MINK is still holding out and keeping the flag flying for northern Primorska. Sadly, people just don’t go to concerts anymore, hence the modest program at the club, which is superbly equipped and has great acoustics, but apparently belongs, for all that, in the league of many Slovenian clubs that are merely scraping by and these days would rather throw »DJ parties« than events with real artistic substance.
Unlike our visit a week earlier, when the Idrija-based jazz-rock fusionists Divje jezero played the same venue on January 30, 2016, this time a decent number of music consumers actually turned up, curious about the trio led by Swedish singer-songwriter Marina Martensson.
A girl with Slovenian roots (let’s say she’s practically from Izola) first made waves here when she recently appeared on Slovenija ima talent (Slovenia’s Got Talent) and made it all the way to the semifinals. Marina writes her own music, but she’s also known for excellent covers of well-known hits, which she reshapes and rearranges into a one-of-a-kind musical experience.
For quite a while now, Marina has been working with a “virtuous” rhythm section: bassist Miha Koren and drummer David Morgan. Some of you may have already met the latter if you’ve caught a show lately by the Goriška art rock veterans Avtomobili.
Either way, most of the attention during the set went to the charismatic singer, a redhead with fiery, curly hair, who laid her musical mission bare with an incredibly lived-in sensuality and decisive vocal interpretations. That mission shamelessly flirts with elements of jazz, soul and R&B. Along those lines, Marina strung together a few covers of well-known hits (Queen, Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Frank Ocean), which at times were barely recognizable, so inventively were they dressed up in new arrangements and, above all, performances. She also spiced up the set with a cover of Swedish musician Mikael Wiehe’s song Den Jag Kunde Va. Still, it’s the originals (To Let You Go, Coffee Everyday), found on the album »Fences« (2009), that stand out most. Let’s hope that at Marina’s future shows the originals make up the bulk of the set, or at least that there are as many of them on the setlist as possible.
As expected, Koren and Morgan generously flavored the songs. In particular, they allowed themselves several excursions into jazzy adventurism, effectively smashing the easygoing template of predictability in tracks that, in a purely »down-to-earth« light, could have started to bore pretty quickly with their trivially easy listenability. The trio communicates superbly, and David and Miha are both very experienced musicians who quickly found themselves on the same wavelength as Marina Martensson’s musical philosophy.
Definitely a concert experience worth your attention and worth experiencing for yourself. The thunderous applause the enthusiastic crowd at the venue broke into several times confirmed it. Apparently it still wasn’t enough, though, since after the regular set the band didn’t come back out for an encore, which was supposed to be a rendition of Wonderwall (Oasis). Oh well. If you spot a Marina show near you, do yourself a favor. Especially if you want to spice up your Friday night.
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