Author: Rok Klemše
Artist: Avven
Release: 2006
Panta Rhei, everything flows, everything goes… and after three years, it has flowed all the way to the debut from Avven. Formed in 2003, the band has focused on writing its own original songs from the very start, and after a lot of hard work, a year later their debut came out on their own label. Sadly, it’s almost pointless to keep repeating the same thing, namely that Slovenian labels still have no ear for quality music and bands like Avven are left to fend for themselves. It’s only thanks to the persistence of bands like them, and others in the same boat, that the whole, frankly dismal, Slovenian music scene is being kept afloat. But let’s leave the whining aside and get back to the music, which is what really matters.
On their debut, Avven sail confidently through the waters of ethno/folk-tinged rock/metal, searching for their own voice by exploring the folk music of cultures around the world, from Indian, Celtic and Eastern all the way to Slavic. And they mix the world of ethnic melodies with raw guitar foundations successfully and effectively.
The Intro, with its melancholic violin lines, leads us into the world of music conjured up by the guys and the girl from Kresnice. Just how important a part traditional folk instruments play in this music is already clear from the Intro, which soon tips over into the heavy Guru. Just like the word guru is made up of gu (darkness) and ru (light), the track has two sides too: a heavier guitar one and a gentler one backed by trumpet and keyboards. And a guru made up of both syllables means divine light that scatters all the darkness, so the track Guru pulls us into a gorgeous world of Eastern philosophy and excellent folk rock. In 5, Avven come pretty close to their Finnish folk metal cousins Korpiklaani, mainly because of the accordion sound and the faster guitar tempo, but also because of the way a beautiful, melancholic male vocal gets mixed with screams in the background. That Avven are seriously well versed instrumentally is clear from the remarkably varied range of instruments they weave into their music. We get the traditional rock instruments, guitar, bass and drums, the slightly less common keyboards and violins, plus a whole sea of folk instruments – tapan, gourds, rakes, darbukas, tambourine, flutes. In aUM, the male vocal, which at moments recalls Tomi’s (Siddharta) but without the needless grimacing and wailing, is joined by a deep death metal growl, while in Avven a male vocal and a beautiful, gentle female voice mix together. Fand is an Irish sea goddess, whose name is also translated as Pearl of Beauty or Tear, and that’s exactly what you could say about this ballad of the same name. Once again a beautiful female vocal shows up in the intro, then the lead male vocal takes over, backed by backing vocals, and at the end that dreamy female voice sweeps us away again. In Kanaan, Avven set off on a journey to the promised land, and the track is soaked in a great atmosphere, with Egyptian-sounding keyboards carrying us straight into the ranks of the pilgrims. In Panta rhei the male and female vocal lines mix again, along with raw guitar riffs backed by lovely violin sounds (violinist Barbara is currently doing postgraduate violin studies in Texas). A video was shot for the track in collaboration with RTV Slovenija, and you can watch it on the band’s official site. The record closes with an acoustic track backed by violin, Reka Guinevere, which could easily pass for one of Blind Guardian’s acoustic numbers.
The lyrics, like the music, work on two levels. You can take them as fairy tales, myths about heroes, gods and fairy-tale creatures, or you can dig down to deeper layers that ask about life and death, joy and sadness, love, human existence and our relationship to the world and to each other.
Avven are definitely a band we’ll be hearing more from. They’re playing more and more gigs, and they also made a name for themselves at the international young bands’ competition Orpheum Newcomer in Graz. In the preliminary round, out of eighteen bands, they took first place with the expert jury and second place in the audience vote. As the top-ranked act, they went through to the festival’s final round.
In the final concert too, they wowed a packed Orpheum hall with a top-notch performance and finished 6th overall (4th in the audience vote) out of 105 bands in the whole competition.
The easiest way to describe Avven is with one of their own lines: “…we only ever go higher and ever farther away…” Panta Rhei, everything flows, everything goes… May Avven sail on calm waters.
Lineup
ier-lath: bass guitar, vocals
Aillan: drums, percussion, vocals
Joc: keyboards
Anam: vocals, guitar, tapan, gourds, rakes
Galvin: guitar, vocals, accordion, clay-pot bass
Morrigan: violin, darbuka, gourds
Evelyn: vocals, tambourine
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Klemen Markelj: drums, percussion
Qky: drums
Gašper Kačar: additional keyboards
Jure Brečko: trumpet
Tjaša Polc and Tanja Repe: transverse flutes
Matej Režek: acoustic guitar
Pia Prelogar: vocals
Production
Matej Režek
Tracklist
1. Intro
2. Guru
3. 5
4. Adikema
5. aUM
6. Avven
7. Fand
8. Kanaan
9. Panta rhei
10. Ar srf
11. Reka guinevere
