Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Bort Ross
Label: Celinka
Release: 2015
Running time: 35:23
Rating: 4.5/5
Borut Antončič, better known by his stage name Bort Ross, is a seasoned musician. Back at the turn of the millennium he was already part of K.U.T. Gas, where he gathered experience and broadened his creative musical horizons. He has also made a name for himself as a respected songwriter and composer, contributing songs to Anika Horvat and Alenka Godec. It took him a long time to find enough courage and resolve to start shaping his first studio debut (and a fully self-authored one at that). Clearly the time is right now, a time of real artistic maturity, for him to give himself away in the strongest light of his own authorial authenticity and creative essence.
Bort Ross has taken an interesting musical direction, and he may remind you of certain parts of Gal Gjurin’s work, or rather his compositional approach. The music is thoroughly organic, built from natural sonic textures. Its basic premise is exceptional musicality, drowning in emotions of melancholy, longing and yearning. Bort Ross approaches the verses with a deeply sensual tenderness, and at moments his timbre pulls toward Dan D’s Tokac. Interestingly, it’s Tokac who wrote the lyrics for the song Sančo Pansa. His vocal delivery and the way he shapes the verses, or rather brings them to life, are the album’s biggest charm. The poetry is deeply personal and confessional, and with that lived-in delivery it lights up effectively and, as a result, conjures the reality of Ross’s life confessions.
The melos is soaked in pronounced melancholy, and with the soft, easy, naturally measured steps Ross takes as a composer, he casts a spell over the listener. The songs are calm, every single one. It’s precisely in this sophisticated approach that the sensuality of Bort Ross’s vocal delivery hits so much harder. In the instrumental backing and the arrangements, the piano and keyboards get the most room to speak, with a warm, velvety, »fat« bass guitar sound and »laid-back« drumming as the contrasting counterweight, the latter drifting almost into »brushwork« in the most intimate moments. Genre-wise, you could say that »Sančo Pansa« is definitely a unique Slovenian singer-songwriter achievement with a recognizable aura. I’d say the album offers a picturesque and distinctive blend of indie rock with a noticeable pop element, both steered by a strong attachment to the melos of Slovenian geographic origin. Wherever Dovč’s accordion starts coloring the arrangements, the music »unconsciously« leans on the heritage of Slovenian folk melos. You can also catch shades of cabaret chanson and some flirting with jazz in the middle instrumental passages (Namesto sonca).
As a whole, the album feels remarkably compact. The compositions stand equal side by side and keep up an outstanding level of quality across a good 35 minutes of music. The album is also shot through with a streak of mysticism, part of the core moods and the solid atmospheric effect Bort Ross has captured so effectively on this record. The songs are compositionally varied and contrasted with each other, so the music maintains an effective dynamic flow throughout and keeps the listener engaged on that front too.
»Sančo Pansa« is an exceptionally beautiful studio debut from Bort Ross. It came together through subtle, unobtrusive, creative gestures of great sincerity, under the watchful guidance of the deep perfectionism this singer-songwriter comes from. An album that feels honest, and in that truthfulness grabs you, wins you over instantly and crawls under your skin in a heartbeat.
Lineup
Bort Ross – vocals, bass guitar, guitar, keyboards, programming
Jernej Šuštaršič – keyboards
Viktor Lipic – keyboards
Marko Šuštaršič – accordion
janez Dovč – accordion
Jani Hace – bass guitar
Nikola Sekulovič – bass guitar
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Anika Horvat – vocals on tracks no. 4 and no. 5
Nina Radkovič – vocals on track no. 3
Production
Bort Ross & Igor Ilič
Track list
1. Led
2. Moja jutra
3. Sama je
4. Grem
5. Še na tisti dan
6. Ostajaš
7. Sančo Pansa
8. Namesto sonca
9. Da si tu
10. Ko bo julij
