Author: Sandi Sadar Šoba
Artist: Miladojka Youneed
Label: Dallas Records
Release: 1998
Length: 44:26
Rating: 4/5
When a band reaches the highest plateau of its work, it gets sated and has a hard time climbing any higher. After the move to Dallas Records, that’s exactly what happened to Miladojka Youneed in 1998: with the outstanding record Schizophonik they wrote their own epitaph, and those of us who let the heart’s nectar flow freely through our veins, our adrenaline-soaked blood driven through the body by a hunger for good music, carry them with us in our fondest memories. Five years had passed since the last record, Liberta Bloo, and the lineup changed: saxophonist and backing vocalist Mario Marolt, above all the mastermind of Miladojka Youneed, and the superb bassist and vocalist Miroslav Lovrič, the unpredictable co-creator of the story from day one, let outstanding musicians into their working circle. Jožef Sečnik slung the bass over his shoulder, the superb drumming wunderkind Roman Ratej took the drum stool, and guitar duties, judging by the revelations scribbled on the record, went to N.K. 1400 (to parents and people in general better known as Nenad Krsmanovič). And since musicians in the studio always jump in to help each other when you least expect it, the list of “culprits” also includes guitarist Boris Romih and Neil Conti, always ready with loops and electronic finesse. And the result? Entirely worthy of comparison with Bloodylon, which, for me at least, marks the creative peak of the Ljubljana musical polyglots back when the underground was still unshackled and unburdened by audience expectations!
Now let’s move on to the musical menu of this fourth outing, which sets high standards for the whole competition: the record with the meaningful name Schizophonik. After the very first listen it’s clear that the production is flawless, while the band’s sound is split between the raw outbursts of their second record Bloodylon and the danceable softness of Liberta Bloo. Schizophonik is a finely woven record, but in its hesitation over whether to fire up all the turbines and open all the valves or stay in the sphere of tried-and-true old recipes, it stirs up somewhat mixed feelings. The opening, chaotically organized Turning Lathe kicks the heart into a higher gear, since its associations with the solos of the late Cavazza manage to conjure the illusion that Miladojka are heading back to the old sexy tracks of more organic music and have shaken off the electronic extras, and the keyboard disco has become more rudimentary again. But the electronic continuation of the intro to I’m A Fire answers all those prematurely born hopes. Time has moved on, and so has the band’s sound. And it’s not short on juicy saxophones; instead of massive basslines and wild drum rhythms, the central pedestal of the sound goes to Miroslav’s hypnotic, utterly confident vocals. »I’m a fire, you’re ice / Have we I future?« is the cherry on top of a lyric about the mysterious invisible bonds between people, who cry out for each other’s closeness while, in a battle of opposites, fighting their own true nature, which makes the disappearance of one opposite or the other inevitable. Miroslav practically foretold the inevitability of the end, while the crowd, to the sound of exceptionally venomous saxophone, drums and guitars, gave itself over to the dance they learned from Demolition group. I won’t wade into the similarities between Miladojka and them today, since that debate is as fruitless as brooding over whether the chicken or the egg came first …
Do You Love is a funkier continuation of the dance, and lovey-dovey lyrics bursting with physicality are matched by dirtier, sex-appeal-packed words that are tasteful and not the least bit obscene. Instead of singing about Platonic ideals, Miladojka dive into firmer states of their conceptual sorcery, though they pour their full strength into music that could have been even wilder and cheekier. A more contemplative calm in a world of obviously darkened ideals, and a no-longer-so-youthfully-driven urge to penetrate deeper into the universe, comes with Goddesses. An almost mournful suspense between the echoes of the sobbing and weeping of a sensitive saxophone, jazz-lounge funk drums, a guitar seasoned just right with gentle distortion, a soft undertone of bass and crystal-clear vocals carries a train of thought between brooding standstill and the longing to release screams trapped in the throat. Miladojka Youneed are masters of toying with emotions, and as a sort of interlude, the sensitive whisper of Expect creeps into the story. Before your eyes, evening haze creeps into the neon glow and the orange glow of street lamps wrapped around Ljubljana, and in this dreamy drive, or soulful flight over the city streets, the calm is only apparent. In the background, ideals and childhood dreams are dying, and the question arises of where a decentered Generation X is spitting; Miladojka gently dress it up in somewhat softer undertones. In a similar manner, the record continues with Blues My Way, giving itself over to softer contours, and in this drowsiness I personally miss a spark of passion and energy. The ballad-heavy middle of the record is good quality, but it damn well kills the initial momentum with which the wheels of Schizophonik’s spellbinding machinery first got turning.
After the morning irritation of an electronic alarm clock comes the time for a pick-me-up and a morning coffee, and the frothiness of the latter is taken care of by the livelier and cheekier Goodmorning. It’s obvious that the guys often woke up to the sounds of James Brown. The sample-stuffed funky dance plays with the sounds of the everyday morning clearing of the throat and the routine trudge to work along a path walked a thousand times before, and with their repetitiveness Miladojka add their humorous stamp and sarcastic edge to the otherwise dry monotony. Sending off the robotic dance of the modern robots of the post-industrial age after that wake-up call is the rather inorganic Disco Boy, which represents the extreme pole of music stripped of organic feel. In their play with disco standards at somewhat lower revs, the guys manage to slightly irritate the ear canal and awaken a wish for a short break. Thank God this was apparently a single purpose-built experiment, and, thank God, a pretty isolated one, because the flow of thought and the flow of musical libido are completely unleashed with Eternity. Playing with energetic funk patterns is crowned by venomously beautiful guitar solos that fall out of the funk frame and back into more relaxed rock waters, and Miladojka drive their machine to maximum revs, which makes giving yourself over to the dance a completely logical consequence. And we’re already at the end! The song Underground wraps up the journey in calmer undertones, and in the darkened evening sky of a band of enthusiasts, musical travelers and rebels, the stars light up for a reason, helping to steer the soul’s ships between the reefs of a black future.
You could accuse Schizophonik of repeating recipes we’ve already heard, but in all fairness, it was impossible to expect Miladojka Youneed to just keep building on and complementing themselves from record to record, evolving and improving, since the qualitative level of the Ljubljana collective had obviously been reached a while ago. Carrying on would then only be a matter of routine, and once the flame of passion goes out, music is next on the deathbed. That’s why, despite the vacuum the band’s departure left in the Slovenian music scene, I’m glad they found the strength and courage to end it themselves at the right time. That way the image of the music stays in fond memory, and the band’s name stays pure, honorable and wrapped in veils of mystery. All I’d ask is what else the band could have added and musically articulated in this last incarnation? The bag of wonders was obviously emptied. Still, the closing act, the record Schizophonik, is a product that deserves all the praise, since the album is saturated with top-notch sound and gorgeous music. Among the pillars of aesthetic perfection, the only thing superfluous is the memory of a more fruitful past and the creation of stormy currents together with former comrades-in-arms. Times have changed, while Miladojka stayed youthfully unchanged in their own way, but in the body of a young, ever newly reborn collective, the old heart of the original lineup began to lose its original strength. If Schizophonik were my only contact with Miladojka Youneed, I could say that here you really get everything the guys ever stood for. There’s plenty of funky mischief, an alternative rebel stance with a commercial ring, sarcasm and bitterness, and the record has captured all the scratches and wounds that Miladojka heroically healed and took on their collective body over the years of their existence. And that’s exactly why they remain one of the more important names in the small Slovenian night sky, sprinkled with rare gems, which I still listen to gladly today …
Lineup
Miroslav Lovrič – bass, vocals
Mario Marolt – saxophone, backing vocals
N.K. 1400 – guitar, backing vocals
Roman Ratej – drums
Guest musicians:
Jožef Sečnik – bass on tracks 1, 3, 4, 5 and 9
Boris Romih – guitar on track 6
Neil Conti – loops (tracks 1, 4 and 10)
Production
Iztok Turk, Mario Marolt
Tracklist
- Turning Lathe
- I’m A Fire
- Do You Love
- Goddesses
- Expect
- Blues My Way
- Goodmorning
- Disco Boy
- Eternity
- Underground
