Artist: Milčinski, Nana
Label: Celinka
Released: 2012
Length: 40:58
Rating: 4.5/5
»Še ena pomlad« is essentially the poetry of the great Fran Milčinski Ježek set to music by his granddaughter Nana. “Art” is apparently just another name for the Milčinski family, and in our time Nana Milčinski, as the family’s rightful heir, is bringing it to life in the full bloom of her artistic creativity.
Nana Milčinski is a firmly established name in Slovenia’s cultural and arts scene. She’s known for her long, fruitful collaboration with the Anton Podbevšek Teater from Novo mesto. That partnership has produced, for example, the productions »Hamlet 60 minut« and the one made together with Siddharta, called »Livingstonov poslednji poljub« (2010).
Helping Nana set the 13 selected poems to music, poems that authorially belong to the inimitable genius of her grandfather’s character and work, were Martin Štibernik, who counts as one of the most prolific writers of hit songs, and the »little Doug Wimbish« of the bass guitar, Anže Langus Petrovič »Dagi« (Da Phenomena). Both musicians also wrote the melodies for Nana’s vocal lines. Nana clearly didn’t want to leave anything to chance, so she also called in two seasoned musicians to the studio, former Elevators buddies whose lists of past and present collaborations with a slew of prominent names on the Slovenian scene are about as long as a phone book! These two are excellent masters of their musical craft: guitarist Robert Pikl and drummer and percussionist Sergej Randjelović »Runjoe«.
This is an artistic challenge that takes all the courage you’ve got. Nana doesn’t lack talent. Even less does she lack ideas, willpower and bubbling creative urges. On top of all that, Nana is a brilliant vocal interpreter who, to bring her grandfather’s poems to life, had to briefly »reset her head to zero« and dive back into the years of carefree childhood and sweet naivety, when her grandfather’s presence cradled her, doted on her, nurtured her and carefully shielded her. That journey into the past, wrapped in the softness of the bosom of an ocean of memories full of nostalgic longing, is the starting point of Nana’s genuine revival of the deeply perceptive confessions of the unique, often, in all its heartbreaking truthfulness, truly bitter poetry (and fantasy) of Fran Milčinski Ježek. It could be socially critical (Pesem o vetru) or stir up the core of eroticism (Božič 1944) Hence the meaningful title of the album »Še ena pomlad«, which means nothing other than one more meeting between Nana and the years of carefree youth and childhood. Sadly, I know too little of the background to the whole story, but it’s not hard to guess that Ježek also performed these songs of his for the family circle, so quite a few of them surely lodged deep in the heart of a much younger Nana back then. That last sentence is just a guess, but it comes from the vibe I soaked up from this record.
The whole album has an organic complexion. There’s no hiding behind the effects of sound manipulation that the technical gadgetry of lavish studios offers. The natural soundscape, with its evenly distributed building blocks of the sonic picture, feels sensual, warmly tangible, dynamically lively. These accompanying elements wrap around Nana Milčinski’s vocal performance like gentle, translucent veils, with supple softness, almost unnoticeably, unobtrusively, yet extremely compatibly, placing it at the center of attention. The song Čakam nate is a lovely, relaxed and carefree introduction to the album. It sounds dreamy, and the keyboards, with the rustic sound of the mellotron, keep that dreaminess high on their wings as they enter a contrasting dialogue with the sprightly vocals. In the opening track the almost unnoticeable rhythm section leads the listener to a landing on solid ground in the art pop song of melodically catchy lightness and positive outlook, Zaljubi se v življenje (released as the album’s second single).
Although it’s clear that everything on the album is first and foremost subordinated to the focal point of the vocal interpretation, the backing crew of seasoned musicians is so well-drilled that, within the otherwise narrowly defined arrangement framework of an elementary sequence of short, compact songs, where verses and choruses quickly pass the baton and lead the listener to the heart of the message, it finds enough room for a plasma of juicy arrangement flourishes. So the team of backing musicians still finds enough wiggle room on this album for a display of sharp-witted arrangement quips, which add a much-needed pinch of art seasoning, so that the songs never once slip into the boredom of predictability of potentially banal arrangement choices, which could have robbed the album of its ability to hold its own against the reach of the vocal expression.
Štibernik’s touch is almost essential in the sprinkling of keyboard flourishes, which masterfully rescue potential pitfalls on the album that could have led to shallowness of expression. His arrangements decisively enrich the elementary minimalism of the song designs, such as Pesem o vetru and Zakaj greš mimo.
These musicians have spent most of their careers in various bands and, accordingly, genres. That’s exactly what produced the varied arranging, where other genre spices are occasionally added to the basic art pop engraving. So we run into caught shades of blues (Zaljubi se v življenje, Božič 1944), southern country melos and jazz (Ko ura bo odbila), and country-flavored exuberance (Oj, moj fant). In Ne laže pa ne, Ciciban Pikl gives up the chance of »rag time« fills on the guitar, freeing up space for Štibernik’s keyboard solutions instead. Especially intimate and Beatles-sounding is Dragi (the first single from the album). There’s the cabaret-chanson Sedi mi sedi v naročje with a prominent jazz-ethno element in the landscape of accompanying solos, as well as the immensely fragile, sensitive lament Pisemce. The closing Zamorjena pesem has a structure similar to the opening Čakam nate, as well as a similar energetic vibe (the dreamy element). Solze na oknu, with its lovely melodic development, has an extremely successful combination of art pop dialogue and is an excellent candidate for the third single from this album.
The sensitive side is the essence of this record! And Nana’s vocals bring it in abundance. The pleasant colorfulness of Nana’s voice, combined with a sensual immersion through a mix of yearning longing and feelings of anxiety, and on the other hand light exuberance, even playful mischief, as well as cold detachment, are the focal points of the album’s sensitive side, which takes the lead in expression on the record.
Nana tweaked the verses a little so they make sense when sung by a female voice, since they were written by a male soul. The titles are slightly adapted too. For example, the song Dragi is called Draga in the original. The material simply went through a few much-needed adaptations of Ježek’s original poetry.
This is an exceptionally sensitive record, and you’d easily believe that the lyrics were entirely written by Nana Milčinski, so intimately and deeply do they penetrate the nooks of the listener’s soul and consciousness. That means Nana Milčinski’s mission on this album has achieved its basic purpose. It’s an outstanding tribute to Fran Milčinski Ježek, which is actually optimal in every detail. It’s at the creative point where it’s hard to say it could possibly get any better.
The album could be an excellent springboard for Nana Milčinski’s potential future career in general, should she try her hand as a singer-songwriter. But for that she first needs to find her own poetic authorial insight. We’ll see what the future brings. Judging by what she shows on the album »Še ena pomlad«, it’s clear as day that Nana should stick with the musical niche she chose for the album »Še ena pomlad«, even if others write both the poetry and the music for her, since the reach of her sincere vocal interpretation is what wholeheartedly convinces the listener at every single moment. Še ena pomlad« is an excellent musical achievement for 2012 in Slovenia. Varied and colorful, easy to listen to, yet deeply heartfelt and teasingly insightful. Ježek would no doubt be proud of his granddaughter. Let’s hope this beautiful story gets its studio successor in the foreseeable future.
Lineup
Nana Milčinski – vocals
Anže Langus Petrović – double bass, bass guitar, percussion, backing vocals
Martin Štibernik – rhodes, piano, mandolin, backing vocals
Robert Pikl – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, ukulele, lap steel
Sergej Ranđelović – drums, tambourine
Production
Martin Štibernik & Anže Langus Petrović
Tracklist
1. Čakam nate
2. Zaljubi se v življenje
3. Pesem o vetru
4. Zakaj greš mimo
5. Solze na oknih
6. Ko ura bo odbila
7. Ne laže pa ne, Ciciban
8. Dragi
9. Božič 1944
10. Sedi, sedi mi v naročje
11. Oj, moj fant
12. Pisemce
13. Zamorjena pesem
