Time Is Relative, Perfect Music Is Absolute (2013)

Arhiv Arhiv Last updated 11 June 2026

Author: Sandi Sadar Šoba

Venue: AKC Metelkova, Gala Hala, Ljubljana
Concert date: 30.03.2013
Attendance: 150 – 200
Ticket price: 6 € before midnight / 8 € after midnight

Where the analog meets the digital, a lot of things get called into question, above all the definition of what real music is and where art starts molting into artsy-fartsiness. For years I was skeptical of any meddling of binary code and sonic manipulation, one single click and boom, in the sanctity of music, but a lot of things change over the years. No, I’m not going soft, but the fact is there’s something of quality in the electro waters too, just as there’s something rotten in the organic garage waters, and in my search for the right balance I now find it much easier to opt for live experiments and for testing the synthesis of electro and proper »live« music. This time, on the day we jumped an hour ahead (or an hour mysteriously vanished somewhere …), the experiment was brought to life by the Novo Mesto-Ljubljana oratorios of dance pleasure – the already well-tested Moveknowledgement, who shared the stage this time with no fewer than three DJs. When it comes to rave, techno, trance and similar artsy excuses for a dance-floor switch-off, I admit I know about as much as a frog knows about salad. But there’s no need to write off acts like Von Meister, Dr. Klash, Axel Moody or Feentz & Ivanhoe on the spot, even though I couldn’t tell you who is who or who to thank for the fact that, even before the late start of the main organic reason to defy fatigue, I had effortlessly slid into the realm of trance, surrendering to the dance rhythm and the suggestive hypnotics of professionally made video projections.

The beats were filling up Ljubljana’s Gala Hala, and the dance floor was filling up more and more too, but instead of dancing, the hall was filled with contemplative waves of dreaminess and cigarette smoke, and amid the thicket of midnight emotions, massive bass and low-frequency punches to the solar plexus kept cutting in. The electronic revolt and total button manipulation helped time move a bit faster, and an hour after midnight came the order that the international train of Analogue Klash’s compositions be temporarily derailed by the genius rhythm section and the masters of fast-tongued acrobatics from Moveknowledgement. A projection of galaxies hung in the background, and from the chest of the densely packed crowd, which had come to Gala to soak up the juicy substrate of a perfect blend of rock, funk, electronics and dub-hiphop, a cry of satisfaction and organic relief burst out at the first hard-hitting beats of a phenomenal cover of Nirvana’s banger Breed. The backbone of the song becomes the rhythm of David Cvelbar’s phenomenal drums and Dejan Slak’s massive bass, and more than Uroš Weinberger’s guitar, you can hear the gorgeous keys of the exceptional Miha Šajina. Amid the solid pillars of music, built to shift static monoliths into a state of total resonance, the rhymester per excellance feels right at home – multiple national champion in freestyle rapping and the band’s outstanding singer, Miha Blažič – N’Toko. The slightly dry sound brought the first battle lines together and set most of the crowd in motion, and even the static ones, with their breath held and their eyes fixed motionless on the stage, could only nod along and fall into one eargasm after another. Shakuza rules the left side of the stage behind three keyboards, the two string tamers share the right, and in the green haze of projections, thick air and passion, a thousand heartbeats are happening, massaged by the exceptional drummer David, symbiotically tied to the whole, yet so damn authoritative and mighty, while with dance and powerful movements the otherwise very calm intellectual guru of the band, MC N’Toko, backs up every single word. What counts is the chemistry of the moment, and Chemicals, an outstanding track from the album Listen To Nebukadnezar, only confirms that you won’t find weaknesses, moments of slack or incoherence in Moveknowledgement. Everything works compactly in one go, and there are no repetitions or inconsistencies whatsoever. Their music is a warm yet steel embrace that locks the heart in a hermetic hug of sweetness. There’s something soft in this act of total domination, but there’s no room for mediocrity in this bond! Average Bear is a straight-up confession of individuality and an upright stance, and Moveknowledgement weave their musical veil, covering every inch of Gala with love and sincere passion, not with a routine, workmanlike repetition of well-worn moves.

In the band’s mental flow and in the dialogue with the crowd, authenticity comes first, and surprisingly, despite the hellish tempo and the weight of the airlessness, Moveknowledgement don’t give in to the temptation to let the quality level slip in any way. After the newer songs La Droga and a dive into all the lakes and dark pools of the horrifying yet hugely suggestive 36 Lakes, the solar eclipse gives way to the imperatives of the past. Listen To Nebukadnezar was a very dark but hard-hitting record, and the fact that every soul holds, besides the sun and the rainbow of dance optimism, plenty of bitter, slightly more acrid pessimism was proven by the total surrender to the space dub rhythms of the song Listen To Nebukadnezar, which sums up the atmosphere in Gala Hala. The light is only apparent, and the dictate of movement is something you won’t be able to resist. Head, neck, torso and legs … With the invisible strings of perfect music, Moveknowledgement set the crowd in motion, and the bodies move like fleshy marionettes to broken beats, following flashes of narrative about the Illuminati, the Egyptians, the unresolved questions of existence and non-existence, media indoctrination and institutionalized dulling with modern medication and other means of control. Moveknowledgement’s words are merely a tool for moving the soul, for turning the wheels, for satisfying the craving for excellence, for releasing the tension and electricity between the left and right ear, and the discharge is followed by a state of total lightness. As if stoned, the cards get reshuffled again, and with the song I Am Zorr Moveknowledgement lay the groundwork for trying out something new, so far heard only at concerts – the excellent track I’m On It! Moveknowledgement in 2013 are more dance-oriented, and the compact hits of more concrete dance rhythms continue the fresh line of the album Pump Down, without giving up the metaphysical weight of the past. It’s just more danceable, and whoever dances can’t carry so much darkness in their heart as to succumb to the total destructiveness of nihilistic modern skepticism, right? Here is comfort, and here is a plaster for the aching being of modern man, and Moveknowledgement offer a hand and lead you through the dark toward the light. The song Hands is a gorgeous companion to this salvation, after which the motionless will once again be in motion, and the perfect divine touch of God’s finger will open the embittered heart like the most beautiful bud under the kisses of the spring sun. And the music here is a perpetuum mobile, giving perfect energy for further chain reactions. But every good thing ends too soon, and so after the final trio of songs Stop/Continue, Pump Down, which makes it clear that the sow is on crack, and the closing medley of Electric Manland, the irrevocable end arrived, the last bow, and the organic curtain came down on this unforgettable evening.

What followed was a bit more of colder electronic rhythm, filling the emptiness in the room, while the bodies slowly came into harmony with minds that had wandered off. One thing was clear – the gig was damn good, outstanding, magical and absolutely worthy of a spot on the list of Moveknowledgement quality. The Moveknowledgement universe is a sea of exceptional rhythms and intergalactic elusiveness, and going by the dictate of the latest record, it’s clear that being high on life and above-average music is a fine thing. Pump Down is a guideline and a program command that movement is inherent to your being, and you will surely, of your own accord, shoot something good, something heartfelt and something loud into your brain, blood and body through the ear canals, and pump the exceptional music not just from the web onto your computer (I’d rather suggest you support these outstanding musicians directly by buying a quality record, if you haven’t done so in a long time …) but distill from the words and rhythm everything your soul needs, and become a bearer of the new gospel of Moveknowledgement yourselves. And that’s also why I know that next time, at the next gig, there’ll be even more witch doctors and shamans in the front battle lines, just as these masters of outstanding music deserve!