Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Tretji kanu
Label: Celinka
Release: 2017
Duration: 41:23
Rating: 4/5
The Dolenjska end of Slovenia has been musically very busy this year when it comes to new album releases. Drevored, Jernej Zoran, Sergej Čas, Črni Peter, Lamai,… Now a musical duo joins the region too, made up of guitarist Jan Medle and singer Anja Pavlin, who were, as it happens, brought together by the Krka river.
Beyond everything that flows into it, the Krka is considered one of the last lowland rivers in Slovenia with relatively well-preserved natural river hydrodynamics, one that isn’t overly chopped up by artificial barriers either, and its tufa thresholds are seen as unique not just on the Slovenian scale but in a much wider geographic one. Well, that very same Krka also runs through Novo mesto, where both musicians have made their home. Canoeing has been a local thing there since forever. It sounds romantic, breathing in the morning mist over the surface of an awakening river as you drift along in a canoe – provided, of course, that it isn’t March, when a whole division of farm machinery belonging to the bright godfathers of fertilizing, i.e. the modern Slovenian farmer, hits the surrounding meadows and fields. But let me get to the point already. The legend from those parts says that the third canoe in a row to set out onto the Krka is the fateful one, the one that binds together the people sitting in it. Jan, who had been cooking up an acoustic project for a while and looking for the right partner to realize his ideas and goals, bumped into Anja, whose band Indigo was, right at that moment, sitting idle in a kind of creative pause.
Both musicians got stuck into writing the lyrics, and the idea of an acoustic album soon grew into one with far more ambitious arrangements, where the lead vocals and acoustic guitar are joined by drums, percussion, keyboards, bass and electric guitar. Alongside Jan, who is the driving force behind the whole Tretji kanu story, Anja was able to bring in some of her old songwriting ideas and compositions, or at least sketches of them, which had ripened enough and finally found a home on this record. Among Anja’s compositions, the radio hit V mleku deserves a special mention – it brought the duo unexpected success and gave them wings for the further making of their debut »V vesolje«.
The album is in fact aptly named: the two musicians come from different musical worlds and carry different sources of inspiration, so »V vesolje« is a flight of an »unknown acquaintance«, where both of them look for a reconciling, constructive musical-compositional dialogue, one that of course leads to a successful materialization of their shared ideas. »V vesolje« is an exceptionally high-quality, lovely piece of work. An album of easygoing, short-but-punchy strokes and compositional solutions. Seasoned with plenty of melody that runs through every single track, making it instantly memorable and infectiously singable. The duo moves (broadly speaking) in the field of pop catchiness, but it certainly nudges into rock territory along the way, which is gratefully shod here and there by the introduction of otherwise minimal touches of electric guitar (e.g. the opening title track). Further on we meet mystically yearning moments marked by the fashionable charm of indie pop rock (Ni prostora), and, as is the habit of Slovenian acts, the quietly expected note doesn’t fail to show up, as the album also flirts here and there with elements of cabaret chanson. The album carries that »Dolenjska sentiment«, which brings in at least a mild shade of melancholy throughout, while the exceptionally good production does the ears a favor, with an organic warmth and a superb arrangement of the building blocks of the sonic landscape, led by the male-female vocal duet, whose chemistry between the two singers works at an exceptionally high level. The otherwise minimal mid-eight passages have the occasional welcome modulation, which adds variety to the songs, a twist of mood, even a touch of mystery. In this respect the ballad Črn šal is especially charming, sneaking in with an accordion in the background and a bit of a folk moment too.
The lyrics are strong and personal, the messages have tangible substance and carry a real singer-songwriter note. The album is dynamic in its compositions and highly flowing. It creeps under your skin in no time. There is only one moment on it that develops in a gloomy way and is, at the same time, a somewhat »tiring« verse melody for the ear. That’s the song in English, titled Hold on My Love, where the otherwise exceptionally infectious melodic rhetoric of the album stalls, so it would have been better if the duo had put this track at the tail end of the album. It’s simply proof that the songs under the direction of the duo Tretji kanu work best in Slovenian (especially when it comes to emotional payoff).
Last but not least, we have to point out the excellent company that accompanied Anja and Jan in the studio. From the guest musicians to the polished, subtly attentive and experienced sound engineers, who added that necessary finesse that guarantees the full consistency of the product. Given the noticeably long process of making this record, the duo’s commitment and, as a result, the way the material ignites, I believe Tretji kanu won’t stop at this one album, and we can look forward to another top-quality chapter in the future of this endearing, easygoing and romantically seductive musical story.
Tretji kanu – Ni prostora (official video):
Lineup
Anja Pavlin – vocals, backing vocals
Jan Medle – guitar, vocals, backing vocals
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Miha Renčelj – piano on tracks 3, 5 and 8
Dejan Slak – keyboards on tracks 1, 4 and 8
Joseph Weba – keyboards on track 4
Matija Lapuh – guitar on tracks 1 and 4
Jan Kovačec – bass guitar on tracks 5 and 8
Lenart Medle – bass guitar on track 4
Žiga Dobravc – drums on tracks 1 and 8
Ivo Rimc – drums on track 4
Bort Ross – backing vocals on track 9
Žan Beljan – cello on track 6
Luka Beljan – violin on track 6
Janez Dovč – accordion on track 7
Marko Šušteršič – accordion on track 5
Primož Malenšek – percussion on track 5
Production
Igor Ilić, Peter Penko & Bort Ross
Tracklist
1. V vesolje
2. Ni prostora
3. Ona
4. V mleku
5. Črn šal
6. Holn On My Love
7. Hiše
8. Ostala je tam
9. Lahko noč
10. Ona (se skriva)
