Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Various Artists
Label: ZKP RTV Slovenija
Released: 2011
Duration: 53:32
Rating: 4/5
The fourth compilation, “Val 011 – Imamo dobro glasbo”, from radio station Val 202, captures for the fourth year running the creative pulse of Slovenian musicians. The ones who need it most, that is. Meaning, in principle, acts that haven’t broken through yet. This time around, it’s 2011. While the previous compilation, Val 010, gave way too much room to hip hop and singer-songwriters, Val 011 swings back to songs where the essence of rock n’ roll roots is front and center again.
The birth pangs of this new compilation were worse than expected. The jury, which grew to five members over the past year, was even forced to extend the submission deadline for interested bands, because at first it got too little material to distill enough usable tracks for a CD. After the extension, a total of 260 submissions from various artists landed at the Val 202 editorial office, which saved the day.
The lack of response, a certain degree of apathy among the artists, probably stems from the general state of mind in society. No trust in the state, none in its institutions, less and less trust in the euro, less and less faith that we’ll ever live better. Things get worse year after year. The media keep serving up the same old faces of bloated ticks who spent 20 years sucking the country dry for their own benefit and are trying to convince the masses that it was a good thing and that they plan to keep at it for another 20 years or more. All that negativity seeps into every sphere of public life, and yes, we Slovenians trust those who address us less and less. And yet. Why bite the hand that feeds you? In this case, the hand that points you in a direction and gives you some kind of quality “rating”, so you at least get a first, preliminary feel for how the world reacts to your music.
“Val 011” is, to this day, definitely the best compilation Val 202 has put out in the “Hočemo dobro glasbo!” series. Not only did the jury return to favoring rock-savvy songs, but the new compilation also has the most ingenuity of all four “Val” releases, plus the greatest range of expression among the chosen artists. And that is very, very good.
The new “Val 011” compilation also confirms that Val 202’s policy remains fixed. Circling within clearly defined genre boundaries. With the hip hop detours gone from this one, the scales tip this time toward bands leaning on the legacy of punk rock, cabaret chanson steeped in hints of jazz, mainstream-minded rock tracks with a greater or lesser dose of pop flavor, while the door stays open throughout for singer-songwriter ditties too. Still, despite this boxed-in setup, “Val 011” fires on all cylinders better than any before it. The stylistic landmarks in the chosen artists’ writing bring more interest than we might have expected.
This compilation proves, too, that Slovenians are a sad people at heart. Out of 15 tracks, only two are positive in their basic arrangement as well as in the message of their lyrics (Alee – Le en dan and L.S.D. – Rit in srajca). Alee’s “Le en dan” is the kind of song that should find its place on the airwaves where Slovenian mainstream rotates. A superbly arranged number, it catches fire with its melodic compactness on first listen. Great production too, with a captured sense of liveliness and naturally sounding structures. It’s backed up by intelligently chiseled lyrics full of positivity. A very nice rock pop tune. L.S.D. and their Rit in Srajca come across, compared with the other, as much more naive in the lyrics and much more predictable as a song overall. The vocal delivery feels closer to alternative rock, even though the arrangement is greased with pop elements, a reggae rhythm and solidly implemented with a short but sharp guitar solo.
The opening Mesto duhov by the duo Bojler is already one of the more interesting tracks on the CD right from the start. An alternative vibe, with alienated, effects-processed, manly bellowing vocals and successful solutions in the search for leaning on a massively rich wall of sound, with added programmed loops. Trendy, modern and alternative. Lei’yh, surely from Gorenjska judging by the “deeply perceptive” band name, offer an interesting development from the initially clichéd intro of the alternative rock ditty “Revolucija? Pa dež je napovedan”. The organic layering of the soundscape is boosted by an at times almost dissonant use of bass lines and a heartfelt, energetically convincing vocal approach.
Of course, it doesn’t go without cabaret-bent chansons. An expected move. Jana Sen and Če vedel bi? Človek! A “lovely” creation with sweet, murmuring female vocals underpinned by percussion, with the integrated violin in the arrangement saving it from typical cliché. Then there’s the roaring Kill Kenny with the track Killing Time. I can say that in the two years since I heard their first recordings, the guys have carved out their own sonic identity. The only track with lyrics in English. There’s a lot of hiding behind distortion, including the vocal production, which takes some of the “oomph” out of the whole thing. Solid otherwise.
The gloomy Areola with the track Navodila za ljubezen tries to rescue the emptiness of the backing arrangement with a vocal interpretation quirk, delivered almost exclusively through a thick dose of deep, panting inhales and exhales. A less interesting number that can drive you to slit-your-wrists thoughts. With heavy use of stereo chorus effect. Cases of rocking that wants to breathe pop in every which way naturally can’t be missing. Here it’s the more-or-less empty Evil Eye track “Ne bi, hvala”. The untouchable persona of the singer, who tries to “purr like a cat”, is held in the verse by a cowbell rhythm on one side and a primitive guitar phrase solution on the other. The White Stripes do this better. The chorus keeps the track’s dance element going with handclaps.
Retro vision in rock is more and more in demand these days. The band Obroč, garage rockers who’ve strained a nice harvest of seventies hard rock classics through their ears, try to please with hellishly fast playing of note lines, something Deep Purple popularized long ago. The vocals are literally unbearable and belong squarely in the most destructive punk rock band the world has ever seen. The band doesn’t hide its potential, but it needs time to define its groove, and above all to fix the problem at the vocal spot, which in the track Najlepši ples comes across (broadly speaking) as off-putting. Of course, the guys unmistakably prove that they love Bijelo Dugme. Singer-songwriter Gorazd Lampe with Travnik in drevo delivers a successful replacement for the song Matej Kranjc contributed to the “Val 010” compilation, since in its interpretation it feels far more real and down-to-earth than that fellow comrade-in-arms.
Combining a folk element with singer-songwriter writing tends to catch fire. This time that comes from the band Kiti with the song titled Ljubezen. Much less mischievously conceived than its bright little brother Uej Uej (Magdalenca) by Katarina Juvančič and Dejan Papanja on the “Val” compilation from 2009, it’s especially cold, fragile and yearning. A successful attempt. Gustav Fevd with the song Jesen deliver one of the compilation’s better tracks. The mood effects are similar to what the Kranj band The Tide string together in their music. An intelligent, message-rich song. Let’s hope they release an album soon, because Jesen, with its ravenous, almost meditative yet melancholically yearning atmosphere, promises a lot. A less interesting continuation comes from Amfibia with the pushy pop number Kerubin. If Amfibia is the word for an amphibian (metaphorically also for a two-faced person), the word Kerubin is just as double-edged. If you read it from right to left (that is, “backwards” – “in reverse”), you get the phrase “Ni-burek”. Combining ethno folk melodies with a dance pop element wrapped in a melancholy veil of piano feels as predictable as the average Eurovision pop song wants to be.
The compilation’s only instrumental, Confuzit, proves that Slovenians have always had a great understanding of jazz fusion. If the rhythm structure were reinforced with the electric snap of drums and the woodwinds wound up in contrast, it could get close to something near Miles Davis in the era of the album “TuTu”. A very good piece, with sterile production, but then electronics carry real weight in the band Fuzit. Then there’s Fury Walls, who close the compilation with Let You Go. Conjure up the disco element of Blondie. The minimalism of the electronic structures hugging the female vocals owes some thanks to the punk offshoot called eighties new wave. Overall nothing revolutionary, but within the bounds of Slovenian territory, surely an interesting thing.
That’s it. Rich, isn’t it? “Val 011” is a compilation that’s undoubtedly worth checking out. Both in the quality of the arrangements and the individual artists’ ideas, and in the captured stylistic genre spread of its 15 tracks. It hits the required level of vivid colorfulness, proving that the class of 2011 in Slovenian music (within the range set by the tolerance of Val 202’s radio frequency policy) stands out in quality. The aim of the !Imamo dobro glasbo project has thus achieved its purpose in the fullest sense of the word. Let’s hope the artists featured on the compilation manage to get their studio albums out as soon as possible, because judging by what the “Val 011” CD sums up, we can expect a lot.
Tracklist
1. Bojler – Mesto duhov
2. Lei’yh – Revolucija? Pa dež je napovedan
3. Jana Sen – Če vedel bi? Človek!
4. Alee – Le en dan
5. Kill Kenny – Killing Time
6. Areola – Navodila za ljubezen
7. Evil Eye – Ne bi, hvala
8. Obroč – Najlepši ples
9. Gorazd Lampe – Travnik in drevo
10. L.S.D. – Rit pa srajca
11. Kiti – Ljubezen
12. Gustav Fevd – Jesen
13. Amfibia – Kerubin
14. Fuzit – Confuzit
15. Furry Walls – Let You Go
