Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Various Artists
Label: RTV Slovenija
Released: 2009
Runtime: 53:33
Rating: 3/5
The follow-up to the first Val 202 – imamo dobro glasbo! release. And no doubt about it. The main thing is that the project survived and got a firm guarantee that it’ll keep coming back every year. This year 140 bands applied, noticeably fewer than last year (228 entries). The jury that ran the material through their ears stayed the same again this year: Andrej Karoli, Jernej Vene, Jure Longyka and Igor Bašin, so the tastes haven’t changed either. Hand on heart, it’s hard to find more authoritative jurors in Slovenia. That’s why Val 202 is a byword for constancy, a home for quality and a radio frequency that really rarely leaves listeners in the lurch.
Whenever we get down to analyzing the material on a release like this, we have to factor in what the Val 202 radio program has to offer. That is, the reach and range of what’s still acceptable on its frequency for music listeners. So this CD is, to a degree, an “imprint” of the current rotation of Slovenian artists’ tracks on Val 202 in 2009, or it hints at the direction Val 202 is heading in the future.
Once you fight your way through the material of the 2009 edition, you realize it’s more genre-limited than the first release, which was logged in 2008. The album opens with a fun pop tune with danceable retro funk urges, where the interplay of the horns with the lead and backing female voices ties together excellently. A rhythmically punchy number is Delfina by McLaren. Actually a rare thing that’s given over to pure fun on this CD. Magnifico fans, take note!
Do you know Peter Lovšin’s Čist nor? If you don’t know what that might be, listen to the basic rock phrase of the track Uej uej (Magdalenca). It’s an artistic detour on the CD and makes for an especially interesting moment on the album, which successfully crossed a Slovenian folk song and put it in the proper sharpness of rocker boots. The young, whiny emo kids B.A.K.S. come across (despite cranking up the noise intensity) as much more guided and clichéd further on, but the track Bil bi raj still keeps a clear head. Fans of artificial sounds and recitals, seduced in the manner of American rap barking, will get their money’s worth in Tolerance by Beatmyth. Then there’s Intimn Frizurn, an excellent band otherwise, capable of bringing freshness and innovation with their contribution O določeni osebi, which certainly livens up the lineup. Toward the end the compilation veers off with Severa Gjurin’s Ti si moje srce, which carries an excellent touch of psychedelia in its naturally sounding arrangements, and the feeling of looseness is also helped along by the odd deliberately dissonant chord. Sneg by Adijo kultura is the friendlier side of an otherwise punkishly, powerfully convincing and biting band. Feedback, with the track Zbogom and its meaningful title, bring a required and welcome change of pace at the end of the CD. It’s not hard to picture Hawaii as the dreamy drifting of the song, like a gentle breeze, plays with the still surface of the sea and tries to coax the first innocent waves of morning out of it. Feedback are guys who like listening to jazz, but here they held back diligently and forged a very listenable little thing that will surely get under your skin right away.
The tracks Marjetica (Spake), which tries desperately to chase the rhyme no matter how dumb the verses are, the scrubbed-down punk of Dejte mi mir (Nč od nč), the cautious but worn-out Divji ritem makadama (Martin Ramoveš band), the poppy Odkar te ni (Ket), Me (The Gen), too little “broken off” funk-wise (even though that’s exactly what it’s after), another cautious and worn-out one, Dež (Zadnji taxi), sung in an annoying southern dialect, and the rowdy but slightly (over)forced Kolk rabš? (BULDO9i) are the less interesting things on the CD, which doesn’t mean we get to draw conclusions about what kind of bands they are. For that you’d have to listen to whole studio albums. Even these tracks still stay within the range that’s current for spinning on Val 202’s frequencies – and that’s what counts.
Genre-wise, 2009 may be a less varied, inspired and challenging year, but still thoroughly high-quality and encouraging enough. So we Slovenes have interesting bands, plus lots of small hidden surprises waiting for their artistic bloom. 2009 brought a different, new story, one that’s writing the history of radio Val 202 and the history of Slovenia’s rock culture, and is trying to somehow reshape the “mainstream” and bring it to the musical masses in a healthy way. Let’s hope the “Imamo dobro glasbo” project becomes a fixture of our scene. It’s encouraging that Val 202 is already promising a third installment, due out probably next year. And to wrap up? Yep. We still have good music!
Track list
1. Delfina – MC Laren
2. Uej uej (Magdalenca) – Katarina Juvančič in Dejan Lapanja
3. Bil bi raj – B. A. K. S.
4. Marjetica – Spake
5. Tolerance – Beatmyth feat. N’Toko
6. Dejte mi mir – Nč od nč
8. Divji ritem makadama – Martin Ramoveš band)
9. O določeni osebi – Intimn frizurn
10. Odkar te ni – Ket
11. Me – The Ghen
12. Ti si moje srce – Severa Gjurin
13. Dež – Zadnji taxi
14. Kolk rabš? – BULDO9i
15. Sneg – Adijo kultura
16. Zbogom – Feedback
