Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Various Artists
Label: ZKP RTV Slovenija
Release date: 13.10.2014
Rating: 4/5
After the lull of 2013, 2014 brings us just the next chapter in the story of good music on Val 202. Why 2013 got skipped, only the devil knows, but it would have been an irreparable loss if the project, which has lined up five compilation CDs since 2008, had dozed off, stalled and sunk into oblivion. So here comes part six. With a refreshed cover and booklet design.
The general feeling once you’ve pushed your way through the new CD is that none of the compilations has sounded this pop, and none has been so heavily dominated by female vocals. Out of the pool of “listenable” Val-friendly frequencies, this CD has fewer tracks that crank up the decibels with the distorted sound of an electric guitar. There are a few exceptions, like the fashionably alternative, rock-exploring Black Glitter by John Doe, a track that’s a blend of dark aesthetics and disco-style accessibility. Into this category we can safely file the rock-hearted Vikend zvezda by Dreamon, springy with funk rhythms and featuring the piercing female vocals of singer Daša, near the end of the compilation.
There’s almost no trace of hip hop on the compilation, and no singer-songwriters either. Today’s trends in popular music are very interesting. They were kind of foretold. It’s all about the ever more frequent fusing of many genre starting points, which makes drawing boundaries between genres an increasingly tough job. A case in point are the alternative electronic eccentrics with a distinctly dark veil, Karmakoma from Brežice, with the track Never Enough. Right behind them, in no less bright a light, come Kino za dva with Ugriz ljubezni, where a biting, sharp-tongued female vocal tempts the male mind, backed by solid rhythmic kinetics dosed with fleeting excesses of jazzy, minimalist trumpet bursts. The dark opening charge of the compilation is eased a little by the brighter Pieces from indie rockers Jardier, while with the track Ne sprašuj the compilation touches on the typical Slovenian school, courtesy of the cabaret jazz/soul/pop chanson outfit Alkimia (Breda Božič, who once formed part of the band Sfiltrom together with Alkimia member and Katalena drummer Robert Rebolj, remains an exceptional singer). The melancholy in this track is laid bare by touches of violin improvisation woven into the blanket of the instrumental accompaniment. In this same category, only with a bit more folk and no jazz premise, we can place the track Lahko by MojcART. It’s a band united around the former Obduction and Spleen singer, the fascinating Mojca Zalar.
Here’s an example of a distinctly dark figure of electronic soul, commanded by a sensitive female vocal, in the track Harshride (by Harshride) – short, to the point and haughty! A kind of bright counterpole to this track comes later on the CD: Košček mojega srca by Studiogrooves, led by the vocal of Katja Koren. Nor should we overlook the fascinating “teleportation” of Argentine tango into the Slovenian geographic milieu, which is so devotedly taken care of in the track Tebe (te imam) by the again passionate Vesna Zornik (Katalena) with her TangoApasionada. The same goes for a bit of swing recoded “the Slovenian way” in the track Srce “L’amour toujours”, which the likes of Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra would once have gone wild for, somewhere out there. The trend-driven sonic orientation of MTV and the music corporations is captured very aptly by the closing track of the compilation, titled Zen Vox Darjeeling, by folk indie rockers Tequilla.
The moment of lucid cynicism, which the Slovenian music scene is full of in its genre and cross-genre “quirks and habits” throughout the decades of evolution, is saved by the entertainingly spinning, 100% electronically synthesized Recikliram stvari by Pop-Alt.
Whatever the musical vision of the compilation’s chosen “lucky ones”, one thing is clear. The tracks stand credibly on their own, and their form is defined by the great commitment of their creators. By April 15, 2014, the editorial office of Val 202 had received more than 170 applications from various Slovenian artists, who together submitted approx. 250 tracks. The jury’s task was by no means easy. The expressive quality of all 14 tracks on this compilation confirms that Slovenia remains a hot spot, a melting pot of enviable musical ideas and vision, one that knows how to convincingly catch the moment of current trends while packing into it at least a sliver of the talent that’s a prerequisite for defining one’s own artistic identity. The vivid palette of 14 tracks certainly serves up a fun bone to gnaw on, and let’s hope it stays that way in the future.
Tracklist
1. Ujeta – Maya & Jamirko
2. Never Enough – Karmakoma
3. Black Glitter – John Doe
4. Ugriz ljubezni – Kino za dva
5. Pieces – Jardier
6. Ne sprašuj – Alkimia
7. Harshside – Harshride
8. Tebe (te imam) – Vesna Zornik & TangoApasionada
9. Srce “L’amour Tojours” – The Swingtones
10. Košček mojega srca – Studiogrooves (feat. Katja Koren)
11. Lahko – MojcART
12. Vikend zvezda – Dreamon
13. Recikliram stvari – Pop-Alt
14. Tequila – Zen Vox Darjeeling
