Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Jukič, Robert
Label: ZKP RTV Slovenija
Release: 2015
Duration: approx. 125 min.
Rating: 4.5/5
Robert Jukič is one of Slovenia’s most prolific musicians, or better yet, musical artists. Over his career he’s put his name on more than 60 albums, as a composer, performer, … No sooner does a new project come out under his name than another is already in the works. And Jukič never stands still creatively. He keeps growing and evolving as an artist, constantly challenging himself with his vision. Artistry just keeps pushing him forward, toward new and ever newer artistic challenges. And just how delicate and sensual Jukič can be when bringing his musical ideas to life.
This man, who surprises with his vision at every turn, has now taken on an incredibly ambitious and unusual idea. He wrote 14 songs (lyrics included) and handed the vocal duties to 13 different female characters. So. Jukič began by challenging himself, dove into the wellspring of feminine emotion, and poured the feelings that womanhood (in the fullest sense of the word) evoked in him into a set of 14 lyrics. Then he set them to music, of course, and teamed up with 13 singers who sang those very songs in the studio. With some of them he’d already worked in their backing bands, that is, as a double bassist and bassist.
The songs are led by a refined chanson, caressed by an organic collage of instrumental accompaniment full of softness and subtle touches of yearning sensuality and tenderness. It’s cast around the lead vocal, the vocal interpretation, which doesn’t just demand this but naturally needs it. The melody carries a folk character of Slovenian geographic origin. The communication between the instruments is fragile, and the album gives a sense of constant undulation, dreamy ease, where the musicians can relax completely and enjoy the interpretation, while at the same time having to squeeze an extraordinary amount of finesse and filigree delicacy out of their own playing in order to follow the central figure of the female vocal. The chanson figure is slyly rolled into the jazzy statements of the instrumental accompaniment itself, but the musical side of the tightly defined arrangements is so striking that all 14 songs could spin on the airwaves of various radio frequencies in our part of the world at any time. So in the end, this is a pop album, where besides the jazz you can of course also pick up touches of R&B, soul, folk, blues and world music.
However you turn this record over, one thing is clear. Women are at the center of events from start to finish. 13 singers! Jukič divided up the vocal roles superbly. The singers identified with the lyrics phenomenally and breathed into them a soul full of seething, untamed female passion and emotion, driven by constant longing. The performers already differ sharply in the color of their voices, as well as in their approach to vocal interpretation. Jukič studied that aspect carefully beforehand, too, before he ever handed out the vocal parts. And every single one of the chosen singers poured a ravenous dose of emotion into the lyrics, one that carries the listener of this album along, completely captivated. From track to track. Across the whole album.
»Ženske« is a tough bone to chew on. That means this album demands several spins in your CD player, but once it grabs you, it grabs you for real. And it won’t let go. With every further spin of the album you’ll be peeling back veils of arrangement and performance finesse that will not only keep you busy but fascinate you completely. That’s how every real album rewards its listener. This time, picking favorites among 14 tracks and 13 vocalists is entirely up to you. There are no better or worse ones among them, because every track is a self-contained whole and a story in its own right, with a fully formed character and an exceptional interplay between Jukič’s compositional vision and a deeply lived vocal performance, which in this situation only a woman could do justice to. Exactly what Jukič wanted, searched for and found. If you ask the author of this review for a personal take, let me say that during the spin of the song Solze iz neba, with vocals by Aphra Tesla, my blood literally ran cold.
And that’s not all. Alongside the actual studio album, Jukič also provided an additional live document, which you’ll find on the second disc. It’s a performance played as part of the »Izštekani« cycle. And with the string section of the RTV Slovenija Symphony Orchestra backing it up. Needless to say, the album »Ženske« is performed in full on the extra disc. Through a live performance, in a slightly different setting and with slightly adapted vocal roles for the chosen singers, which means the songs take on a new expressive dimension.
You’d want to write less, but with the album »Ženske« you simply can’t. With it, Jukič has not only surprised and stunned, but also fully enchanted, with a layered musical vision that knows no artistic limits whatsoever. What his next musical feat will be, only he knows, so it’s clear this fantastic musical artist will keep spoiling us musically. In many rainbow shades of newly discovered musical experiences.
Robert Jukič (feat. Nina Strnad) – Pada dež (official video):
Lineup
CD.1:
Album “Ženske”:
Tamara Obrovac – vocals on track no. 1
Mia Žnidarič – vocals on track no. 2
Katja Šulc – vocals on track no. 3
Nina Strnad – vocals on track no. 4
Aphra Tesla – vocals on track no. 5
Jadranka Juras – vocals on track no. 6
Ana Bezjak – vocals on track no. 7
Maya – vocals on tracks no. 8 and 13
Astrid Kuljanić – vocals on track no. 9
Nina Vodopivec – vocals on track no. 10
Gordana Hleb – vocals on track no. 11
Anika Horvat – vocals on track no. 12
Tjaša Fabjančič – vocals on track no. 14
Robert Jukič – acoustic, electric & Portuguese guitar, bass guitar, double bass, Wurlitzer, percussion, glockenspiel
Andraž Mazi – pedal steel, tres, ukulele, guitars, banjo
Tonč Feinig – Hammond organ
Marko Črnčec – Rhodes keyboards
Sergej Ranđelović – drums
Žiga Kožar – drums
Gašper Beertoncelj – drums
Iztok Repovž – drums
Dominik Bagola – drums
Metod Banko – backing vocals
Michael Williams – backing vocals
Jani Moder – guitar
Tomaž Gajšt – trumpet
Toine Thys – bass clarinet
Jelena Ždrale – violin, viola
Klemen Bračko – violin
Emma West – violin
Ivana Pristasova – violin
CD 2.:
“Ženske & Izštekani”
Mia Žnidarič – vocals on tracks no. 3 and 6
Nina Vodopivec – vocals on tracks no. 4 and 7
Tjaša Fabjančič – vocals on tracks no. 5, 8 and 14
Nina Strnad – vocals on tracks 9 and 10
Aphra Tesla – vocals on tracks 11 and 13
Gordana Hleb – vocals on track no. 12
Jadranka Juras – vocals on track no. 15
Andraž Mazi – electric guitar, pedal steel
Steve Klink – piano
Robert Jukič – double bass
Saša Lušič – acoustic guitar
Sergej Ranđelović – drums
Strings of the RTV Slovenija Symphony Orchestra
Production
Robert Jukič
Tracklist
CD1.:
Album “Žemske”
1. Dvigaš se k nebu
2. Sijoča kulisa
3. Sveže tulipane nosim ti vsak dan
4. Pada dež
5. Solze iz neba
6. To si ti
7. Le za njo
8. Na poti sreče
9. Zarja misli nate
10. Bolj kot drugi
11. Srce slika obraz
12. Oblake premika
13. Sol na obrazu
14. Dvigaš se k nebu
CD 2.:
“Ženske & Izštekani”
1. Izštekani napovednik
2. Tetive
3. Sijoča kulisa
4. Bolj kot drugi
5. Kdo spi na oblaku
6. Le za njo
7. Na poti sreče
8. Dvigaš se k nebu
9. Oblake premika
10. Pada dež
11. Solze iz neba
12. Srce slika obraz
13. Sveže tulipane nosim ti vsak dan
14. Zarja misli nate
15. Drevored iz sanj
16. Slovo
