ONKRAJ REKE (1990-1994)

"Across the River", as the title reads in English, was recorded in 1994 when Veno Dolenc and Klarisa Jovanovic, still under the artistic moniker DUMA, teamed-up with arranger and producer Boris Kovac. Since at the time they faced little interest for this material to be released in Slovenia, the album finally appeared in Italy 1997. Meanwhile, Dolenc and Jovanovic decided to re- name themselves adopting the name of Veno's old band.

The album contains 14 equally beautiful and amazingly performed songs. Kovac added numerous strings, clarinet, saxophone and organ arrangements making the sound quite polyphonic and fulfilling, which was not usually the case with earlier albums. Still, acoustic guitars, various percussion and hand drums and sombre vocals of Veno and Klarisa make the music on "Onkraj reke" perfectly identified as SEDMINA.

Some of the outstanding moments of the record include: the introduction "Sarabanda" with odd time signatures, whispering percussion and solo clarinet; an eerie strings-filled intake of the Slavic mythology with "Jaga Baba" (for the prog community - the same grotesque character appears on ELP's interpretation of Musorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition"); mediaeval-sounding instrumental "Pot v Avignon" ("The Road To Avignon") with excellent melody and solos on clarinet and electric guitar; the title track with viola bringing some Hungarian/Gypsy folk emotions; "Knjiga" ("The Book") with menacing dark chords of organ, electric guitar and flute, at moments could be compared with CAN's "Soon Over Babaluma". "Na poti v Krasnodar" ("On The Road To Krasnodar") is a reprise of the composition from "Pot v Avignon", this time with lute as a lead instrument. Amongst the many guest musicians, it is noteworthy to mention the violinist Bozidar Ogorevc from the original line-up of early 1980s SEDMINA and excellent contribution Uros Lovsin (ex-BULDOZER) gave on his electric guitar and lute solos.

"Onkraj reke" is perhaps the most accessible SEDMINA album due to relatively short songs, simple and melodic arrangements and "light" themes. That said, it is by no means commercial in a vulgar sense or exploitative of the current "world music" trend- setting. It is the work of convinced artists who despise "artificiality" of contemporary folk music and are diligent enough to dig the traditional music out of its roots and present it to the modern public in artistically engaged and emotional way. The fans of progressive folk will love this album, while others are strongly encouraged to take a break from bombast symphonic or jazz arrangements and 10-minutes solo parts, and listen to this masterfully crafted album.

PERSONAL RATING: 5/5

P.A. RATING: 4,5/5

Well after more than a decade since the last album, a change in wives, a complete overhaul in supporting cast, and a stint under the band name Duma, Veno Dolenc returns with a third Sedmina studio release. Klarisa M. Jovanoviæ replaces Melita Osojnik both in Dolenc’ life and in his music, and the rest of the players are all new as well with the exception of violinist Božidar Ogorevc.

Jovanoviæ has a voice that is both broader in range and in emotion than Osojnik, but on the flip side she also comes off as more of a mainstream talent than an the earthy traditional folk sound Osojnik managed on the band’s first two albums.

Instrumentally this is also a broader and richer sounding record. In addition to Ogorevc on violin, La Danza Apocalypsa Balkanica multi-instrumentalist Boris Kovaè adds saxophone to the band’s repertoire, along with providing the clarinet and piano previously played by Lado Jaksa. The group also invited a Slovenian string quartet led by Enzo Fabiani into the studio, as well as tuba player Stanko Kemperle who appears on “Marija in Brodnik” most notably, and less prominently on several other tracks. Former Buldozer guitarist Uroš Lovšin takes the band electric for the first time, and also plays some lute but not all that noticeably; and classical artist Slavko Megliè plays upright bass. There is also a second violinist, cellist, percussionist, and accordionist Mirko Šlibar. Oh yeah – and I can hear the Jew’s harp in a few places again as well.

So there are a lot more sounds to work with here, which surprises me a bit since there doesn’t seem to be a lot of care taken by Dolenc to capitalize on all the new sounds he has at his disposal. His voice is once again strong and rich, and Jovanoviæ walks a tight line between harmonizing and coming across as a second featured singer in her own right. On several tracks like “Volk” Dolenc dominates, while on others such as the title track the two of them seem to be interested in presenting a duet of equals.

But the rest of the instrumentation is just a bit too understated in my opinion. The Van Gogh tribute “Hommage Vincentu van Goghu” includes a bevy of accordion and percussive sounds; and on “Na poti v Krasnodar” the piano turns electric; but besides the Baroque-like “Sarabanda” the large group of talented backing musicians are underemployed in the studio as far as I’m concerned.

Too bad, because these arrangements would have led themselves quite well to more string, keyboard and percussive embellishment. But maybe that’s part of the point with prog folk music: to not get caught up in a sort of ‘wall of sound’ approach to music-making. If that’s what Dolenc was going for – he nailed it.

Either way, this album is quite good but not exceptional in my mind. I’m tempted to give it four stars like its predecessors, but it’s just not quite that great. So three stars it is, but still well recommended, especially to world music fans.

peac

Very pretty, authentic European folk music group

Sedmina is the Yugo folk music duo of Veno Dolenc and Klarisa Jovanovic, along with a slate of special guests on different instruments. While no expert on European folk in different languages, the music here is in the universal language and very effective. This is a fine example of taking somewhat traditional and regionally influenced folk music and dressing it in contemporary, borderline proggy arrangements. You have male and female vocals, sometimes alone, sometimes harmonizing, over acoustic guitar. On top of this they add diverse spices like flute, viola, cello, sax, clarinet, tuba, harmonica, accordion, and hand percussion. The result is an experience very much like the group Pererin which I realize is an obscure reference but it is the closest I can think of. One cool thing about this album is that it carries a certain timeless beauty. Listening to the music you really cannot tell what year this came from. It could have come from any decade of the last fifty years. The sounds are almost exclusively acoustic with just a very few brief blips of electric guitar. "Jaga Baba" is the longest track and features the same romantic and road-traveled mysterious feel as the rest. Acoustic guitars bathed in strings, with lovely vocal harmonies over the top. The hand percussion is in the background keeping the piece just a bit lively and the melody is advanced by occasional clarinet. The title track adds some thumping bass in a rather bold and anthemic sounding piece followed by a solemn hummed hymnal in "Na Poti v Krasnodar."

If you traveled through Europe on the trains in the middle of the night, got off in some small village in the rain, and ducked into a pub for an nightcap, this is the kind of music you might hear coming from the corner stage. One of those very authentic musical experiences that will not disappoint. An absolute no-brainer for anyone who loves folk music with some real regional flair and instrumentation. 7/10