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PREDMESTJE

Jazz Rock/Fusion • Yugoslavia


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Predmestje picture
Predmestje biography
Slovenian jazz-rock band PREDMESTJE (Eng. "Suburbs") was formed in Ljubljana (Slovenia, ex-Yugoslavia) in 1975, with the following founding members: Peter Gruden-guitar, vocal; Andrej Pompe-keyboards; Aleksander Malahovsky-saxophone; Janez Hvale-drums and Gabriel Lah-bass. They released the debut album in 1977 which immediately established them as an important jazz rock/fusion ensemble in the former Yugoslavia. The following year they recorded their second album "Danes, vceraj in..." with two new members, Lado Jaksa-saxophone and Tone Dimnik-drums, both veterans of the Slovene jazz and rock scene and both having collaborated with the popular avant-satiric prog band BULDOZER. Although playing not very commercial music, this album helped them become one of three most important rock acts from Slovenia, along with SEPTEMBER and BULDOZER.

The major changes in the team came with the making of the third album "Hazard", when the sole original member A. Pompe invited the members of the then disbanded group IZVIR to join him in studio. These were: Marko Bitenc-vocal, percussion; Marjan Lebar-bass; Slavko Lebar-guitar; Andrej Petkovic-drums, timbales; Jernej Podboj-saxophone. In this period PREDMESTJE used to play as a backing band for female rock singer, Marjeta Neca Falk, and they disbanded in 1982 after the release of the last album "Kama sutra".

First three are all excellent albums, with wonderful jazz-rock performance, mostly instrumental, resembling varied influences - from a standard RETURN TO FOREVER and Billy COBHAM-style fusion, to a more percussion-oriented Latin rhythms of SANTANA. This rather unknown band is highly recommended to all prog and jazz fans.

by Sead S. Fetahagic



Why this artist must be listed in www.progarchives.com :
Excellent jazz-rock from the former Yugoslavian and Slovene music scene.



Discography:
1. "Brez naslova", studio, 1977
2. "Danes, vceraj in...", studio, 1978
3. "Hazard", studio, 1980
4. "Kamasutra", studio, 1982

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PREDMESTJE discography


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PREDMESTJE top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.58 | 15 ratings
Brez Naslova
1977
3.86 | 10 ratings
Danes Vceraj In...
1979
4.02 | 12 ratings
Hazard
1980
2.50 | 6 ratings
Kamasutra
1982

PREDMESTJE Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

PREDMESTJE Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

PREDMESTJE Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

PREDMESTJE Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

PREDMESTJE Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 Hazard by PREDMESTJE album cover Studio Album, 1980
4.02 | 12 ratings

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Hazard
Predmestje Jazz Rock/Fusion

Review by Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer

3 stars 3.5 stars. A perfect rating for me, it's in the middle of the pack of the Jazz and related albums I have heard since last September which is a ton of music. "Hazard" is the third of four studio albums that this Jazz/Rock Fusion band from Yugoslavia recorded and this is from 1980. Very interesting that the sole original member(keyboardist) basically hired everyone from the band IZVER but their keyboardist of course to create this third album plus he added a sax player who adds both tenor and soprano. I have that IZVER album from 1977 and would rate this one a half star better.

One of the songs I really like is "Aleja" with those vocal melodies which will stop when the drums kick in. The guitar solos tastefully over top. More vocal expressions around 1 1/2 minutes but not for long then some nice guitar 4 minutes in.The vocals return late to end it. My favourite though is "Mislec Sveta" surprisingly because it's the only song with straight up vocals in their own language too but it's all good. He was good on that IZVER album too. I like the spacey synths and guitar as well. The title track would round out my top three. Mostly for the guitar after 4 minutes but we get sax and piano as well leading the way after a mellow start with the wind blowing.

A nice album, very well done but not without issues for me which I won't pass on right now. Just my tastes.

 Brez Naslova by PREDMESTJE album cover Studio Album, 1977
3.58 | 15 ratings

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Brez Naslova
Predmestje Jazz Rock/Fusion

Review by Joćo Paulo

4 stars A good work for this ExYougoslavia band. Seventies decade it's important all over the world for music and progressive world and East Europe it's not exception. In this work lirics are in Yougoslavian but the great music of this work have some Doors influencies in music context and in singer voice but we find other's. I think that this album it's not in Jazz fusion vein but in Psichedelic space rock in most of tracks, and some synphinic context in other's. We don't find improvisations but a very nice music construction. Some sax it's very calm in Arsenal vein and we listen different influencies in all tracks. I like this album and i give 4 stars because we can find some beautiful music and it's a very good adiction for all that like seventies music and sound
 Brez Naslova by PREDMESTJE album cover Studio Album, 1977
3.58 | 15 ratings

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Brez Naslova
Predmestje Jazz Rock/Fusion

Review by pwawrzyn

2 stars This rare collector album was introduced to me as a jazz rock album in the vein of RTF and billy Cobham. Obviously it is not the case : we're here between Lonnie Liston Smith pre 80's period, sometimes poor disco-funk sections, and The Doors light my fire and riders on the storm small jazz solos. All this melting is submitted to balkanic melodies (and bass lines!!) sometimes...

The four first track are pleasing : short, efficient, simple and really rock. The vintage sound is really interesting too. The disapointment comes with brez besed : a poor grooveless disco-jazz piece with small balkan harmonies, this track is too long and the musicians have nothing to say on it (except an interesting but short solo piano). The two last tracks are in the same kind. Svit is unsignificant : it sounds like a ridiculous tv series music. Sled Zonca begins more interestingly (camel influences) but there are too much repetition of the principal section.

As a conclusion, I would say that this album is too poor to be filed under jazz rock bacause there are only poor jazz harmonies in it. RTF fans and complex rock listeners (from Mahavishnu to Santana) should be warned that this album is really soft. Catchy 70's rock song lovers could appreciate the first four tracks. However there are really better stuff to listen to!

 Kamasutra by PREDMESTJE album cover Studio Album, 1982
2.50 | 6 ratings

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Kamasutra
Predmestje Jazz Rock/Fusion

Review by labosh

3 stars With their last release Kamasutra, Predmestje did definetely dissolve with prog-rock, but did an excellent job in the instrumental disco manner on the other hand. Disco, as an undoubtly inferior genre, achievs with this release it's highest peek. In an non-prog enviroment my rating would be 4 stars. With prog-rock criteria on mind, one star less.
 Kamasutra by PREDMESTJE album cover Studio Album, 1982
2.50 | 6 ratings

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Kamasutra
Predmestje Jazz Rock/Fusion

Review by Seyo
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

2 stars After excellent previous album "Hazard", PREDMESTJE decided to do what is usually perceived fatal to all progressive or fusion bands - to sound "modern" and trendy! And New Wave and Ska were trendy in this period. Add to this a cheesy, tasteless cover design with female legs and overall "concept" of sex and eroticism as a main idea of the album, and you get a terribly unconvincing, at times even awful, record. Still, when they play instrumental jams they do it nicely and with musicianship that can be a raw model ("Jugorama", "Eureka", "Kamasutra") for sort of commercial, highly accessible "soft fusion". Even THE POLICE-invoking opener "U Parizu" is a decent and catchy song done in Ska rhythm. But, the rest of the album is pretty bad and those vocal parts are really moronic. PREDMESTJE disbanded after "Kamasutra" and hearing it nowadays makes it obvious as to what went wrong. Only for collectors.
 Hazard by PREDMESTJE album cover Studio Album, 1980
4.02 | 12 ratings

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Hazard
Predmestje Jazz Rock/Fusion

Review by Seyo
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

5 stars This is the third and probably the best album of PREDMESTJE, a Slovenian based fusion combo from former Yugoslavia. For this occasion the group line-up radically changed leaving keyboardist Andrej Pompe as the sole founding member. He was accompanied by the four of earlier disbanded jazz-rock group IZVIR, which for their own part released their only, excellent self-titled debut in 1977.

Sound of "Hazard" is fresh and well-produced, introducing elements of funk and jazz-funk, in the vein of Herbie Hancock. Solo parts are tasteful and just in right places. This is especially evident for lead guitar, electric piano and synths. Addition of timbales invokes a SANTANA's Latino feel. Vocals are reduced to only one singing track ("Mislec sveta"), while scat vocals are used more frequently, which better suits this style of music. They are used efficiently as an additional instrument. All the tracks are excellent, offering an extremely pleasant listening experience, while "Aleja" contains a nice and melodic main guitar theme that keeps listener wishing to replay it again and again.

At times, particularly in the vocal moments, PREDMESTJE again sounds like jazzier incarnation of CAMEL from the "Moonmadness" period. Along with early LEB I SOL albums, "Hazard" is one of the best jazz-rock albums of the era and is therefore recommended to all prog/jazz/rock lovers.

 Danes Vceraj In... by PREDMESTJE album cover Studio Album, 1979
3.86 | 10 ratings

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Danes Vceraj In...
Predmestje Jazz Rock/Fusion

Review by Seyo
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars The second PREDMESTJE album introduced two new members. Tone Dimnik (ex BULDOZER) replaced Janez Hvale on drums, while jazz veteran Lado Jaksa (also worked with SONCNA POT and BULDOZER) took the saxophone.

Music style is closer to jazz-rock than on the debut and overall sound and production is much clearer and better produced. There are three vocal songs, all the rest are instrumentals. Nothing spectacular is heard on "Danes, vceraj in" ("Today, Tonight And"), so if you are fan of MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA, RETURN TO FOREVER, Pierre Moerlen's GONG or LEB I SOL, you will enjoy this record too. Of course, this album suffers from typical fusion problems: at moments too flat and boring music with outstanding instrumental skills shown by musicians, but lacking innovation, emotion or diversity. This is evident on the first half of Side B of the vinyl, where these guys approach the sleazy Latin muzak territory.

However, good moments prevail and particularly interesting, melodic and strong compositions are "Paklenski stroj" ("Time Bomb"), "Danes je moj zadnji dan" ("Today Is My Last Day"), "Zivim za jutri" ("I Live For Tomorrow") and "Slepa ulica" ("Cul de Sac"). Andrej Pompe and Peter Gruden show on this album that they are capable composers and players, although they sometimes lack brevity and energy to pursue more adventurous structures. Still, this album is very good record that confirmed PREDMESTJE as a premier jazz-rock act in the former Yugoslavian scene.

 Brez Naslova by PREDMESTJE album cover Studio Album, 1977
3.58 | 15 ratings

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Brez Naslova
Predmestje Jazz Rock/Fusion

Review by Seyo
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars Debut album of Ljubljana-based PREDMESTJE (Eng. "Suburbs"), along with their countrymen SEPTEMBER's "Zadnja avantura" (1976) are quite representative of the mid- 1970s jazz rock wave in ex Yugoslavia. At this time Slovenia was a hotbed for this style of music and they were to influence other parts of Yugoslavia, notably Serbia and Macedonia. Although jazz elements had been occasionally present since the earliest albums of Yugo prog rock, such as eponymous debuts of KORNI GRUPA and TIME (both released in 1972) or some famous INDEXI compositions around the turn of the decade, only after 1976-77 we can trace the immediate influnce of international pioneers of the genre.

"Brez naslova" ("Untitled") is a solid album of largely instrumental jazz rock. There are several vocal parts courtesy of guitarist P. Gruden who did a nice job, so his singing does not stand out of the overall picture and it is rather a part of the whole instrumental concept. This album is actually still closer to rock than to jazz. One can hear extremely confident and flawless instrumentation. There are parts of music that envoke not only the early CAMEL, but also THE DOORS in their most jazzy improvisations, as well as early prog- oriented CHICAGO (especially excellent saxophone parts). It is hard to single out any particular track; the whole album is enjoyable to listen throughout and once it's finished I had an urge to play it again. So, I guess it is sort of recommendation to lovers of this music style.

At the time of release this album was largely unnoticed (it could be partly due to a self- contained Slovene market within the Yugoslav federation), but the style these Slovene guys were developing later influenced many other Yugoslavian bands to follow the suit. For example, the most successful fusion works like SMAK's "Crna dama" or the first two LEB I SOL albums appeared after this release of PREDMESTJE. In that context, "Brez naslova" deserves to be mentioned as an influential record.

Thanks to seyo for the artist addition.

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