RUNDEK & EKIPA (7.7.2021) + KATALENA (7.10.2021)

7 July, Kino Šiška
 

KATALENA (SI)

In many ways the history of Druga Godba in the 21st century is also the history of Katalena. The band first took the DG stage way back in 2003 and appeared no less than four times in all – a record for a homegrown act. They have retained their original line-up for almost two decades and show no sign of stopping, with their ninth album, Kužne pesmi, due out in June. It explores the notion of the plague, as experienced through history and, of course, by all of us in the present time. The epidemic is a challenge in the human, social and health senses, and one that these musicians also set out to address creatively. How can music and poetry confront isolation, loneliness, fear, responsibility and care? How can we express in music and words the wide range of feelings and situations into which this 'plague' time has plunged us? The interweaving of self-authored and folk songs, the dialogue between past and present: these have been the hallmarks of Katalena's work from the very beginning, and are on magnificent show once again in Kužne pesmi. As always, a band in the right place at the right time.

RUNDEK & EKIPA (HR)

Darko Rundek is unarguably one of most creative and recognisable artists from the former Yugoslavia, having risen in the 1980s to become a hugely popular icon of the Croatian music scene in with the band Haustor. After moving to France, he found a renewed source of inspiration, and gradually established himself as a fixture on European concert and festival stages. Although we've occasionally seen him in Ljubljana over the years (at Cankarjev Dom in 2008 and at Kino Šiška in 2011 and 2017), his new album, Brisani prostor, which came out on Menart in December 2020, arrived like a bolt from the blue. It's been a long time since we've heard so much superb and varied work on a single record – one that perfectly captures the spirit of the times, with all the upheavals that continue to shake our everyday lives. This time round, however, he would not have been able to put such a striking stamp on that familiar artistic feeling, which has always attracted fans from all generations, without the cooperation of Rok Crnić, young lyricist and musician, alongside whom Darko's heart beats twice as strongly. Brisani prostor rocks. Rundek & Ekipa, we can't wait to see you again!