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How far can one push the boundaries of music genres? Andrej Kljakovic and his band Voices of Nature has been asking themselves that question only to discover that, after hearing all 12 songs from their latest album, the answer comes naturally: limits are set only to be exceeded and once you cross them there is an ultimate freedom waiting for you on the other side. The album “Exotika” is the most beautiful tribute to music freedom.
Some of you might remember Voices of Nature and their frontman Andrej Kljakovic as the pioneers of jazz music back in former Yugoslavia. Jazz, rock, African, Middle Eastern and Latin beats combined with Balkan traditional music create a new heterogenic form that even the author himself does not know in which way it is going to develop.
Kljakovic would define “Exotika” as eclectic and twenty-eight musicians from all over the world managed to produce something creatively called electro-acoustic ethno fusion with improvisation and themes closest to jazz. It may sound complicated, it probably is, but that is what this album is all about.
If someone asks you what is a “three-dimensional solid object bounded by six square faces, facets or sides, with three meeting at each vertex”, it probably wouldn’t cross your mind they are talking about a cube. To explain the simplest things sometimes requires using a bunch of complicated words hard to understand, so we will try to make it as simple and straight forward as possible: a multicultural crew, who each brought something original from their part of the world managed to fuse all those different styles into one, in the best manoeuvre of Joe Zawinul, Eumir Deodato, even Santana but without the guitar sequence.
To some “Exotika” is going to reminisce about 90’s Croatian music scene, with one band especially in mind, band that disappeared unexpectedly quietly. The band was called “The Bastardz” , they were making a similar music and the good news is that their lead guitarist, Zoran Jaeger – Jex was also contributing on this album.
A bold and foremost risky experiment has proven to be a total success, and if we could have more artists like them refusing to stay within the boundaries of their own genre, the world would in time start to sound like one tune.
Written by: Stjepan Vrecko
- MUZIKA. HR Internet Music Magazine
Discography
Exotika is the new album. 6 tracks from the album are been air played.
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Bio
Andrej Kljakovic is pianist/composer/producer who has devoted himself to redefining the boundaries of eclectic music over the past decades. Born in Zagreb, and studied at Jazz Conservatory in Paris, he has pioneered first Jazz-Rock band Lotus in former republic of Yugoslavia. And many other projects in 70s and 80s followed like Promise Of The Spring, Simulakra, Digitron, Put Svjetlosti etc.
In 90s he spent time in London working as a record producer for V2 Universal and Sony/BMG record labels and also worked as a songwriter for Bucks Music and Westminster publishing. In 2006 he started his long awaited Voices Of Nature as format that allows him transcend categories and test the parameters of music itself.
Referencing a wide range of musical styles, Andrej's music includes elements and flavours of everything from Jazz and Rock to African, Middle Eastern and Latin, as well as a few harder to identify influences, like Balkan folk music and Croatian Lado. Andrej admits to being widely influenced, but more at a subconscious level, where he's never really sure what his musical antenna are picking up.
Lino G Rocha is a singer/songwriter/lyricist/percussionist. Venezuelan born of Portuguese parents and raised in London UK, Lino began his musical career in the late 80s performing with some of the top salsa bands in the UK including La Clave and Roberto Pla’s Latin ensemble. Presently he is performing with internationally acclaimed Scottish band Salsa Celtica.
Lino's taste for the broader aspect of music has led him to collaborate with a diversity of artists, home and abroad. These include Canadian singer/songwriter Lorena Mckennitt, British-Asian Nitin Sawhney as well as the Pet Shop Boys and Matt Bianco from the UK. Lino has also worked with one of Spain’s top rock bands Danza Invisible and highly regarded flamenco guitarist Pepe Havichuela. Amongst others Lino has also performed with Juan de Marco of Afro-Cuban All Stars.
Lino's vocal abilities have surpassed normal musical boundaries, easily blending various genres as and when required. These can be from soulful subtlety to urban rasping rap and all the way to street-wise Salsa or the passion of Fado and Tango and anything else in between.
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