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Written in fRoots issue 259/260, 2005
 

MOJMIR NOVAKOVIĆ & KRIES
Ivo I Maria
Kopito KR 2 CD 005 (2004)

Mojmir Novaković was a founder-member of Croatian “etno-rock” band Legen. When that disbanded in 2002 he began a new project, Kries. Their first recorded work was the soundtrack for director Branko Ivanda’s film based on Croatian novelist Ivan Aralica’s historical love-story Konjanik (Horserider), and their second, using some of the same melodic themes, is this album Ivo I Mara, which, on its first pressing at least, comes with a bonus CD of the film soundtrack.
      Mixing together samples of traditional Croatian music recordings with programmed patterns and new-recorded vocals and instruments, Kries features Novaković’s vocals, arrangements and programming, helped by Krešimir Oreški and Ivo Letunić who also provide backing vocals, percussion and Croatian lyra. Guests add Croatian bagpipe, other traditional wind instruments, violin and more vocals.
      The whole has a rough, organic feel, in which it’s not obvious which parts come from sampled recordings, which are new, and the technology doesn’t jump out; there’s no recourse to tacky overlaid beats. What remains in the mind after listening to the two albums – the main disc muscularly rhythmic, the soundtrack more pictorially sparse and a very evocative piece of work even without the film - is the insistent lines and textures of the traditional tunes, the strong character of the voices and the graininess of the instruments,
      Taking chunks of field recordings and the like can be deeply suspect, carving up and appropriating the art and expression of people who are in no position to protest. Often such manipulation is simply selfish cultural pillaging. But if well done, as here, by someone with deep understanding and knowledge of the tradition, it can cast a new light on the sounds and shapes of tradition and spur intrigued investigation by outsiders and enthusiasm from insiders.
      www.kries.info, www.acroanima.hr.


© 2004 Andrew Cronshaw
 

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