Brina – To je to!

Brina developed severe COVID-19 and required prolonged hospital treatment. Part of this experience is reflected in the track “Čudno, čudno”, a song about Brina’s combating the disease ang giving birth while in a medically induced coma. She sings about the world around her, a world that seems weird and terrifying as she is coming out of the coma. In the end, the picture falls into place, and there’s a little miracle waiting for her. If this is the album’s standout track, analogies can be drawn between the remaining tracks and the earlier ones; only that this time the folk songs primarily explore the theme of love, but also mysticism. One of these is “Vedamec”, a folk song from Rezija. The album’s most richly arranged track tells the story about a girl eager to visit her beloved who lives in the mountains. But the journey is dangerous, the forest is haunted by Vedamec, a magician who turns into an animal at night and follows her as a white wolf. She nevertheless safely reaches the mountain, and enjoys herself with her sweetheart. She decides to return another time. Similarly musically playful, yet adopting the Southern US style, is “Rasti, zali fant«, a folk song about a girl waiting for her beau. At first, she is waiting for him to come of age. Love blossoms between the two of them when he grows up, they get married very young and have a baby. Then her beloved goes out into the world, and she is waiting for him again. In the original version, her beloved dies, but the band have toned down the tragic ending.

The songs with the most traditional deliveries are “Očka moj” and “Lilija in gartroža”. In the former, Brina’s voice calls to mind the band’s most confessional songs, with minimalist musical accompaniment. It’s a folk song about a young man in love with a beautiful young nun. Aimed on tempting her to leave the monastery, he asks his father to build a mill, a well and a church, but the monastery does not let the young nun go. In the end, the boy stages a faked death. When the nun is allowed to sprinkle holy water over the body, they finally meet, embrace and dance. Brina is joined by Metod Banko on “Lilija in gartroža”, together they sing a folk love song about a Slovenian Romeo and Juliet.

A shoemaker is told that his beloved in the castle has fallen ill. By the time he gets to the castle, she’s already dead. The song offers no explanation why, but says that if she died because of him, he’s going to die because of her, too. They are each buried on one side of the church. A lily grows from the young woman’s grave and a rose from his, growing as high as the top of the church, where the two lovers can finally lock in an embrace.

In addition to the aforementioned “Čudno, čudno”, Brina Vogelnik has contributed another original composition, “Pesem se rodi”, an atmospheric song that speaks about the process of writing a song. Should she wait for it to emerge of its own accord, or should she reflect on it and just dive into the writing. It also touches the topic of love, should one wait for it or seek it, abandon oneself to it, despite the pain that might follow. (Fleeting) love is also the theme of the track “Zelena zavist”, the album’s first single whose chorus lends itself as the album’s title.

While written by Eka Vogelnik five decades ago, the song’s theme is eternal. A song of lasting relevance, “Zelena zavist” explores the subject about keeping up pretences, taking photos for the social media. It’s a story about a young couple concealing their real selves under a veneer of gloss, but behind their masks they are on bad terms, exhausted and separated. The music is reminiscent of the finest Slovenian pop songs and adopts a light ska rhythm. A 1970s song “Revolucija”, another of Eka’s old lyrics, carries similar weight. It was written during the Chilean Revolution and is still relevant today. Although there’s no mention of a revolution, the song speaks about the effects and reverberations of one. But some people remain deeply immersed in romance novels, crime stories and other escapist fantasies, unmoved by other countries’ revolutions. The band delivered “Revolucija” in a bravura dub with guitar, violin and trombone solos that convey a sense of entrapment. “Fantek pa spi” contains the album’s most topical lyrics. The song tells a story about a refugee couple fleeing home. They’re constantly on the road, hiding on a train, crossing barbed wire fences until they reach the sea. And there, on the beach, a wet little boy lies motionless as if sleeping. Eka Vogelnik wrote the text when she saw a newspaper photo of a child washed up dead on a Lesbos beach. The music is lyrical, and Brina’s fragile voice an echo of a being that will never sing and is transported to the next world by the sound of a violin.

The album title To je to! (Engl.: That’s it!) can be understood as a farewell, a parting album or as the musicians’ answer to the drab and dreary popular music scene that fails to exceed the predictable lyrics, singing and production patterns. It is yet another attempt at awakening curiosity and its endless temptations, both in terms of creativity and communication, undoubtedly uncommon by today’s standards, to a world governed by rapid consumption and holy simplicity. With To je to! Brina prove that values can be different even in music and that the only right path is persistence in belonging, diversity and love.

To je to! was recorded between November 2021 and March 2022 in Ljubljana’s Cosmosonic Studios. The sound engineer Miha Arnuš was also one of the mixers, together with album producers Blaž Celarec and Nino de Gleria. Mastering was made by Krešimir Tomec, Tonart, and the disc manufacturing by Silveco Production. The album photos were taken by Nika Hölcl Praper in Fužine Castle, the Museum of Architecture and Design. Brina Vogelnik’s second skin is Things I Miss. The album was designed by Liana Saje Wang. The executive producer is Bogdan Benigar.

Brina personnel:

Brina Vogelnik – vocals

Jelena Ždrale – violin, viola, kazoo, backing vocals

Urban Turjak – trombone, backing vocals

Luka Ropret – guitars, ukulele, backing vocals

Nino de Gleria – bass guitars, double bass

Blaž Celarec – percussion, drums, conga, clarinet, backing vocals

Featuring:

Metod Banko – vocals (9), backing vocals (3)

Joži Šalej – accordion (1, 2, 6), backing vocals (1)

To je to! tracks and artists

1. Zelena zavist 

(b: Eka Vogelnik; g: Brina Vogelnik Saje, Jelena Ždrale, Luka Ropret, Urban Turjak, Nino de Gleria, Blaž Celarec, Eka Vogelnik)

2. Fantek pa spi

(b: Eka Vogelnik; g: Brina Vogelnik Saje, Jelena Ždrale, Luka Ropret, Blaž Celarec, Nino de Gleria)

3. Rasti, zali fant

(b: ljudska, Eka Vogelnik; g: ljudska, Brina Vogelnik Saje, Jelena Ždrale, Luka Ropret, Urban Turjak, Nino de Gleria, Blaž Celarec, Eka Vogelnik)

4. Vedamec

(b: ljudska, Eka Vogelnik; g: ljudska, Brina Vogelnik Saje, Jelena Ždrale, Luka Ropret, Urban Turjak, Nino de Gleria, Blaž Celarec, Eka Vogelnik)

5. Očka moj 

(b: ljudska, Eka Vogelnik; g: ljudska, Brina Vogelnik Saje, Jelena Ždrale, Luka Ropret, Urban Turjak, Nino de Gleria, Blaž Celarec, Eka Vogelnik)

6. Revolucija

(b: Eka Vogelnik; g: Brina Vogelnik Saje, Jelena Ždrale, Luka Ropret, Urban Turjak, Nino de Gleria, Blaž Celarec, Eka Vogelnik)

7. Čudno, čudno 

(b: Brina Vogelnik Saje;  g: Brina Vogelnik Saje, Jelena Ždrale, Luka Ropret, Urban Turjak, Nino de Gleria, Blaž Celarec)

8. Pesem se rodi 

(b: Brina Vogelnik Saje; g: Brina Vogelnik Saje, Jelena Ždrale, Luka Ropret, Urban Turjak, Nino de Gleria, Blaž Celarec)

9. Lilija in gartroža 

(b: ljudska, Eka Vogelnik; g: ljudska, Brina Vogelnik Saje, Jelena Ždrale, Luka Ropret, Urban Turjak, Nino de Gleria, Blaž Celarec, Eka Vogelnik)

P & C DruGod, 2022