Under the name Sjeverozapad, a band gathered with a unique vision: to set to music a cycle of songs by Stojan Vučićević entitled “Total eclipse of the Sun on the island of Grgur on the fifteenth of February 1961.” These are poems and verses related to the poet’s serving his sentence on Sveti Grgur island, where Stojan ended up as a high school student at the age of 19, an island three kilometers away from the better-known Goli otok, with which Grgur, in addition to its geographical location, also shared its purpose – on it was located penitentiary for women and young people.
Such a project represents an interesting challenge for the musicians of the Sjeverozapad, such a collection of poetry requires that the music or the entire album be written as a concept. A conceptual album poses a challenge to the musician that today’s global music rarely deals with; how to make a complex work in which one or several thoughts or motifs run from beginning to end. In this case, the poet skilfully combines motifs that fit perfectly into the format of a conceptual music album.
“III.” is, as the name itself suggests, the third of the ten songs on the album, the song that most ideally combines two aspects, more precisely the leitmotif of the album: darkness and light.
“Pomrčina” alternates darker and lighter musical and lyrical elements through its ten songs. Based on the Introduction, Plot, Climax, and Resolution, Sjeverozapad presents the song “III.” which best illustrates the entire conceptual piece of music. In the role of Introduction/Plot, the song introduces us to the darker aspect of the album in an interesting and still somewhat upbeat and optimistic way. With its atmosphere and dynamics, “III.”, like a tense thriller, it prepares the listener for what follows: an album filled with ups and downs, tension and lethargy, light, and shadows.
“III.” is available on streaming services –> https://orcd.co/sjeverozapad-iii
The sound of the music on the album is cinematic, mystical, and dynamically rises and falls depending on the intensity of the verses in the collection itself, and one of the epithets that can be used to describe the band is noir. The melodiousness and atmosphere of the music we owe to the various keyboard sounds and the electric guitar, which, using a multitude of effects, transcends the conventional sound of the instrument and becomes a widely applicable tool capable of creating a powerful soundtrack with its sometimes unusual textures. The guitar and piano are supported by the drum and bass rhythm section, which creates a solid and secure foundation for the music and becomes an anchor for the ambiance and atmosphere of this band. All in all, it would not be easy to compare Sjeverozapad with other bands on the scene either in terms of sound or subject matter – their album is unique and one of a kind.
The members of the band are Zvonka Obajdin on piano and vocals, Nikola Brkljačić on guitar and vocals, Helena Ernoić on bass guitar and Hrvoje Matašin on drums, and Matko Boršić played bass during the recording of the first part of the album. The album was recorded and mixed in Dražen Gavrilović’s Pod.room studio, produced by Nikola Brkljačić and Dražen Gavrilović, and mastered by Pavle Miholjević.
“Pomrčina” is the debut album with which the band Sjeverozapad presents itself to the audience in its country and beyond, and it will see the light of day in digital form on December 2nd. The CD, published by PDV Records, will be available with Poezija magazine, and will not be available for free sale.
Sjeverozapad
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