Sunday Sextet
Sunday Sextet are:
Marko Jenič: violin
Jure Boršič: reeds
Andrej Boštjančič – Ruda: electric guitar
Jošt Drašler: double bass
Vid Drašler: drums
Jaka Berger: live sampling, modular synth
The six-member ensemble was named after Sunday for a reason. In honor of the Sunday Noise concert cycle, which has been happening at the Klub Metulj in Bistrica ob Sotli, Slovenia since 2011 and was curated by Mitja Hlupič, with a selection of a wide range of genre and non-genre music. A cultural, subcultural and musical-fetishistic scene, but at the same time was not part of any of them. However, the musicians of the Sunday Sextet were at different times and in different genre and non-genre evenings over the years, part of the cycle and related residences. Free improvisers, who were even closer to adopting the cycle, recognizing its politicalness or not, say goodbye to it, with their first album Lih Kadim in the year 2022, when the only Slovenian sunday concert cycle stopped roaring. They are all waiting for reunions in the future form of another sonic phoenix.
It is not surprising that half of the ensemble are locals; first Andrej Boštjančič – Ruda on guitar, one of the first organizers of concerts at the club Metulj 25 years ago, improviser, rocker, engine of the legendary ethno band Brencl Banda, otherwise a member of Oholo! and a founding member of the cult fusion band Zmajev Rep, the band Črni Peter and duo Ruža Reda. He is followed by brothers Jošt (double bass) and Vid (drums) Drašler, brothers that have been one of the cores of the Slovenian free-jazz and improvised scene for many years. They participate in ensembles (now both, but now again not) Svojat, Oholo!, TiTiTi, Body Says No, Drašler-Karlovčec-Drašler Trio, Balžalorsky-Drašler Trio and in many improvised situations, including concerts with Tom Jackson, Daniel Thompson, Marina Džukljev, Benedict Taylor, Linda Sharrock, Mario Rechtern, etc. They are the driving force behind improvisation workshops and concerts in Vrhnika – Slovenia and come from the Kombo school under the leadership of drummer Zlatko Kaučič.
The youngest member of the ensemble, saxophonist and clarinetist Jure Boršič, also comes from the school of Zlatko Kaučič. In addition to co-creating the scene in his hometown of Nova Gorica and membership in some of the already mentioned ensembles, he blows, bites and whines in the punk-jazz project Koromač, Orkester Brez Meja / Senza Confini and in Bootleg Unit, Niemoy and Shoe & Shoelace with the next representative of the sextet. Jaka Berger is one of the most versatile and prolific drummers, improvisers and composers on the Slovenian music scene. He has participated in genre-diverse situations from the legendary EBM band Borghesia, harder guitar genres with RedMoon and Ludovik Material, the electronic dub duo Darla Smoking, regularly releasing and composing in solo projects and works in constant involvement in free jazz and improvised music with names like Samo Šalamon, Achille Succi, Szilard Mezei, Seijiro Murayama, Timothee Quost, Vitja Balžalorsky and many others. ‘Last but not least’, the first violin of Slovenian experimental and improvised music, Marko Jenič. Probably one of the least documented musicians of Sunday Sextet. Known by discography from his solo album … breznavdiha…, duo with Vid Drašler on album Barjanec (both released by Berger’s label Zvočni Prepihi / Sound Draughts) and albums Olfamoštvo and Oholo!. Otherwise, we often see him playing at the workshops of the festival Neposlušno, sessions on Vrhnika, and sometimes in the woods around Medno – Slovenia.
Reviews
Orynx-Improv and Sounds Blogspot
Ask Joëlle Léandre who she says bluntly, a 100% freely improvised sextet is not for her. But visibly and audibly, these six musicians take up the challenge hands down!Marko Jenic violin, Jure Borsic reeds, Andrej Bost Jancic Ruda electric guitars, Jaka Berger live sampling & modular synth, Jost Drasler double bass and Vid Draslerpercussion. They make this very long improvisation evolve by involving the listeners in many constantly diversified soundscapes by taking turns and relaunching with ardor a multitude of sound details, instrumental actions, interferences, sketches of dialogues, cultivating a fierce independence and mutual empathy, imaginative or contrasting invention and a never-failing sense of repartee. This conviction is illustrated in the very short Sunday (04:58) which closes the album and where all their qualities and the judicious interventions of each of them are concentrated with a beautiful precision and an exemplary sense of timing. To our delight. The collective is therefore at the controls, we don’t have to do with soloists and leaders.
The instruments create a plane of sound, at times quite chaotic and noisy but very far away from total mayhem. The individual lines circle around each other, intertwine and create a surprisingly homogenous whole that sounds like a free jazz raga. The third piece is different because it creates less of a continuum and relies more on single sound droplets produced by the other instruments. Overall a little more cautious in approach. Interestingly, the release leaves you in a slightly pensive mood. Unusual for a free jazz record. (RSW)
Z bolj poetičnimi besedami nam Sunday Sextetpokažejo, kako pričarati glasbo brez knjige urokov in, kar je morda še pomembneje, kako jo hraniti, ohraniti pri življenju in nazadnje izpustiti. Najboljše zvočno pričevanje tega je segment Friday, ki pokaže dve stvari. Prva je širina in globina polja idej, udejanjenih skozi zvok, ki ga glasbeniki uspejo razviti v skoraj štiridesetih minutah igranja. Druga pa je v kontrastu, da se okno vstopa v popolno uglasitev vseh ustvarjalcev lahko hitro zapre in da ga kasneje ni več mogoče na silo odpreti.
Lih Kadim tako predstavlja zvočni manifest implicitne politike domače impro scene. Prestavlja pa tudi iskren vpogled v trenutek trka abstraktnega s konkretnim. Kot zvočni posnetek pogovora intelektualcev, o katerih ne vemo ničesar. Njihov pogovor se nam sprva morda zdi tuj in nerazumljiv, vendar pa ob vsakem novem poslušanju pridemo globlje, plast za plastjo. Tako tudi album v obravnavi postane neizčrpen subjekt, katerega podrobnejša analiza bi lahko tvorila nekogaršnji doktorat. Zaključimo lahko s tem, da je album dober, a ne zaradi inštrumentacije ali posameznih zvočnih elementov ali celo vzdušja. O njegovi kvaliteti priča ravno dejstvo, da je nastal iz svoje protipozicije ne-biti. Produkt je ostal vir za ustvarjanje in ne zgolj potrošni material, kar je v današnjem času pravzaprav precej redko.
Radio play on Radio Student Ljubljana – Idealna godba show
Radio play on Radio ARS – Slovenian national radio – Glasni novi svet show