Svetlost w/Nilssen-Love & Vandermark pt. 3

[pictured left to right: Vladan Drobicki and Kiko Novkovski]

After a strong second concert in Sofia, Bulgaria at Club Singles on Thursday night, which pulled the new material into sharper focus, the group set up and recorded with Vladan Drobicki in a small “pocket cinema” space in the large building that houses the MKC-Cinema Frosina, where the ensemble premiered its music for a packed house on April 16th (link to full review by Nenad Georgievski: https://nenadgeorgievski.substack.com/p/svetlost-ken-vandermark-and-paal).  The rehearsals that began with Svetlost (Deni Omeragić [electric bass], Nino Spirovski [tenor and soprano sax, Bb clarinet], Kiko Novkovski [drums]) last Sunday, added Paal on Tuesday, coupled with the concerts in Skopje and Sofia, meant the band was primed to play for the recording.  This point was underscored by the fact that every piece was captured in a single take.

The quintet recorded the pieces in the order that they were performed at both concerts: “Puma In The Corner”, Untitled (by Svetlost), “Casino 45”, “Key Blanks”, “Room 1520”, and “Alarma” (by Svetlost and used as an encore at each show).  The luxury of recording in a studio situation (even one as mobile as Vladan’s set up) is not only the possibility of getting clearer documentation of the material, but also that it’s feasible to discuss the music a composition at a time before performing them, making sure that the ideas about components and structure are in alignment between all members of the group.  

[Kiko Novkovski and Deni Omeragić]

This second factor is especially important when it’s necessary to discuss the material in more than one language.  Unfortunately, I can only speak English.  It is complex enough to express musical ideas with words in my native tongue, and there is no way I can translate them into Macedonian.  It took time for me to figure out how to convey the sonic designs to everyone, and the creative impact the members of Svetlost and Paal had on the material altered it in many ways too, so I needed to make adjustments on my pieces as well.  I’m sure the same was true with the compositions Svetlost contributed.  We got a stunning recording session through the skill of Vladin as an engineer and a week of hard work: rehearsals, concerts, 10+ hours in a van, and many good times and a variety of Kafanas across town…

Next up for Svetlost with Paal Nilssen-Love & Ken Vandermark:

April 20: Belgrade, Serbia, Strogi Centar, 9pm. Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/s/svetlost-with-ken-vandermark-p/2195834940853296/?rdid=MNMGFFmGQHPrVylb&share_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fshare%2F16PzbmuygT%2F#

April 21: Pula, Croatia, Klub Kotač, 9pm. Link: https://www.facebook.com/share/1AKwiAu2E3/

April 22: Ljubljana, Slovenia, Klub Gromka, 8:30pm. Link: https://www.facebook.com/share/18nHFyfEcH/

[Paal Nilssen-Love]