Sunday, June 9, 2013

MIMO 8 - Luka Belani and Spremište 07Jun2013 @MSU - Spring Season Finale


Friday night there was last MIMO concert for the season. Just like every time until now it was organized perfectly for listeners on Radio Sljeme, internet streamers and for live audience at Gorgona Hall at Zagreb MSU (Museum of Contemporary Art). I did not have a chance to see any of the performers live until now so I was looking forward to be surprised and perhaps swayed into fandom and also, as this was the last MIMO event of the season tensions were high and expectations great and it felt so in the electrified air.

Jelena Balent, our MIMO hostess, was particulary beautiful and styled and I rue not having any better photos but to my overexcited mind reality actually pretty much looked more like impressionistic painting and less like accurate depiction of the world so these photos will do until there will be some more on MIMO facebook page.


After short introduction, spotlight went a little bit to the left and Luka Belani started to play.

I have heard about Luka before. I have read some reviews and gig reports and have heard friends and acquaintances from the music business talk about him and I feel none of that information gave him the credit for things I got when he was standing there few feet away, performing. This is exactly why I think people should go and experience music firsthand.



First of all, this guy is stunningly handsome - tall, athletic, masculine, beautiful. In this world he does not NEED to know how to play the guitar, looking like that - but he does know how to play and how to sing and he does it wonderfully. From the first words he spoke and the music he made and the voice that appeared when he started to sing it was just apparent, in full view, that this guy loves his craft and loves to work on it to hone it. He played some new songs and some old ones, and he told us the titles in between songs as he adjusted the sound of his instrument, and his music, allthough being played in singer-songwritery lo-fi settings (as opposed to mixed and produced album quality) had definite taste of sellable and permeating stuff. In the end he played some new songs and told us that he's experimenting a bit with new sound and new sound will definitely stir some spirits and there is still left to see how this will fare with existing fans as it is nothing like the music he made until now.

And then there was comment quarter and Ante Perković and Dubravko Jagatić spoke to Jelena and to audiences both here and on radio and streaming about music and this project and have extended their support and love to this endeavor of promoting domestic artists. Perković also commented how he loved the new stuff Luka played for us and I second that and I love that he was called to comment again as his entusiasm as a music lover is wonderful and contagious and it is great to see that even in a market so small and cutthroat like ours people bearing genuine love for their work can survive.

Band part of the evening went to Spremište.

I haven't heard of Spremište before and it is a crying shame because they are beyond awesome! I will definitely listen to them more and keep an eye on any of their shows nearby so I can go and see them again and again and again.

They opened with a song Recesija borrowed from sibling band Hren and I was so utterly and overwhelmingly shocked with absolute greatness of how they performed it I (along with most of the audience in Gorgona hall) just sat there, not being able to clap. It took me halfway through the next song before I got myself together enough to believe that music this great is really happening - right now, in front of us, live!

They are a mixture of punk, ska, funk, jazz and their "original cast" contains 4 people (Stil - guitar, vocals, Klema - guitar, vocals, Norman - bass, vocals and Perić - drums) and for this event they were joined for a few songs by Brajković on guitar (so Klema could play keyboards) and 3-part brass section.


It was so wonderfully noisy and fun and joyful and noisy and when I got home I immediately turned the Internet upside down and from his pocket Spremište SoundCloud page, YouTube page and Facebook page fell out and I opened and perused them ever since and I hope you will too because there is some freakin' awesome stuff there, including several great videos and buch of great, profesionnaly produced songs - like Ispočetka, my favorite - on their SoundCloud stream.

Farewell MIMO until fall, I hope to see much, much more of you in the future!

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