REVISIO:  Petar Klanac & ensemble 0 | Pozgarria da

No one needs reminding that the last two years have been, at best, weird. Life sometimes became ugly, but this also ultimately reminds us of the good stuff. Here at OBLADADA, we firmly believe music is always part of the positivity…

So a few days ago, late in the afternoon, the room I work in suddenly became filled with yellow dappled sunbeams. Music was playing, that had somehow already put a smile on my face subconsciously. The piece of music that cemented this moment is called Maite dut bizitza [reassembled organ sequences]. 

Featured on this the new album by Petar Klanac, the track tumbles forward in immaculately rendered transmissions. A series of pulses arranged into almost visual patterns – music that’s pure and potent at the same time… 

At the risk of making things sound ridiculously magical, the whole whirling sonic and light beam filled carousel felt like a very pure moment in splendour. It was beautiful.

Music that hits you so powerfully, clearly demands some sort of further investigation. 

Underneath the beautiful Basque titles, is a meditation on the writings of Father Bitoriano Gandiaga, a figure central in the emancipation of the region. Klanac then drew on 4 of his poems of expressing universal themes of gratitude, land, death and joy.

These poems then were selectively translated into French so Klanac could better understand the meaning and then build a sonic structure around them. As a listener that has no grasp of either language, it’s the music’s job to absorb and transmit…

The album itself spans a concise 33 minutes where the initial movements are all slowly plotted between clearly placed organ, gamelan, rebec, piccolo, troma marina, alto flute and a twisting beautiful voice. It’s easy to be pulled into these quiet moments as they open up like a rural landscape alive with human activity, something ancient but still completely relevant and relatable. A rippling quilt of emotion and history.

The second half is given over to Maite dut bizitza which joyously blossoms and revels in episodic blocks of quiet contemplation and in our case, memories of glorious sunbeams.

Perhaps based on our own listening habits that often steer clear of vocals, it’s no surprise we found the door to this music via a digital only bonus track – Maite dut bizitza [reassembled organ sequences]. However, the album, Pozgarria da, (‘how wonderful it is’ in Basque) is perfectly titled. Whilst it attempts to cram a lot of layers and gather lots of threads, it sparkles with an energy and precision thats somehow perfect for now. 

Klanac states the whole movement is ‘with the idea of a never-ending stream of joy’ and whilst that sounds like a great objective, he’s done just that. As we all collectively stumble forward into 2022 and uncertain futures, its hugely welcome.

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Pozgarria da is out now and available on CD and digitally here