Friday 10 March 2023, 8pm

Baba Yaga's Hut: Širom + Metal Preyers

No Longer Available

The intertwining of diverse musical approaches and tools, histories of sounds and unbridled musical imagination and craftmanship is the expansive guiding principle of the Širom trio, whose members stem from the regions of Prekmurje, Tolminsko and Kras.

More than a dozen instruments can be found in the repertoire of Iztok Koren, Samo Kutin and Ana Kravanja and at least as many given musical forms that can be perceived as an inspiration behind the character of this new ensemble. However, in their practice as well as experiencing they remain anchored in their creative process to an extent that allows them to avoid merely reflecting existing patterns. What this generates in an original, stylistically homogeneous form of expression that oscillates between a wide array of folk sounds and contemporary acoustic rock-style meditations. The end result is grounded yet still mystical minimalism. Širom’s music is contemplative, but can get harder when necessary, it is closer to being band- than chamber-like, to being street as opposed to urban in nature.

Each member of Širom also performs in a myriad of other bands and music projects, such as ŠKM banda, Hexenbrutal, Najoua, Samo Gromofon, and Horda grdih.

“This music is syncretic, working folk, medieval, drone and traditional musics into complex, intuitive improvisations …. Full of guttural incantations, circling chants, clattering percussion. A deep-breathing, ecstatic joy.” – Uncut

Metal Preyers

Metal Preyers "Shadow Swamps" is the soundtrack to a pitch-black fairy tale about a father and daughter as they journey through a swamp avoiding gremlins, red swines and crater creatures. Musically, it pivots between the clattering Czech new wave experimentation of "Valerie and her Week of Wonders" composer Luboš Fišer, or the magical, eccentric lounge of Birmingham's Broadcast, and the grinding industrial grot of Italian pioneer Maurizio Bianchi.

Expect Slow chopped and screwed slabs of sound, sleazy lounge lizard synths , live visuals and drum machine syncopations with a cut and paste type feel that nods to the DIY cassette tape post punk-ism era .