II - DEJANJE

The transition between SEDMINA's debut of more less straightforward and catchy Slovenian folk music to this quintessential prog folk album is remarkable given the scant interval of 2 years. When one considers that prog was truly in its dark ages in 1982, one can't help but wonder what possessed Melita and Veno to wrestle with that dinosaur. My impression is that, like many artists we identify as prog, they weren't willfully electing that route, but had become more comfortable with their musical relationship and their popularity, so did consciously attempt more challenging music. As others have noted, the evolution is so dramatic that one can't help but feel disappointed at first, the innocence of that debut wholly supplanted by sophisticated compositions and vocal and instrumental arrangements.

Luckily the album does have one immediately lovable number, that being the divine "Ciganka" (which means Gypsy in Slovenian), with a dazzling tune and intertwined voice, clarinet and acoustic guitar. It expands upon the earlier experience and, truth be told, if every track here shimmered in this fashion, I would award 5 stars, as it should have been an instant folk classic. It's worth noting than in 2010 reunion concerts, this was the representative from "Dejanje". With this hook into the album, the pleasures of the other more oblique numbers are granted space to unfold slowly but surely.

"Circus" is the better of the two longer pieces, and is structured like a suite, with several loosely connected themes. But "Pav" shows that they can stuff just as much in a more compact deliverable, the relatively straightforward vocal segments contrasting with lively Klezmer-ish instrumental passages. "Fotograf" falls appealingly between the less and more intricate efforts.

I know it isn't geographically appropriate and one can probably find better similarities with groups formed by couples in neighboring villages, but I still think the analogy to some of the folkier Basque prog that emanated from the post-Franco era in Spain. A parallel with ITOIZ is worth signalling in that they transitioned from largely acoustic folk to full fledged folk accented prog between albums 1 and 2. Moreover, the tribal nature of the vocal arrangements and the incisive strings remind me of some of other Basque bands like HAIZEA and ERROBI.

Sadly, this was the last SEDMINA album for almost a decade, and the dissolution of the marriage meant than Veno carried on without Melita, so "Dajanje" remains the most evolved recording involving both artists. One can't help but wonder what the third act might have been if they could have at least mended their personal differences to carry on professionally. Highly recommended.