- "anephtetic-IPA".
anephtetic
1996 - 2003
anephtetic
/ænɛfˈθɛtɪk/
a creative process characterized by expansive and divergent thinking, often leading to novel and multifaceted outcomes.
In fourth septennial's artistic surge,
my anephtetic crafts emerge.
From gaze-shy boy to crowd's delight,
fame shaped my wild notes into light.
EXPLORE: the IV. anephtetic
Reflection on the adolescence of creativity during my 4th septennial evokes a sense of "anephtetic" - a personal portmanteau that captures the untamed, intuitive growth of my artistic expression. In this phase, unbound by traditional expectations, conventional boundaries or linear methods, my creative voice grew robust and defiant. It painted a melody of complexity and dissonance, a testament to the intense self-expression and internal tumult of those explorative years; I was free, crafting my soundscapes with the untethered soul of an explorer. Simultaneously, this period also marked a drastic realignment - the boy who once avoided gazes, started commanding them, guiding throngs through the tribalistic revelry of modern clubbing culture. As my music gained national attention, the intimate journey of discovery evolved. The increase in public exposure, coupled with the pressures of acclaim, began to steer my spontaneous creativity toward a more deliberate, targeted artistry.
LP #1
6
tracks
4
interludes
side A
the 12th floor embassy prelude
original edition
triseptennial edit
triseptennial edit
side B
original edition
Rhodope Incident prelude
triseptennial editon
roadside interlude
triseptennial edition
sendoff postlude
In May 1994, following my grandmother's passing, I relocated from Štore, a small town where I was growing up, to a residential building at Čopova 23 in Celje. My new home was a cozy one-room apartment on the 12th floor, where I began a new chapter of my life, living on my own. Directly across the street lays "Zelenica", where I formed first new friendships. Being the only one in my circle unencumbered by adult oversight, my place quickly became a popular hangout, at times almost a public forum, my peers affectionately dubbed "the Zelenica embassy". It became synonymous with endless parties, constant loud music, and unrestrained hedonism. This period, spanning over four years, was filled with wild experiences and excess that would make Bacchus himself blush, fueling my creative spirit and artistic expression.
fun fact:
Although we were blasting music every day, all day, often late into the night, nobody ever came to complain about it. I'm still dumbfounded by this, although I can imagine that a bunch of habitually inebriated teenagers must have seemed rather daunting. I wish to extend sincere apologies to my neighbors and thank them for tolerating our oblivious excesses.
ART MILLENIUM
heralds my debut birthed in the creative flush of my early twenties, when music wove the fabric of identity for my circle, as we savored the tail end of an unencumbered adolescence. With tides of change on the horizon in the form of compulsory military service in '98, I rushed to enshrine the essence of my freedom before an unwilling surrender to uniformity. This album is a time capsule, a prelude to change, that sealed my artistic spirit in a soundscape, capturing a sense of before, and an anticipation of the after.
Prologue stands as the earliest piece in my collection, initially crafted back in 1994 on an Amiga. It incorporates a segment from a speech by Yasser Arafat, talking about the plight of Palestinians, and although these realities were beyond my understanding at the time, there was something compelling about the sound itself that captivated me. My friends and I would spend endless hours just hanging out and listening to this track on repeat, typically utterly blissed out.. it's a literal soundtrack to my life back then. Whenever I listen to it now, it instantly transports me back to those days of sheer carefreeness.
The inception of Art millenium took place in 1995, marking a pivotal time when I was utterly entranced by an innovative sound emanating from the UK: drum 'n bass. Initially, the tracks we obtained through various means were classified as "jungle," and while we were collectively going crazy over their intense ragga-muffin vibrancy, it was M Beat's remix of Anita Baker's "Sweet Love" that truly resonated with me.. I vividly recall this introduction - late one night my friend and I were watching MTV when this track came on. It immediately enchanted me, as I've never heard something like that before. I sat motionless, soaking in every beat, and as the song concluded, I turned to my friend, gasping, and unable to find words to express my amazement. I spent the next couple of days glued to my TV, w/ cassette deck on standby, waiting for a replay so I could record it. Goldie's "Inner city life" soon followed and these two tracks became an everyday staple. A few months later someone brought a tape entitled "Atmospheric" - a compilation of tracks with blazing breakbeats we came to love, but instead of crazy reggae MCs riding on top of them, it was mostly instrumental, infused with refined soulful and jazzy vibes. This was a turning point; I became engrossed by this sound, and started experimenting and developing my own DnB music, almost on a full-time basis.
A:04 [ released on 1999 Art Millenium album ]
Satellite control
remixed for Dope Control | triseptennial edit
Satellite control was my first solicited remix. Dope Control - a local hard-hitting techno powerhouse - approached me after my live act at a rave party in Halls Golovec and we quickly became good friends. I began to frequent Mario's home studio to leverage his superior monitors for mixing and mastering purposes, which naturally led to our collaboration on their forthcoming LP. This partnership was significant, marking the first time my music hit the airwaves, a notable milestone in my budding career as a producer. My reputation began to expand considerably between 1997 and 1998, during which I took on several remix projects, with Strelnikoff's Bitchcraft being the most notorious, and prominent, as it propelled my name from local to national acclaim.
Waterfall came to life while rushing to record and release my inaugural album at Studio Coda, right before consigning myself to seven months in the barracks. During this period Massive Attack's Protection was in constant rotation among my circle, whose influence undoubtedly shaped and seeped into this creation. Aleš Beriša, aka Muki, and I collaborated on it, making the most of the studio's advanced equipment that was otherwise unavailable to me. The initial renditions deviated significantly from the album's overall aesthetics, leading me to almost abandon it, however, thanks to Muki's enthusiasm and flexibility, and our joint perseverance, we managed to hone it, iteration by iteration, into one of the most iconic tracks from Art Millenium.
fun fact:
The working title of this track was "Humperdinck", dubbed by my somewhat insensitive mockery of the early piano drafts.. I found them overly "sugary", and it took some time and several revisions for me to warm up to the distinct feel Muki created.
While the music of Art Millenium reflects a time of free-spirited sonic exploration, it was created during an era when analogue still reigned supreme. Music production back then was a convoluted process, involving expensive dedicated hardware which was, for the most part, completely out of my reach. Their digital counterparts were slowly emerging, rapidly gaining capabilities, but in the pre-internet era they were still scarce and hard to obtain. Tools available to me were rudimentary, but I made my best effort to work around their limitations through persistence, innovation, and help from others. I wish to express my deepest gratitude to all who helped me bridge many gaps I couldn't have alone. Albeit I'm bound to forget someone, as this was a quarter of century ago, I still wish to explicitly recognize some of you that were instrumental in making this album possible: Teodor Goznikar and Dušan Milovanović for their enduring friendship and hardware; Tomaž Kokot, Andrej Kramer and the rest of my 12th floor posse for being my proto-audience; Aleš Beriša for his creative sparks on "Art Millenium"; Mario Medvešek and Mitja Jelen of Dope Control for opening their doors to a neophyte; Damijan Švarc for the reminiscent headshot and the intriguing cover art, and Igor Korošec of Studio Coda for helping me record, mix, and ultimately publish it.
A reprise of fervent clubbing nights between 1999 and 2002, when most of the music I produced was aimed at bolstering my rising status as a DJ. Created in the early days of 2001, this track unexpectedly foreshadowed and tied into the events of 9/11, as the subsequent FUD surrounding the alleged Muslim extremism surged. Its adhaan made it an incredibly provocative choice for opening my DJ sets.. so much so, that I was approached by several promotors asking me to abstain from playing it, which, of course, only fueled its popularity in the underground circles.. it became my first techno track that was in regular rotation by other DJs as well.
fun fact:
During an event I was headlining, I opened my set w/ Schtanza, already a staple trick that never failed to grab everyone's attention. Suddenly, someone dashed up to the DJ booth and began speaking to me in arabic.. although I had no idea what he was saying I kept nodding to him in agreement, and after he finished, I responded with "Allahu akbar!". He echoed the sentiment and kept joyfully shouting it during every single breakdown for the remainder of my set.
RHODOPE INCIDENT
In years leading up to this album I was fully immersed in the national clubbing scene, and got lost in hammering beats that fueled my growing status as a DJ, drifting far from my original sound. The Slunceluna festival in Rhodope mountains, a place out of sync with my new reality, struck a chord deep within me - a reminder of the earthy, ethnic rhythms I adore, but had inadvertently moved away from. This was my response, a reconnection with my earlier years, crafted earnestly to recapture the essence I had misplaced chasing recognition. It's not just music - it's a musical homecoming, a journey back to my authentic self.
"Reawakened" was inspired by revelatory intimate experiences I had at the Slunceluna festival nestled in the Rhodope mountains of Bulgaria. Before this festival I was completely engulfed in the pulsating electronic beats of the nightlife, and lost touch with my innate appreciation for the organic, ethnic rhythms I got reintroduced to there.. it was a turning point that prompted an immediate shift in my creative focus, leading me to start work on Rhodope Incident upon my return home, which signals the beginning of my withdrawal from the clubbing world.
Remembrance of my first dawn in Rhodopes, when I got roused by a call to prayer.. I walked down from the house we stayed at and stood by a road in pouring rain, mesmerized by its sound, struggling to comprehend the unexpectedly profound emotions stirred within me. It felt as though it was reaching out to me personally, resembling a forgotten memory, an echo from a past life, despite it being my very first encounter with it IRL.
"Call of the soul" experiences persisted throughout my stay in the Rhodopes. Upon my return home, when I began pouring impressions into music, this was one of the first tracks that emerged.. it was prompted at a gig immediately following my return, which I habitually kicked off w/ Schtanza, however, this time the opening adhaan suddenly felt out of place, so I sought to reframe it in a new sonic landscape.
An auditory epilogue of the conclusion to my transformative pilgrimage. We descended from Rhodopes, boarded the train in Sophia, left Bulgaria behind, yet some feeling, some ethereal essence, traveled with me all the way back home, took root, and flourished.
fun fact:
Bagpipes heard in this outro were played by the late, legendary Dario Cortese, who accompanied us on this trip
My deepest appreciation goes to all who made our pilgrimage to Bulgaria a reality. A shoutout to Matevž Cene for coaxing us away from our familiar comforts, to our gracious Sofia host, Vladimir Handzhiev, and to my travel companions Vasja Ocvirk, Aleš Uratnik, Polona Dolžan, Dario Cortese, and especially to Edo Einspieler, who took the extra effort to dig up a few nostalgic photos he had taken over two decades ago.
