kev rowland
As is implied by the title, this live album was recorded at the Decije Pozorište in Dušan’s home city of Kragujevac in Serbia. While the rhythm section of Pera Krstajić (bass) and Pedja Milutinović (drums) keep everything nice and tight, it is the interplay between guitarist Dušan and keyboard player Vasil Hadžimanov which really set this album alight. Each of them are content to sit back and let the other take the spotlight, or to provide harmonies or full interplay as the need arises. The result is nothing short of colossal, as while fusion is at the very heart of what they are performing, it moves into many different territories including progressive, RIO, avant garde, post rock and so many others. Self-produced, a decision has been made to only have audience noise between the songs, keeping the music front and centre with no distractions and the sound that has been captured is quite superb.
Dušan creates many different moods and styles and can be dark and heavy, while Vasil uses much lighter piano and keyboard sounds to create a magical counterpoint so that the heavier music sounds even darker, with the lightness being refreshing and invigorating. This is music to get lost inside, something that really demands the use of headphones so that there are no external distractions. It is not easy music to listen to, but is intensely rewarding throughout, organic and real, a breathing living beast that isn’t going to be tamed and is always at the boundaries of what is acceptable, and never what is expected. So very good, in so many different ways, this is well worth exploring