Širom is a Slovenian band that is completely and uncompromisingly original. A musical powerhouse, they transform the folklore of this small Central European country into a mix of improvisations that encompasses influences from around the world.
I had already spoken highly of their previous album, The Liquified Tyrone of Simplicity (2022). With this new release, In the Wind of Night, Hard-Fallen Incantations Whispers, the trio from Slovenia, a country of 2 million inhabitants in central Europe, continues in the same vein, while further developing their sound.
Let’s face it: Širom may not be for everyone. You have to appreciate long instrumental pieces, musical effervescence that sometimes plunges into chaos or ecstasy, then gently caresses us. The first piece lasts over sixteen minutes. There is another one that lasts nineteen minutes. But if we embark on this crazy adventure, we are richly rewarded.
Širom is composed of Ana Kravanja, Itzok Koren, and Samo Kutin, who come not from a folk background, but rather from the alternative scene. Between them, they play nearly twenty-five instruments, from the violin to bells, including the African balafon, harmonium, and a host of percussion instruments. These are all acoustic instruments, but Širom has devised a system he calls “acoustic resonators,” which completely transform the sounds. It often sounds as if the instruments are amplified or reverberated.
That’s the magic of Širom. We are immersed in an extraordinary musical universe, both familiar and completely foreign. A reinvention of local folklore in modern, global music.
I would like to take this opportunity to appeal to music festival programmers in Quebec and Canada. Please invite this musical UFO to our country!
