MGLC Summer in Tivoli: Katja Šulc and Širom

Katja Šulc

Katja Šulc is a singer and musician who combines poetry, contemporary folk and traditions from diverse cultures in her own unique ways. Trained both in Slovenia and abroad (New School, New York – Jazz & Contemporary Music Program), she has released five studio albums that have reached prominent international radio stations and stages. Her fifth album was created during an artist residency at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in New Mexico, where she immersed herself in Native American testimonies and the poetry of their most prominent voices. Her genre moves between contemporary folk and Americana, subtly interweaving tradition and contemporaneity while presenting precious indigenous testimonies through song and story. Upon release, the album reached the distinguished World Music Chart Europe Top 20 and earned a nomination for the prestigious Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik.

Line-up:

Katja Šulc – vocals, ukulele, drum

Andraž Mazi – pedal steel guitar, banjo, dobro

Luka Uršič – keyboard bass, synth, flute

***

Širom

The expansive vision of the Prekmurje–Tolmin–Karst trio Širom is a fusion of diverse musical approaches and tools, histories of sound and pure musical and handcrafted imagination. Iztok Koren, Samo Kutin and Ana Kravanja can account for more than twenty instruments together in the trio, and draw from at least as many musical forms, which could be recognised as an influence on the character of the new ensemble. Nevertheless, they are both practically and experientially deeply immersed in their own material practice, so that they manage to avoid merely reflecting existing patterns. They create a distinctive, stylistically coherent expression, encompassed by a wide range of folk sonorities and contemporary acoustic-rock meditations.

After the release of their debut I. on the domestic label ZARŠ in 2015, three albums followed on the esteemed German label Glitterbeat Records based in Ljubljana: Lahko sem glinena mesojedka [I Can Be a Clay Snapper] (2017), Svet, ki speče konju cvet [A Universe that Roasts Blossoms for a Horse] (2019) and Utekočinjeni prestol preprostih [The Liquified Throne of Simplicity] (2021).

Line-up:

Iztok Koren – banjo, three-string banjo, bass drum, tubular bells, balafon, gamelan, tank drum, sound objects

Ana Kravanja – violin, viola, ribab, qeychak, cümbüs, balafon, bendir, flutes, mizmar, kalimba, sound objects, voice

Samo Kutin – ikitelia, hurdy-gurdy, tampura brač, lyre, one-string bass, ukulele, balafon, tubular bells, gongoma, kalimba, melodica, mizmar, sound objects, voice

Concerts selected by: Pinela's Living Room