50 years after Psyc Impressions. 30 albums later. At the age of 80, Janko Nilovic never ceased to surprise by releasing Maze of Sounds – 2020, the last album of the great manitou of rare groove and illustrative music, recorded with The Soul Surfers. It's signed BROC RECORDZ – 2020.
An album of reason, sprinkled with passion
What goes on in the mind of an accomplished artist, with an ultra-prolific career – sampled by J-Zay, Dr. Dre and many other Rap U greats.S. – When you come to see him at 79 to start a new album? Janko on the other hand, as long as it's music, it's "yes". However, if we find the musical register of the composer in the 8 titles that compose it, the album is significantly out of the usual standards of the native of Istanbul. Because an entire album featuring (The Soul Surfers) requires first of all an artistic and technical consensus. Coming from the 70's Jazz branch where he recorded the mythical albums Psyc Impressions / Giant / Funky Tramway / Contemporary Rhythms / Soul Impressions / Super America, etc… Janko masters the complexity of harmonies that refute the classical structure of POP of his years. Intermittent conductor, lover of variable geometry arrangements, coppery, woody and rubbed sections, it is a real challenge for the Balkan artist to make a simple and catchy "bass piano / drums / guitar". Regardless, Janko manages to reconcile everyone a little and releases the most commercial album of his immense career. It's signed BROC RECORZ – 2020. And we travel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuyJan6vnNc
Success, an almost inevitable paradox
Slow grooves, throbbing structure and maximum simplification of the role of the rhythmic seat, the objective is clear: the atmosphere. That of the 70's. His carefree romanticism and the intoxication of his period pleasures. This is certainly one of the driving forces of the album. If we do not find the harmonic and technical richness of the titanic works that were albums such as Rythmes Contemporains (1974) and Funky Tramway (1975), Janko indulges in a different and fresh exercise in purification. The progressions are simple and effective. It should be noted, however, that the album is punctuated by some "modes" dear to the composer's heart, such as the use of the pentatonic minor and harmonic minor in SWEET PATH, to cite just one example. So the result? When you close your eyes: it works. We see images, visions. The colors undulate, appear, dance. Then they evaporate, disperse and fly away. We are in this "labyrinth of sounds". That's the experience. Janko knows how the human mind works, gets lost, finds itself, questions itself. The art of illustrative music is his. "I don't think you can separate image from sound," he often says. That's Maze of Sounds. And the merit of BROC RECORDZ is to have been able to go back in time. And this sensation begins even before hearing the first auditory frequency: the cover, a true masterpiece of drawing, full of meaning and poetry. It is signed KARAN SINGH. And the canvas is full of reels of artists who have fun shifting it. A character cover, as before.
The million, the million, the million!
At the height of his fame, vinyl records were king. We went to the local merchant to look for what we had heard on the radio the day before. Hoping not to have forgotten the title or the author, often with American consonances. Today, it's time for streams. A notion that, by his own admission, largely escapes Janko. Thus, when told that we have exceeded one million downloads, he asks: "Okay, that is to say?». #legendaire At a time when numbers no longer make sense, 1 million streams, for this artistic genre, this deserves to be highlighted. Adulated by a rave press, widely relayed on social networks (and more recently by the famous journalist and columnist Énora Malagre on her Instagram account), Maze Of Sounds is almost a consecration. "I can't believe it," the maestro told us in an interview with Just Focus in June 2021. I lay 8 titles in 2 half days, and everyone applauds. I'm going to release 10 a year like that, you'll see! ». Not very reasonable, especially when you know that the album is very well produced and finished. But we understand the idea, and these galejades prove above all that age had no effect on the humor and derision of the pianist. Nor the death of his beloved Johanna Nilovic (born Marie-Jeanne Mougeot) in December 2020. "It was the worst ordeal of my life. Everything brings me back to her, music too." She was the only woman in his life. #RIP It is in this difficult context that Janko Nilovic releases yet another album, more cerebral than from the depths of his artistic bowels, certainly, but which denotes a desire to continue, to never give in to the test. Each his weapons. We know those of Janko Nilovic.
