Angel's Breath
by Angel's Breath

If I have an issue with Ekatarina Velika's otherwise near perfect disography, it has to do with the fact, that they never really went outside of their comfort zone, i.e. they always kept it quite safe. This album is like an answer to all my desires, concerning the band. On it, Milan Mladenović (EKV's frontman), works in collaboration with an experimental artist, Mitar Subotić "Suba" (also a Serb) and several local, Brazilian musicians (this album, as well as the whole musical project was created in Brazil, where Suba moved to in early 90s, probably due to war).

The result is a blend of EKV's altrock and brazilian beats, with several experimental touches throughout the record. Milan's lyrics are as good as they have ever been, but there is also some spoken word in portuguese here, which I don't understand.

Milan died the same year, and fairly shortly after this was released. I'm not entirely sure why this album never became well known, not even in this area, I'm guessing it could have something to do with this album being recorded in Brazil, and Milan dying before being able to properly promote it in his home country. I'm saying this, because quality wise, this is on par with just about anything he has done before, and it is certainly one of the most unique pieces of music (rock music at least), that came from this area. Yet it is an incredibly obscure release, so much that even I, a huge fan of Ekatarina Velika and Milan, only discovered the album long after I first heard (and loved, and got slightly bored of..) the band's entire discography, or Milan's other, earlier, projects, including Šarlo Akrobata.
Really worth tracking out, and listening.

Track picks: Metak (Bullet), Courage III, Velvet. Also check out Madalena, quite an unique track, reminds me a bit of Björk's "Ancestors" (well.. I guess the other way around)