On the accompanying press for ‘Dens’, the second album from Belgrade Ethno-Noise outfit Lenhart Tapes (out 10 Nov on Glitterbeat Records), it reads “There’s a lot going on in this record, and you’ll want time (and your biggest ears) to catch it all.” No kidding, there are also rich layers of fascinating history behind the two key players in the project: cassette tape wizard Vladimir Lenhart and Tijana Stanković, a singer, classically trained violinist, ethnomusicologist and Radio Belgrade music editor.
The album boldly extends producer Vladimir Lenhart‘s acclaimed re-tooling of submerged Balkan musics. Hypnotic Walkman jams meet industrial rhythm loops and trad-folk songs interpreted by a lineup of thrilling female vocalists: Tijana Stanković (more on her below), Svetlana Spajić (Gordan, Pjevačka družina) and Zoja Borovčanin (Lira Vega). A magical, beauty-and-the-beast encounter of dirty noise and righteous folk.
The aptly named project refers to Lenhart’s obsession with collecting tapes-by-the-kilo from flea markets. These can range from old folk songs to tapes meant for the dancefloor.
The latest single from the album, “Džamahirija”, is described as a track of pure propulsion and commitment.
Vladimir Lenhart is only one half of the story here, however. Enter Tijana Stanković: singer, classically trained violinist, ethnomusicologist and Radio Belgrade music editor. By Vladimir’s own admission, her encyclopaedic knowledge of the music he had grown up with turned the project from something somewhat ironic to something very sincere. He recalls an immediate connection, over a shared love of that music, and it’s a connection that has since developed in perhaps unforeseen directions, with Tijana herself pushing Vladimir into an even more uncompromising sonic stance. It’s a happy provocation and one that marks this record out as a collaboration of equals.
The track, Džamahirija (feat. Zoja Borovčanin), is inspired by The Green Wings, a band formed by Libyan students attending the University of Belgrade in 1981.
Pre-Order on Bandcamp: https://lenhartapes.bandcamp.com/album/dens
