This time around, Balkan Express makes a stop in Slovenia, to, well, feed horses. Which, admittedly, is a just an awkward way to introduce a pop/rock act of country persuasion, called Fed Horses. And while the introduction may have been cringy, the band is decidedly not.

Fed Horses started back in 2013, as a studio project of Urša and Jure Mihevc, with an ever-changing cast of accompanying musicians. However, they realized soon enough that studio alone will not be enough and they took to stage.

It took Fed Horses five years to some up with their first EP. Titled Sinner, it provided the breakthrough the band needed and earned them serious airplay on mainstream Slovenian radio. Which was no small feat given that at the time the band did exclusively English-language songs.

The breakthrough also meant a course correction for Fed Horses. By that time, the band had already garnered a dedicated following and was becoming a staple of independent playlists, along with some other bands of the late-naughts, early-teens. And by late 2018, they started writing and recording songs in Slovenian.

By now, Fed Horses have morphed from an intensive hobby to a full-time gig. Concerts were multiplying, Urša Mihevc got additional vocal training and – while maintaining their alternative country label – the band turned into something more. Which why their next EP was aptly titled Spremembe / Changes.

Today, Fed Horsed are a mainstay of Slovenian music scene. Their distinct sound and poetics allow them to stand apart in a sometimes crowded field of established-but-not-yet-superstar musicians. They are at the stage where they have to prove themselves continuously, and prove themselves they do. Case in point their gig in Slovenian capital Ljubljana some ten days ago, which was sold out months in advance and where they promoted their new album, M.L.A.D. / Young.

Fed Horses are, primarily, Urša and Jure Mihevc, whose on- and off-stage partnership is the driving force of the whole thing. Over the years, the band’s additional lineup stabilized around guitarist Andraž Mazi, bass player Matej Tekavčič and drummer Enos Kugler.

And that’s all the time we have for today. Check out Fed Horses on YouTube, Spotify, and wherever you get your music from and Balkan Express will be back next week.

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Balkan Express brings you the latest and/or the greatest in music from the Balkans. On air every Tuesday at 11am on Ara City Radio, it is hosted by Aljaž aka @pengovsky who once did the world a solid and vowed never to sing again in public. Which is how he ended up doing radio.