Today, this here show goes back to Slovenia to check out the band that we've meant to do for a while but never quite got around to. Not in the least because they were busy putting the finishing touches on their debut album. The band goes by Masharik.

Techically, Masharik are a blues/soul rock oufit that has been around for a while. If you count the year 2019 a long time ago, that is. Guitarist and vocalist Maša Bogataj is the band leader and although the act started out as little more than a cover band, they were soon writing their own songs.

Masharik hail from Radovljica, a town in North-Central Slovenia. They are a curious combination of old and new music as they carry more than a few references to the flower-power era, both musically and visually. On the other hand, they are an unmistakably contemporary band, the likes of which we've come to associate with modern indie rock. It's the combination of the two that makes them stand out.

Masharik are a three member group. Lead vocalist and guitarist Maša Bogataj is flanked by keyboard player Luka Zemljič and drummer Bojan Marinko. They all have background in various parts of the music industry, a fact which helps them fine-tune their act both in terms of music as well as production.

It took Masharik two years to work on their album from start to finish. To some, this might seem an eternity. But the reality is that it took quite a while for Slovenian creative industries to get back to full speed after the pandemic and band member did have, you know, lives to lead and put bread on the table. But most importantly, they knew how important first impressions are.

And as far as first impressions go, Masharik were building up anticipation of their album, by releasing a couple of singles over the year that only whetted the public's appetite. Which in turn meant that their release gig had to impress. And impress it did.

Late last month, Masharik finally released Otroci Cvetja / Flower Children, an album that is both a nod to the past as well as a harbinger of good things to come. Circling easily between soul-like and more hard rock sets, and everything in between, Masharik show off both their musical prowess as well as Maša Bogataj's strongly developed poetics. All of this, they demonstrated at a sold out gig in Ljubljana the other day. And hopefully, a new album is already in the works.

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