DAMIR AVDIC

Ja, Anarhista

When we have an internationally recognised magazine – The Wire – rating Damir’s latest album in the top fifteen of the month – although they can’t understand a damn shit what he is singing about – then it is probably quite safe to conclude that we are talking about something rather special here! And indeed it is very special… In fact, one can easily argue that, if we put aside the now legendary Laibach, his work is probably the best current ex-Yugoslav underground scene has to offer. There is simply no one out there that can match the energy, originality and honesty of his work. This might not be immediately obvious from his records, however, it quickly becomes the fact as soon as you experience his live performance. Live performance is what matters here the most and it is something no one should miss!

That night, needless to say, I was extremely happy to find out that he is to perform in Galerica, one of my favorite places in the small Croatian seaside town of Makarska. Galerica is small – very small! – gallery / venue and when you put the sofa inside together with a few lamps, a small amplifier and Damir himself – it becomes minuscule. So much so that it ultimately rendered the entire experience as the most intimate gig on the planet Earth, ever! But this exactly is the way to experience his work – more intimate the better… In short – it was simply perfect! Me the Anarchist – performance that was basically a single autobiographical song, about 45 minutes long, drilled through a handful of us, lucky to be there that night, like a knife through butter. Stellar storytelling accompanied with some amazing guitar riffs became a minimalist signature of Damir’s solo career that puts him and his work wide apart from anyone remotely similar – and rightly so! Otherwise, the words – which are the main focal point – would never be able to come through so powerfully.

I was armed with my recently bought Nikon D800 and rather crappy lens which didn’t help with the extremely low light levels present at the time. However, somehow I was lucky enough to squeeze out a few decent shots that night (see the gallery below) and, surprisingly enough, few online portals as well as the biggest Croatian papers ended up using some of them to illustrate their own reviews and articles. Damir Avdic himself, in other hand, used them for his BandCamp page and as promo material for his latest album, Human Reich – great honour to say the least!

Check out and buy Damir’s work here: damiravdic.bandcamp.com

GALLERY
LIVE AT GALERICA, MAKARSKA, 2013
COMMENTS

DAMIR AVDIC

Ja, Anarhista

When we have an internationally recognised magazine – The Wire – rating Damir’s latest album in the top fifteen of the month – although they can’t understand a damn shit what he is singing about – then it is probably quite safe to conclude that we are talking about something rather special here! And indeed it is very special… In fact, one can easily argue that, if we put aside the now legendary Laibach, his work is probably the best current ex-Yugoslav underground scene has to offer. There is simply no one out there that can match the energy, originality and honesty of his work. This might not be immediately obvious from his records, however, it quickly becomes the fact as soon as you experience his live performance. Live performance is what matters here the most and it is something no one should miss!

That night, needless to say, I was extremely happy to find out that he is to perform in Galerica, one of my favorite places in the small Croatian seaside town of Makarska. Galerica is small – very small! – gallery / venue and when you put the sofa inside together with a few lamps, a small amplifier and Damir himself – it becomes minuscule. So much so that it ultimately rendered the entire experience as the most intimate gig on the planet Earth, ever! But this exactly is the way to experience his work – more intimate the better… In short – it was simply perfect! Me the Anarchist – performance that was basically a single autobiographical song, about 45 minutes long, drilled through a handful of us, lucky to be there that night, like a knife through butter. Stellar storytelling accompanied with some amazing guitar riffs became a minimalist signature of Damir’s solo career that puts him and his work wide apart from anyone remotely similar – and rightly so! Otherwise, the words – which are the main focal point – would never be able to come through so powerfully.

I was armed with my recently bought Nikon D800 and rather crappy lens which didn’t help with the extremely low light levels present at the time. However, somehow I was lucky enough to squeeze out a few decent shots that night (see the gallery below) and, surprisingly enough, few online portals as well as the biggest Croatian papers ended up using some of them to illustrate their own reviews and articles. Damir Avdic himself, in other hand, used them for his BandCamp page and as promo material for his latest album, Human Reich – great honour to say the least!

Check out and buy Damir’s work here: damiravdic.bandcamp.com