Tracks
1.I Love 2.Only Child 3.Clocks 4.Crazy Chords 5.Moving On 6.Wish I Didn’t Miss You 7.May 8.On My Own 9.Dancing In The Dark 10.Awake 11.Finding Closure
Interpreters
Mirna Bogdanović – vocals, kalimba
Povel Widestrand – piano, synthesizers, Rhodes, celeste, Hammond
Peter Meyer – guitars, effects
Felix Henkelhausen – double bass, electric bass
Philip Dornbusch – drums, percussion
Paul Santner – ukulele
Asger Uttrup Nissen – alto sax
Rothko String Quartet:
Joosten Ellée – violin
William Overcash – violin
Majella Münz – cello
Marc Kopitzki – viola
Record label: Berthold Records
Recorded at Hansa Studios Berlin, Germany
Publication date: May 12, 2023
Mirna Bogdanović is a Berlin-based singer and songwriter. At the age of seven, Bogdanović began learning piano in Maribor, Slovenia, where he was born and raised.
She studied classical piano and jazz vocals at several music universities in Europe, finishing her degree at the Jazz Institute Berlin in the class of Judy Niemack, Kurt Rosenwinkel and Greg Cohen. She attended many workshops and took private lessons from renowned jazz musicians such as Danilo Pérez, Norma Winstone, Danny Grissett, Sheila Jordan, Amy London, Anita Wardell, Jay Clayton, Theo Blackmann, Jen Shyu and many others.
Music was always heard in their house, although never jazz. Her father played Balkan rock, which somehow led her to sing in various pop and rock bands, but she felt that she needed more complexity in the music and little by little she was introduced to jazz.
In addition to jazz, rock, popular music and classical music, her style is also based on Björk, James Blake or Becca Stevens.
With her band “Mirna Bogdanović Group” composed of Peter Meyer (guitar), Povel Widestrand (piano, sint.), Felix Henkelhausen (double bass, electric bass) and Philip Dornbusch (drums, perc.) she has recorded this album entitled “Awake” . This group has been joined by: Asger Nissen (alto sax), Paul Santner (ukulele) and the Rothko String Quartet: Majella Münz (cello), Marc Kopitzki (viola), William Overcash (violin) and Joosten Ellée (violin).
In the studio where they recorded there was a wide variety of instruments (celeste, Hammond organ, Rhodes, different guitars and basses…) that they finally used.
The music was written for quintet + ukulele, but he decided to arrange it for strings as well, which was something he always wanted to do.
Bogdanović’s compositions are harmonically rich and unusual, without apparent limitations. In this work ten of the eleven songs bear his signature.
The album opens with “I Love”, a beautiful, ethereal song, with Bogdanović’s voice accompanied on piano by Widestrand. It has a certain Music World feel to it.
In addition to being a narrator of texts, Bogdanović uses her voice as an instrument, “Only Child” is a good example of this. His mother is Slovenian, his father Bosnian. “I was only two years old when we had to flee the war. That had a big impact on my life in Maribor and it wasn’t an easy start. My parents lost everything they had in the war. After that, they started a business and worked day and night to build it. Which explains why I don’t have brothers.” This interesting song is a reflection of that circumstance.
“Clocks,” the longest track on the album, is dedicated to a time when he thought he was in an existential crisis. “The piece also addresses the internal conflict I experience as an independent artist. This is not a typical 9 to 5 job like many other people have. You often have the feeling that life passes you by without having any significant influence on it. Instead, you float in your own little bubble,” says Bogdanović. The song reflects different moods throughout its development.
“Crazy Chords” begins very jazzy and, without losing that character, advances along unexpected and very interesting paths, some of them with Bogdanović’s voice singing a simple melody. Excellent work by Henkelhausen on double bass.
In 2019 Bogdanović separated from his partner. The emotions that occur in the face of such an event are reflected in this album. The melancholic “Moving On” tells us about that same thing, the pain suffered by the breakup but at the same time letting it go.
“Wish I Didn’t Miss You” (Ivan Matias/Andrea Martin) is a great version of this beautiful song made popular by Angie Stone. The feeling of pain is present. Nice intervention by Uttrup Nissen on sax.
His favorite month is May, this track titled “May” is a nod to that month and the time when he played classical music on the piano, mainly Debussy and Chopin. Meyer brings a rock touch with his electric guitar.
The emotions and feeling of loneliness after the breakup resurface in “On My Own.” “I was emotionally trapped. At first, the composition expresses mainly sadness. But then it develops more and more in the direction of a rock song, which in the end explodes like anger,” says Bogdanović.
“Dancing in the Dark” is a rhythmic song, but “It has less to do with dancing and more to do with not knowing anything about a new romantic relationship,” he explains. “There’s a feeling of anxiety when you’re starting out with someone and they’re sending you mixed signals.” Rock and a Latin and bossa flavor intermingle midway through the song.
“Awake” is an experimental track, just over a minute long. “When I was deciding how to name the album, ‘Awake’, first of all, sounded better, but it also has a deeper meaning: it’s about being present, seeing things,” says Bogdanović.
“Finding Closure” has some nice ascending vocal lines reminiscent of Irish folklore. Happy song but that leaves a certain melancholic flavor. Nice and short intervention of the sax.
Bogdanović has a crystalline voice but not without strength.
This interesting set of songs is an example of how human beings are capable of converting moods into beautiful songs and making all of us listeners participate in those mental processes.
La Habitación del Jazz