Impressions from the second Better Live tour

Diary notes

Between September 22nd and October 2nd, a good number of concert organisers (Defonija, Ljubljana, Humanist and Artistic Association “O”, Vrhnika, KUD Kussa, Lokavec near Ajdovščina, GT22, Maribor, Non-Aligned label, Bistrica ob Sotli, Daljnogled Šoštanj, DobiaLab, Staranzano (IT), Zavod Daljnogled Šoštanj, DobiaLab, Staranzano (IT), Umjetnička organizacija Cargo (Impronedjeljak), Zagreb (HR), Zavod Sploh, Ljubljana), gathered in a regional network, organised concerts as part of the international sustainable project Better Live and Razsrediščenja and hosted a diverse team of musicians from Norway and Poland in Slovenia and neighbouring Italy and Croatia. During the tour, the quintet (Hans Kjorstad, Sigrid Aftret, Christian Meaas Svendsen, Patrycja Wybrańczyk and Kjetil Jerve) were joined at various venues by local musicians – improvisers (Giorgio Pacorig, Mojca Zupančič, Boris Janje, Aphra Tesla, Rob Canning, Jure Boršič, Jošt Drašler, Vid Drašler), in Velenje even young people from the music school, and the team met many other musical protagonists, got to know the local environment and its beauty and characteristics, as they expressed themselves.

 

Hans Kjorstad

Slovenia – where communities still matter.
Exploring music in togetherness with each other and the surroundings.
Like Norway without the oil money.
The beauty in the landscapes seems to transform into the people dwelling in it.
The food made by Mother Drašler was tastier than all the restaurant food on the tour combined.
Žiga reminded us to believe in the future.
Mitja reminded us why we are doing all of this in the first place.
Giorgio, Mojca, Boris, Rob, Jure, Jošt, Vid and the kids in Velenje made us play.
Aphra Tesla made us change.

 

Patrycja Wybrańczyk

I arrived in Monfalcone a day ahead of the rest of the band. The first person I met was our Italian host, Andrea. That evening, we travelled together to catch the last shows of a small local festival held in someone’s backyard. Navigating through muddy forest roads proved challenging; a few times, we almost got lost. When we finally arrived, a beautiful old maison with an impressive garden greeted us. The grounds were alive with celebration, as groups of people gathered under large trees scattered throughout the property.

 

Although the performances had already ended, we spent a lovely evening mingling with festival-goers, sampling local food and wine, and soaking in the lively atmosphere. Andrea introduced me to many local musicians, organizers, and festival directors—an animated crowd with glasses of wine in hand, laughing, chatting, and joking. They warmly invited me to attend their events in nearby villages. We stayed for about an hour before learning that some of the musicians were heading to the next valley to perform another concert that same night. However, our plan was to cross the Italian-Slovenian border and attend a show in Lokavec’s Klub Štala.

The drive took about an hour, leading us to the charming Slovenian village. To my delight, crowds were gathering at the venue for a series of at least six improvised performances by legendary local musicians. The atmosphere was magical: another glass of wine, tables piled high with cheese and ham, and lively conversations under a starry sky. I recognized many faces from earlier in the evening—these people had also made the hour-long journey from Italy to Lokavec, just like us. I took the opportunity to invite them to our shows scheduled to begin the next day, and many of them later came!

Traveling across northeastern Italy and Slovenia, meeting people, attending festivals, and witnessing the deep connections within the musical community left a profound impression on me. This felt like the essence of a “Better Life.” The web of venues, people, and musicians had been thriving long before the “Better Life” program was conceived. In fact, it seemed as though the EJN initiative had wisely built upon these strong, preexisting foundations. It was inspiring to see how people supported one another, reaching across borders to collaborate and share their passion for music. I couldn’t help but wish for the same kind of local bond to exist in every European corner where cultures meet.

 

Sigrid Aftret

I arrived in Monfalcone with only Hans on September 22nd, met Christian and Patrycja at a pizza restaurant, and then went straight to the gig to perform a concert. On September 23rd, we took a train and bus to Ljubljana. The second day of the tour started dramatically as I left my saxophone on the train. With great help from Patrycja, we ran through the train cars and managed to find it just before the train continued. In Ljubljana, we were concertgoers of Oholo! At Kino Šiška, before we went on stage to perform ourselves in Klub Gromka, together with two local musicians. Day 3 took us to Maribor, where we played with Rob and Aphra. Day 4, we traveled by minibus to Velenje, where we held a workshop on improvised music for young people. In the afternoon, we had some free time and relaxed in our hotel rooms.

Day 5 was also in Velenje, where Žiga, our local contact, took us to the town’s medieval castle, which also housed a city museum, a modern art museum, and an African art collection. It was incredibly interesting, and Žiga gave us a guided tour, sharing a lot about the history of both the town and the country. We performed at the music school in the evening. The next leg of the journey took us to Lokavec at Klub Štala. Kjetil arrived the same day, and Brigita drove us all in her van from Ljubljana. At Klub Štala, we met Philip, Marina, and Frantz, who played the first set that evening. We met the Swiss trio again at a festival in Zagreb.

The tour continued to Bistrica and Sotli, where the Drašler brothers and their family took great care of us. We were served fantastic food at their parents’ house. Pat and I went on a hike to The Holy Mountain, and Pat rang the church bells, which was a lot of fun of course. The journey ended in Zagreb, where we played a memorable final concert. Unfortunately, we weren’t listed in the program on the last day as we had expected, but a day off just to be tourists and watch concerts was also appreciated. We had a fun evening, and we continued a discussion that had been going on for some days: why don’t musicians have nickenames these days?! So we all went home with a new nickname, each consisting of our first name, nickname, and last name. 

More about the project and the tour you can read here.

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