In the internet age, 15 years is a long time. In Slovenia, change is a constant. Now Enej Mavsar, of Karmakoma, suzi Soprano, and Body Says No, tells me he’s reviving a band from past years, theLift.
Though he’s using a new name. “Yamamai was theLift,” Mavsar explains. “It is a band I formed in 2004 and began as a noisy duet then turned into more psychedelic stuff trio and adding saxophone. We went around Europe 2 times, recorded 2 full length and 2 demos.”
Mavsar modestly talks about his early musical days with theLift. “We really didn’t know what we are doing,” he says. “We were just playing everyday, all the day. During one period things got messy — I had enough and I formed Karmakoma in 2011.” (Find out more about Karmakoma, the groundbreaking Slovenian synthpunk band, here: http://www.synthbeat.com/2015/10/12/cutting-edge-electropunk-from-slovenia/
TheLift is it’s its own thing, though it’s got elements of ’80s punk, and ’90s grunge. The 2007 song ‘Bungalow’ from the album “Lucidum Intervallum” seems to reference The Doors, in the verses at least.
Going further back, theLift’s 2004 demo seems to channel all the darkness of ’80s punk with an updated raw sound.
Yamamai will feature Mavsar on guitars and vocals, and his friends Čuba on drums, and Jakob on keyboards. They should hit the studios this November to put some songs down. Mavsar says: “We made new music thru the summer while I was at home waiting for my girlfriend to give birth. The new music really made a step away from theLift music that’s why we also changed the name.”
That’s something to look forward to. And congrats to Mavsar for the addition of a second son to his family.
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