Intention, Intensity, Shuffle is a musical diary; a document of concerts, spaces and encounters collected across years of performing together. Coming in at over 180 minutes, the quartet has assembled something that rewards dipping into rather than listening to front to back.
Rok Zalokar on piano and electronics, Alja Petric on percussion and vocals, Lenart De Bock on flute and saxophone, and Žiga Smrdel on drums move across spiritual jazz, free improvisation, folk, electroacoustic experimentation and ambient music with ease. The closest reference point is Floating Points and Pharoah Sanders’ Promises, that same meditative quality, that sense of something unfolding slowly and patiently. But where Promises is delicate and contained, Intention, Intensity, Shuffle sprawls freely.
The arrangements are often delicate and beautiful. Zagreb Calling and Ballad at Kamene Priče are both layered with lush electroacoustics and a slow, soothing spiritual saxophone. Buje at Sunset feels joyful and hopeful. Sexy, but from the Heart is warm and sensual. Bale Full Moon is built on a chirping flute that feels fragile and mischievous.
At times the tracks descend into something freer and more chaotic. Vrt Ritualistic is reminiscent of Roj Osa’s Beton Kino, that same combination of free jazz and glitchy electronics. The geography of the record is also felt throughout, particularly in the more folk-leaning pieces. Sowing at Krater and We on the Door Liza Dancing on the Roof introduce homemade instruments that add an earthy, ritualistic texture, sitting somewhere between Širom and free folk.
The standout is End of an Era, fifteen minutes that start as a free jazz meditation before slowly descending into glitchy electronics and claustrophobic droning. The drumming becomes more insistent, the whole thing building into something closer to post-rock than jazz before dissolving again. It’s an intense journey and fully worthwhile.
Altogether, Intention, Intensity, Shuffle is vast, experimental and genuinely ambitious. A document of concerts, performances and ideas spanning years of shared creativity, it works best when the spiritual jazz, folk and ambient elements collide into something beautiful and meditative. At its most dense, it even carries a claustrophobic weight. Approach it as an anthology rather than an album, and it rewards the time you give it.
You can catch them at their album release concert on 17th June at Plečnik’s Auditorium, Tivoli Park, Ljubljana.
Where to Find Them
- Bandcamp: listen & support on Bandcamp
