Album Review of Janko Nilovic & The Soul Surfers – Maze of Sounds

BY NEAL MARTIN | NOVEMBER 18, 2020

Music is a giant iceberg. How much you want to see depends on you. The majority is happy to unfold a deckchair and see what is only above the ocean, that is to say, the music that sound-tracked our youth and musical genres within our comfort zone. Human beings tend to be conservative by nature, increasingly more so as we age, to the point where musical inquisitiveness fades to nothing. We switch off and discriminate anything new because, as the old adage goes: they don’t make music now like they did in my day.

Not everyone is wired that way. Some never lose the urge to explore unchartered musical waters and forage for new sounds. They make a concerted effort to understand and appreciate less familiar musical genres, maintain their broad music horizons. Not content to sit on the ship deck and view the visible part of that musical iceberg from afar, they put on a diving suit and swim in dark waters exploring as much of that iceberg as possible. You never know what we might find. That never-ending quest is part of the pleasure, and the Internet has made exploring easier than ever. There are no gatekeepers, and we enjoy unlimited access. The downsides are twofold. Firstly, there is a lot of unnecessary noise to filter and dross to wade through. Secondly, you quickly realize that even with a voracious music appetite, you listen to a fraction of all the incredible songs in your lifetime.

I use a multi-pronged strategy. I listen to the radio. I allow Spotify off the leash and let it wander to see what it brings up - it has a knack of shoving good music in my path. I act upon friends’ recommendations including the music thread on the Vinous forum. I trawl through magazines such as the indispensible Record Collector or sites such as Pitchfork. And I particularly like the New And Notable section of Bandcamp - a great way to access cutting edge contemporary music, where predominantly new artists upload music and allow those like myself to support them via limited editions of physical copies.