Slovenia's Maja Osojnik Band is a modern folk group reinterpreting folk classics along with some original tunes. The band is as experimental as it is folk incorporating Balkan melodies, avant-garde experimentation, jazz, and electronic music with some degree of Brazilian piano parts. Maja Osojnik's voice seems like a perfect fit for Slovenian ballads or pop standards. The Scandinavian and Balkan regions have recently reinvented folk music with modern arrangements. However, Maja Osojnik is still modernized, but she seems to retain a higher degree of experimental music in a modern era with sharp, metallic noises and electronic sampling. The instruments are relatively rudimentary, and include accordion, bass, piano, trumpet, guitar, drums, recorder, and electronic effects. Some of the sound effects resemble static or scratches from tuning a radio station and interrupt the flow of the album, because it is an experimental approach. The best song is "Solze Na Oknih", because it is a great melody that sounds like it could have been created from a Heavenly source. Also, the music of Slovenia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and surrounding countries contain different melodies that do not follow simple song structures. Black Waters may be darkly mysterious or deeply engaging, but it is definitely worth a listen. ~ Matthew Forss
