KRAK Center for Contemporary Culture (Hamze Hume bb, Bihać)
Concert: Thursday, May 23 2024, at 8 pm

Iztok Koren is a multi-instrumentalist whose art is flavored with the sweet taste of melancholy and thoughtfulness. His artistic expression follows the path of intimate immersion into the world of ravishing rhythms, meditative repetition and their deconstruction through the patterns of inventive music. The variety of instruments he uses (banjo, sintir, balafon, kalimba, guitar, steel drum, percussion, electronics) create a unique world of musical experience that encompasses elements of ethnic music, jazz and sound experiments. Koren’s approach, although intuitive, is extremely responsible in an ethical sense given that he understands music as a serious portrayal of reality rather than as entertainment. In the creative process, Koren chooses a free and open approach, devoid of the superfluous burden of contemporary society's spectacles, thereby directing the listener to the essence. 

Iztok Koren’s primary profession is social worker. He began his musical journey playing in bands on the trail of post-rock, post-industrial noise-core and minimalist music during the Covid 19 Pandemic. His new album Emptiness (Torto Editions) comes from a personal framework of oversaturation, personal dilemmas and internal conflicts while searching for their resolution. Here the artist understands the concept of emptiness as a prerequisite for spiritual maturity, and emptiness begins with negation. All songs on the album were performed without dubbing and using various instruments such as banjo, guembri, electric guitar, modular synthesizer, effects pedals, microphones, percussion, steel drum and balafon. Iztok Koren is an artist of the international music platform SHAPE+.

The performance of Iztok Koren at KRAK Center is organized with the support of the Robert Bosch Foundation, SONICA Festival and MoTA (Museum of Transitory Art) from Ljubljana.