Juraj Kojs & Pioneer Winter Collective - 2025 - Birds of Paradise

(58:08; Neuma Records)

Track list:
1. Barbara  7:31
2. Josue  4:30
3. Niurca  6:56
4. Gabriela  5:44
5. Katrina  6:02
6. Frank  7:53
7. Shamar  13:45
8. Lotte  5:46

Line-up:
Pioneer Winter Collective - voices
Juraj Kojš - music


Slovakian and US composer Juraj Kojš has been an active creator of music and art in various combinations for the past couple of decades. Back in 2021 he worked with the US dance theater company Pioneer Winter Collective on a commissioned work called "Birds of Paradise", consisting of music, spoken words and dance. From what I understand this is a performance that has been steadily evolving since it's initial premiere back in 2021, with the Winter Collective describing the third or possibly fourth iteration of this creation in notes related to the 2023 version of this production. Now in early 2025 the music, and some of the words and sounds of this performance, have been captured on audio and released by US label Neuma Records.

This is a creation that revolve around certain aspects of life as how they are experienced by people that belong in the LGBTQ+ demographic, from what I understand of the liner notes. While this isn't a reality I'm personally familiar with, I rather suspect that their experiences in life will correspond quite a bit with people in other demographics that have to face a similar existence as not being a part of the mainstream ideals. Cue, for instance, people with physical handicaps or invisible ailments of different kinds. For my sake I belong to the latter category, and the associations I get to the musical landscapes presented will be from that perspective. As I am, understandably, not able to experience these sounds and soundscapes from the perspective of one belonging to the demographic this performance was made by and made for.

The common denominators throughout these eight compositions is a feeling of not being quite present here. Living in another world, or having an otherworldly existence. One that can be filled with longing and sadness, possibly a wish to be different or someone else. The cold chills of alienation is a factor that appear in many of these soundscapes, which includes this otherworldly feeling but emphasize the loneliness of being in what one feels like an otherworldly existence. And, perhaps, these cold sounds may also indicate detached emotions. Distancing yourself from a world that doesn't understand or doesn't want to understand.

Some of these creations make use of noise to get some points across, and for these creations my associations go towards emotional or mental breakdowns. That the world around gets to be too much, that living in a seeming isolation overcomes you and overpower you. Leading to despair and the acts of people caught in a desperate situation. And for the part named 'Frank', the association of being on display, wearing a mask, while the shadows from the past starts creeping in to become increasingly more of a threatening presence as one tires of the false existence one is forced to endure.

Amidst all the creations that for me come with associations towards challenging aspects of existence, of pain, loneliness and mental health issues, the part called 'Gabriela' stood out for me for being the one creation that gave me associations towards something positive. Here we get a soothing, calming landscape, where my associations were towards words such as closeness, inclusion, familiarity and safety.

If my associations towards the music presented here is right or wrong I don't know. There are spoken word segments after each of those creations that I chose to skip, as I wanted to base my associations primarily around the emotions these soundscapes invoked in me, rather than having words details or describe any matter of intent for these creations. Music is art, after all, and art is a subjective experience.

A production like this one is just about impossible to place within a strict musical perspective of course, hence style and orientation are matters I chose to not spend much time on in this case. This is a soundtrack to a performance more than a musical construction made to be enjoyed as a separate being. But for better or worse, I chose to inspect this creation as a separate entity and a separate creation, reflecting upon the issues that came across as most logical for me to focus on for this type of material.

If you have a desire to seek out what may be described as being a soundtrack or an emotional soundscape that seeks to reflect what it is like to have an existence outside of the norm and outside of the mainstream life, then I'd hazard a bet that the landscapes created on this album are ones that will resonate with you on an emotional level. Especially if you regard yourself as being a bit out of place, outside of the norms and not really fitting in to the expected life and lifecycle of the average person.

Olav M. Björnsen, January 2025

Links:
https://kojs.net/
http://pioneerwinter.com/
https://neumarecords.org/