[Ment festival]

Mrk (meaning: Eclipse) is the sophomore album by Matter, a controversial Slovenian (anti) hip-hop trio, that was the talk of their home music scenes over the last year and a half. On their new release the lyrics remain as cryptic as they were on the first one (Amphibios). Catchy punchlines in surreal combinations combined with distinctive street argot. A roller-coaster ride of references ranging from trashy TV shows to obscure and impenetrable suburban stories and ventures.

Even though Matter frequently get categorised as a hip hop act, once could easily suspect that the band's affinity might lie as much in rap as in house and techno. The beats on Mrk are often even more stripped down than on their first album, following the less is more principle. The mood which permeates the release was described by the band with impressions of a desolate city just before the crack of dawn. After a long night of partying, a sore body wonders the desolate streets with a scattered and exhausted mind. These murky underpinnings get only partially disrupted mid-album on track Mana, where the album features a collaboration with another Slovenian critic's favourite, the psychedelic pop band persons from porlock.