[engl] Seine is an ever-changing project by Croatian singer-songwriter Ivan S?c?apec. It currently operates from Zagreb as a power duo with Dimitrij Petrovic? on drums. Following the breakup of their former band Vlasta Popic? in 2015, they focused on Seine and actively toured the Balkans and Europe, earning a reputation for their dazzling and heartfelt performances. Their debut ‘Sno Sna’ (Moonlee Records, Vox Project), one of the best regional debuts of the year, was released in 2017. Seine's 2nd album '22' brings forth an amorphous genre-bending sound, combining elements of noise and alternative rock, trip hop and no wave with sporadic cabaret undertones. The pair continues its exploration of the intriguing, ill-lighted and downtempo moods that have defined their debut while putting a new emphasis on dissonance and atonality. '22' showcases intricate arrangements and muscular instrumentation, its seven hook-laden tracks slowly drifting through melancholy waters. The electrified acoustic guitar and drum set are still the backbone, but they have expanded their sonic palette with piercing electronic textures, classical instruments samples and driving polyrhythms. The resulting leftfield grooves engage the listener in a noisy introspective dance. Seine’s music still gravitates around Ivan's easily recognizable soul-searching androgynous voice. His is a timbre of a man with puffy eyes, a sombre heart and turbulent spirit. In his dark and waggish verses, he wryly explores the triangle between money, war and transcendence from a beyond-good-and-evil standpoint. The days of love songs are dead, long live money poetics!

[engl] Seine's debut album ‘Sno sna’ is a showcase of dreamy acoustic strumming, psychedelic bass lines and minimalistic though hearty drum patterns interwoven into a tale of love and longing. Half a minute into the record, you're immediately transfixed by Ivan SCapec's idiosyncratic vocal timbre with a quaint feminine character in the vein of Cigarettes After Sex. The pathos of his delivery also reminds us of the emo mavericks Sunny Day Real Estate. But the gist of Seine’s musical expression lies in the prominent acoustic guitar. While songs like 'Privatno tijelo' (Private Body), the pseudo nursery rhyme 'Bubamara' (Ladybug) and centrepiece ‘Ljubav’ (Love) might recall the work of Sufjan Stevens, and while the track ‘Janko’ is an obvious nod to Serbo-Croatian folk songs, most of the tracks possess a more introspective, oftentimes melancholic mid-nineties character not far from the likes of Smashing Pumpkins. 'Sno Sna' may be listened to as a punk’s tale in the disguise of a folk record, or vice versa, a heartfelt folk album gone punk.