MILK Voices: EN-KNAP, Putokazi, and Michael Schiefel

The MILK Voices project draws inspiration from the story of the “Alexandrines”, Slovene women who mostly hailed from the littoral region, and emigrated to Alexandria, Egypt in the early 20th century to work as wet nurses for wealthy French and English families. This is a story about the courage to abandon their familial, cultural, and traditional roots. And by factoring in the crossing of borders and vast distances, the idea of them as wet nurses transcends individual experience. By singing lullabies, they implanted the identity of the homeland (Europe) into the children, who would “return” there in the following decades, carrying memories of it with them, despite having never been there.

Virtually forgotten in the oblivion of time, this story serves as a starting point for questioning our identity, homeland, and sense of patriotism. Who are we as individuals, as a community, and how are the ideas of identity and loyalty shaped? Is patriotism inextricably linked to one’s native land, nation, and nationalism? The project meticulously analyses the dominant perception of patriotism in which the collective identity is defined by the separation of US and THEM, with a special emphasis on – who WE are not. Exclusionary patriotism interprets the homeland as an entity primarily based on the ethnic and supposedly natural principle of “blood and soil”. The MILK Voices project opposes this notion with a shifting paradigm based on mutually acknowledged and democratically accepted social norms, the rule of law, and the accompanying symbols. That way, devotion to society and the homeland is displayed by honouring positive characteristics and civilisational norms. That is what defines us and what we believe that everyone possesses. Such loyalty includes everyone who accepts and adheres to it.

Research and the first phase of the project began in February of this year, when its creators conducted their own research on national identity in Rijeka with the members of TRY Theatre and Putokazi. Collaboration on the project with colleagues from Rijeka is planned to resume in 2021.

The international dance troupe EN-KNAP is led by its founder, the globally acclaimed choreographer Iztok Kovač, and is the only permanent modern dance troupe in Slovenia. Since 2009, they have been permanent performers at the Španski borci Cultural Centre. So far, they have collaborated with over 30 Slovene and international choreographers and directors of vastly disparate backgrounds, in the revival of more than 40 individual stage plays and films. Their repertoire consists of more than 40 annual shows on tours in Slovenia and abroad.

Putokazi was formed in 1984, making them one of the longest-running musical groups in Croatia, and a recognisable brand of the Croatian musical scene. Ten generations of vocalists, a total of 500 female and male singers, have been part of the rotating line-up of Putokazi, which has practically made them a small music school. This school has produced 14 albums and two DVDs. The band has been constantly coming up with musical projects that aim to improve the Croatian music scene by placing special emphasis on traditional folk music. Putokazi has represented Croatia twice in the Eurovision Song Contest and has won three Porin Awards, as well as the Status Award for outstanding contribution to Croatian music in 2014. Miranda Đaković, the ensemble founder and leader, has won the “Rijeka Coat of Arms” Golden Plaque for her overall musical career and accomplishments, especially with regard to her artistic leadership and work with Putokazi.

Michael Schiefel has released four solo albums. His first record, Invisible Loop (1997), was named one of the most promising debut albums of the decade, and his second album, the more introspective, I Don’t Belong (2001) – received equal critical acclaim. Michael’s last two solo albums, Don’t Touch My Animals and My Home Is My Tent, were released in 2006 and 2010, respectively. In addition to his solo performances, Michael has collaborated with a slew of other musicians in a wide range of projects. Regardless of the genre he is performing – whether it is funk and pop with the band JazzIndeed, contemporary jazz with David Friedman, the classical music-inspired big band Thaerichen’s Tentett or the Platypus Trio, which includes the Hungarian cimbalom virtuoso Miklos Lukacs – the audience and critics alike continue to heap praise on Michael’s multi-layered voice. Since 2001, Michael has been Professor of Vocal Jazz at the Franz Liszt Conservatory in Weimar, making him the youngest professor of music in Germany.