La Dolce Vita is the second studio album by Slovenian composer Borut Kržišnik. Originally released in 1995 by the German label Discordia, it was reissued nearly two decades later (2012) by his long-term label Claudio Records (UK), under its division Claudio Contemporary.
The album was conceived and recorded with Data Direct, a group Kržišnik founded in 1993. The ensemble brought together Slovenian, Italian, and Serbian musicians, including clarinetist/saxophonist Mario Marolt and violinist Vuk Kraković, who had already collaborated on Kržišnik's debut album, Currents of Time.
The members drew from diverse musical backgrounds, including classical music, "avant-garde rock", electronic music, "improvisation", and "Balkan folk music". The group performed at various festivals including Druga Godba, 1993; Synthesis – Music of the 21st Century Festival, Skopje; 1994, Vorax, Vicenza, 1994, etc. After the release of the album, the band ceased activities.
Context Building on the foundational concepts of Currents of Time—such as eclecticism, spontaneous composition, and the interplay between written and improvised music—Data Direct further developed these ideas by emphasizing live performance as a driving force. They shifted freely across the spectrum between tonality and atonality, academic and popular music, and diverse genre conventions.
Critical reception La Dolce Vita drew attention for its synthesis of structured composition and improvisational energy. Jure Potokar of Razgledi described it as an "eclectic blend" of "contemporary serious music," noting its dynamic interplay between structured and chaotic centers of gravity. "It is deeply thought out and studied, but also extremely impulsive," wrote Rajko Muršič of Glasbena mladina, who also highlighted the album's polarization between "meticulous composition and raw spontaneity." Potokar likened the music to a "modern high-tech world of […] gleaming surfaces," where the "polished veneer […] merely conceals chaos, life persisting beneath." The British journal MFTEQ called it "organized mayhem."
Track listing
Personnel Musicians Mario Marolt – tenor saxophone, mouthpiece Vuk Krakovič – violin Borut Kržišnik – guitar, bass & drums programming Primoz Simončič – alt saxophone (#1, #7) Roman Dečman – brushes and cymbals (#3, # 5) Guests Giovanni Maier – double bass (# 1, #2, #4, #5) Hugo Šekoranja – piano, soprano saxophone (#4) Aleksandra Rekar – piano (#4)
Production Composed and produced: Borut Kržišnik Recorded and mixed at P.N. Studios, Ljubljana, Slovenija, January – February 1995 Recording engineer: Bac Kajuh Artistic adviser: Aleksandra Rekar Mastering: Colin Attwell Front cover painting: Marko Jakše Artwork: Miran Klenovšek
Label Claudio Records (division Claudio Contemporary)
Reviews
Interviews
Other sources
References
External sources La Dolce Vita at AllMusic La Dolce Vita at Claudio Records Official website