Concert album promotion Exterminator '81
Toni Starešinić – keyboards, electronics
Andrej Jakuš – trumpet, electronics
Janko Novoselic – drums
"Eksterminator '81" is a new project by Toni Starešinić. Keyboardist and organist Starešinić, who also uses sound effects and electronics, created it in collaboration with trumpeter Andrej Jakuš – who incorporates vocal and guitar processors and guitar effects into his performances – and drummer Janko Novoselić.
These three musicians have been working together for more than fifteen years and have given numerous concerts in different combinations, which is clearly felt in their performances. During the performance, they listen to each other, communicate and react to what is happening at the moment, which inspires them and merges them in joint improvisations. In their interpretations, this trio unites reality and imagination, acoustics and electronics, technology and spirituality. Using various keyboards, looper i arpeggiator it allows them to create the impression of a much larger ensemble, so they sound as if there are many more than three of them on stage. “The technology also gives me the ability to spontaneously build orchestrations and react in the moment,” says Starešinić.
The sound carrier "Exterminator '81" brings a recording of the performance held on May 24, 2025 in the courtyard of Pogon Jedinstvo, as part of the festival "Music for environmentally conscious ears". For the concert at the aforementioned ecological festival, Starešinić chose a repertoire that is mostly close to Jakuš and Novoselic, since both were members of his bands Chui and/or Mangroove. In addition to the title improvisation "Music for ecologically conscious ears feat. plants (collective improvisation)", the program consists of three units: "Survival kit medley", "Mangroove medley" and "Chui medley", each of which combines two performances. Starešinić is the author of most of the compositions, and he signed only one together with Janko Novoselic and Vojkan Jocić.
The initial impulse of each performance is based on existing arrangements previously recorded in studio versions, but in each new interpretation, the music from that starting point opens up in completely unexpected directions. That is why each of their concerts is different, special and intriguing. It is a true supersonic impact on all the senses. It is that stimulating, slightly disturbing stimulus that will shake the listeners from the very beginning, draw them into another, parallel reality, disrupt established listening habits and awaken a different state of consciousness. It is a peculiar atmosphere, imaginative improvisation and ultimate freedom. It is multi-genre, multimedia, multicultural and multidimensional music that requires attentive listening, an open mind and active engagement; music that arouses the desire for metaphysical fusion with sound and immersion in an endless adventure.
The main actors of this adventure are three like-minded musicians with similar aesthetics who organically intertwine, complement each other, provide each other with musical "tricks", but also selflessly help each other in fully realizing their own musical potential. They develop their performances patiently and gradually; they build on them, layer them and add new sonic layers, hypnotizing the listeners - as if in some ritual - who then, like zombies, wallow in this guided fantasy. Couldn't this kind of music therefore also serve therapeutic purposes?
They bring a smile to the audience's faces in those brief moments when they quote or even hint at iconic moments from the oeuvre of the greats whose music they draw inspiration from; for example, that of Miles Davis from the 1970s and 1980s, as well as the band Soft Machine, referring in particular to their album "Softs" from 1976. It is impossible to leave out associations with the electronic sonic interventions of the band Gong - with Toni taking on the role of Shakti Yoni (Gilli Smyth), whose vocals were once described as "space whispers".
It is truly fascinating to what extent Toni has studied the entire history of popular (and unpopular) music, and especially the work of unconventional bands that produced their anthological works even before he was born. He has devoted himself to this segment of musical history with exceptional studiousness: he constantly researches, collects discographic releases unknown to most musicians, listens to them and meticulously analyzes them, and studies the development path of exceptional creatives, building his own expression on the foundations of their ideas. Based on this dedication, he has developed his own inventiveness and further enriched his artistic ingenuity. It is incredible how this peculiar Retro-overtone – Retro who is still ahead of his time and who brings a depth of understanding of music – managed to combine it with what could easily become the music of the future. It is also fascinating how he has reshaped and connected the electronic sounds of past decades with new technological achievements, creating exciting performances that constantly mutate and travel into unknown dimensions. This is precisely why his original creations seem so lush and innovative.
The project "Music for Ecologically Conscious Ears" is also innovative, based on spontaneous improvisation, which brings a completely interactive approach and two-way communication. It involves creating an environment in which plants absorb music, processing it through a kind of "music synthesis" method using special sensors (soundphile) and finally release it into the ether like the oxygen that the listeners breathe in, or hear. The plants were connected via two sensors: one was immersed in the substrate in which they grow, while the other, in the form of a clip, was attached directly to their leaf. The electromagnetic pulses emitted by the plants were converted by a small device into a MIDI signal, which the performers can then control by assigning it a specific sound and tonality, thus translating the flora into a language understandable to humans. Although plants sometimes communicate and sometimes do not, at this concert they really “sang”. The musicians responded to these plant melodies with their own playing parts, which created an extremely interesting interaction. By using the echo effect (delay) have achieved the impression of transmitting sound into a completely different sphere. After all, Toni's music has already been sent into space and has become an integral part of the soundscape of infinity.
Just as we can say that certain music is extremely cinematic and would logically fit into the aesthetics of the seventh art, so we could characterize his music on this album as truly “comic book”. Specifically, he found inspiration in the cult comic book “Eksterminator 17” by one of the greatest comic book authors of today, Enki Bilal, originally published in the French science fiction magazine “Métal Hurlant” in 1979. Starešinić’s entire creative work has been closely linked to the ninth art from the very beginning, but with this project he went a step further. Namely, these sonic performances could serve as a perfect template for a completely new comic book. After all, we can find a direct link in the album title itself. It seems as if Toni threw down the gauntlet to some great comic book master, perhaps Danijela Žeželj, challenging him to, seduced by this music, conceive, write and draw a story. If one were to truly follow the music woven into this album, such a narrative would certainly rely on an existing, earthly starting point, but would inevitably develop in the realm of pure science fiction.
Davor Hrvoj
Winner of the Status and Rock&Off awards, trumpeter Andrej Jakuš is a unique phenomenon on the domestic music scene and by combining the sound of the trumpet with electronic music, he brings a fresh and modern musical expression. He is a permanent member of the Croatian Armed Forces Orchestra. He has performed with many musicians and bands, such as Ivan Kapec, Dino Dvornik, Soul Fingers, ConFusion, TBF, Songkillers, Boa, Mayales, Mangroove, Chui, Pips, Chips & Videoclips, Goribor, Nipplepeople, The Penny Black Remedy, Terry Lee Hale, Chris Eckman, The Strange, Coati Mundi and many others.
Winner of the Porin and Status awards, drummer and composer Janko Novoselic He is a member of the Croatian Radio and Television Jazz Orchestra and the Davor Križić Experiment, Valerija Nikolovska Trio, Zvonimir Šestak Groove Assembly, Darko Jurković Charlie Trio, Hommage Collective and others. He leads the Kozmodrum project, for which he writes original music, and a quartet with which he plays jazz standards. He has collaborated with prominent names and ensembles, including David Murray, Charles Tolliver, Tamara Obrovac, Elvis Stanić, Darko Rundek, Josipa Lisac, European Jazz Orchestra, Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, TBF, Edo Maajka, Gibonni, Massimo, Vještice and Chui.
Toni Staresinic is one of the most prominent and productive keyboardists and composers of the contemporary Croatian music scene. He began his musical education in his hometown at the Blagoje Bersa Music School, and his interest in music was inherited genetically through his father, a close relative of the famous Croatian conductor and composer Igor Kuljerić. Although he went to Zagreb in 1999 to study agronomy, his interest in music soon took precedence.
At the end of 2003, he founded his first original band, Mangroove. Over time, especially with the arrival of singer Željka Veverec, the band evolved from jazz-funk-rock idiom in peculiar pop expression, and in 2009 they released their debut album The world for usWith Mangroove, he has released a series of acclaimed albums to date, regularly nominated for the Porin record award and appreciated by music critics.
In 2012, he founded the instrumental band Chui, whose self-titled album was released the same year, positioning Starešinić as a key player in the new Zagreb music scene. fusion i jazz scenes. The third album by the band Chui, Third Sun from the Stone (2015), critics declare album of the year. In 2017, he achieved his biggest record triumph with this ensemble with the album Chui this music, recorded in collaboration with the Jazz Orchestra of the Croatian Radio and Television. The release won the Porin Award for Best jazz album and the best jazz performance, with a nomination for the European independent award Impala. The same year, Starešinić composed a hit song for Josipa Lisac I am traveling to you., awarded Porin for best vocal performance.
During his rich career, he initiated and participated in numerous musical projects: from club gigs with Session with the collective Radijator and the band Less Than A Minute, through the instrumental punk jazz band Punk Data, to the avant-garde audiovisual collective Beat Busters (with whom he also played the laser harp, among other things). Today, in addition to leading the bands Chui and Mangroove, he plays in Željko's trio At Ease and performs as a permanent member of the supporting bands of Josipa Lisac, Eda Maajka and musician Je Veux.
Starešinić is in demand as a guest studio and concert musician. His keyboard solutions and arrangements have enriched anthological releases by numerous artists, among which the album by Eda Maajka stands out. The way to the plus (awarded the Rock&Off award for album of the year) and the Blu-ray edition of Josipa Lisac ...you reside here in my soulHe also collaborated with Tomislav Goluban (joint album Velvet Space Love), Boris Štok, the bands Nola, Vatra, Headoneast and many others.
He has an exceptionally rich concert activity across the region and Europe. He has performed on the stages of iconic venues (KD Vatroslav Lisinski, Tvornica kulture, Dom sportova, MSU), at the largest European and regional ShowCase festivals (Eurosonic Noorderslag, Ment, Bush), as well as at eminent ones jazz, rock and experimental festivals (Dimensions, INmusic, Žedno Uho, ZEZ). Also memorable was Chui's performance as the opening act for the famous trio Medeski Martin & Wood at the 10th Vip Zagreb Jazz Festival.
In parallel with his performing career, Starešinić is also extremely active as an applied composer. He is the author of music for television series (Wind rose) and the acclaimed HRT documentary series The biggest accidents of peacetime Croatia directed by Arsen Oremović. He has also composed for numerous theatre productions, including the multi-award winning play der golem, works by the Tragači theatre and international productions Hairy Hairy Mouth of the Lithuanian Psilicone Theatre, performed at the Kaunas Biennial.
He is a multiple winner and nominee of the most important professional awards in Croatia, including several Porin statues, Rock&Off journalist awards, and professional recognition (Status award). He lives and works in Zagreb with his wife and long-time musical collaborator Željka Veverec.
