LELEE (Slo)

Damjan Manevski (guitar, vocal)
Jelena Rusjan (bass, vocal)
Leon Stoilković (drums)
Blaž Gracar (synth)

The local curious indie rock/post-punk line-up Lelee represents the embodiment of multicultural collaboration among musicians from the Balkans from Vardar to Triglav as it is composed of Jelena Rusjan (Borghesia, TRUS!) from Belgrade on bass and vocals, Macedonian Damjan Manevski (Rush to Relax, Molokai) on vocals and guitar as well as Slovenians Blaž Gracar (Blaž), the synth magician and drummer Leon Stoilković. As a part of the 2020 Radio Študent Club Marathon line-up, the group was quickly getting noticed on the alternative scene with an exciting indie guitar tone and the intertwining of male and female vocals singing in Serbian and Macedonian.

Their first album, ‘Čuka boije pumpa’ (Moonlee Records, Ill in the Head Records, 2021) is characterized by powerful male and female vocal harmonies in the vein of Yo La Tengo which stay in the listener’s head for a long time. The trio draws heavily from the pioneer unpolished sound of indie rock dinosaurs like Dinosaur Jr. and The Pixies, modern indie punk ambassadors like Sweeping Promises and Uranium Club, easygoing jangle pop from both sides of the United States and the Yugoslavian new wave in the sense of regional authenticity. Despite the generational differences, all members of the group share a love for the sounds of indie history which they like to mix into more modern variants, with which they address the contemporary listener. 

Lelee is a master of melodic indie compositions with a sense of pop accessibility, they effortlessly produce memorable refrains and happy, sometimes nostalgic, and more powerful melodies suitable for long motorway escapades and summer journeys. Damjan joyously strums on his guitar, Jelena serves the listener bass lines that make your toes itch and Jan makes sure that everything works as a perfect sonic background for late afternoon alter grooving in a summer garden. We could say that Lelee plays a type of imaginary Adriatic indie rock, which is emotive, sincere, and direct, but mostly suitable for middle-of-the-road radio frequencies and a wider audience. 

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