CURIOSITIES

LAIBACH – PARTY SONGS
Mute Records, 2019

Laibach's 2019 EP Party Songs features unpublished songs from the repertoire of Laibach's and Silence's 2015 performances in North Korea. The release includes live renditions of Arirang and Honourable, Dead or Alive, When Following the Revolutionary Road, which were recorded in Pyongyang. Here's the story behind these recordings, as explained by Benko:

Originally, we were scheduled to hold two concerts—on August 19 and 20—at different venues in Pyongyang. However, preparations for the first concert at Ponghwa Art Theatre—a medley of technical difficulties, culture shock, sweltering heat, miscommunication, and censorship—lasted a flabbergasting four days.

The likelihood of moving the equipment to another venue and completing the same gruelling process in a single day was rather slim. Hence, our North Korean hosts decided to cancel the second concert. As a substitute, they invited us to attend a performance by music students at the Kum Song School of Music.

I was asked to join the students on stage to perform 'Arirang', the unofficial Korean anthem, and 'Honourable', an aria from the North Korean revolutionary opera 'Tell, O Forest'. For a moment, I hesitated. Performing the unofficial anthem to government officials of a totalitarian state—in a language you don't speak—can be a rather daunting prospect. But the request was presented as a great honour, which is, of course, a nice way of saying 'refusal is not an option'. Moreover, it was a remarkable opportunity to meet and work with North Korean musicians.

In the morning of August 20, I headed to Kum Song to rehearse with the students. I was accompanied by Mr. Lee, our liaison and babysitter, Sašo Pušnik, Laibach's sound engineer, and Morten Traavik, the mastermind behind the expedition to North Korea (our Beloved Leader, so to speak).

We entered the Kum Song concert hall ... and found ourselves in a setting that was, like so many things in North Korea, baffling, disorienting, simultaneously endearing and unsettling. A small group of officials was waiting for us in front of the stage. TV news cameramen were scattered throughout the auditorium. The musicians were on stage, fully prepared. It was an 8-member, all-female band in school uniforms, equipped with digital drums, synthesizers, and an electronic organ. The stage lights were flashing. It didn't feel like a rehearsal—it was like wandering onto the set of a Robert Palmer video.

Taken aback, we tottered through the aisle toward the officials. After greeting us, a stern-looking lady handed me a microphone, gestured towards the stage, and said: 'Please, perform.'

There was a large digital display suspended over the stage, counting down the hours, minutes, and seconds to the performance. The Final Countdown! It was both laibachian and utterly North Korean. The timer was a perfect illustration of the country's obsession with punctiliousness and perfection. A relentlessly perfectionist mentality is instilled in North Koreans from a young age. One of the tenets of Juche, the official state ideology, states: 'Improvisation leads to error.'

A few hours later, I was in the backstage, waiting for my cue. The performance was well under way. Mr. Lee gave me a meaningful look, leaned over, and whispered in my ear: 'Please, Mr. Benko, make it perfect.'

I did my best to steer clear of my personal rule: 'Error leads to improvisation.'

SHYAM – SKRITI SIJ LJUDI
ZKP RTV Slovenija, 2010

In 2010, Benko collaborated with Shyam, an alternative act led by frontman and songwriter Miloš Radosavljević. Benko performed C'mon, a song from the band's third album, Skriti sij ljudi (Mankind's Hidden Lustre).

HELIUM VOLA – FÜR EUCH, DIE IHR LIEBT
Chrom Records, 2009

Ernst Horn (Deine Lakaien, Helium Vola) and Silence have collaborated thrice so far. In 1999, Horn remixed Scream, Greeneyes, a track from Silence's 2nd album, Unlike a Virgin. The remix was released on the Son Of Sin Maxi Single. In 2000, Benko performed The Cliffs Of Norway, a haunting piece written by Horn for the Subout compilation. The last collaboration took place in 2009. This time, Benko interpreted Escoutatz and Darkness, Darkness, two songs from Helium Vola's 3rd album, Für Euch, die Ihr Liebt.

More information: www.helium-vola.de

TRANS SLOVENIA EXPRESS VOL. 2
Mute Records, 2005

On July 25 2005, Mute Records released the follow up to Trans Slovenia Express (1994), a collection of Kraftwerk classics reinterpreted by Slovene acts. Silence arranged, recorded, and produced two tracks for Volume 2: Hall Of Mirrors (the previously released duet with Anne Clark) and Radioactivity (performed by the Rožmarinke string quartet). The compilation also features tracks by Laibach, Siddharta, Torul, and others.

ROŽMARINKE (SPECIAL 2CD EDITION)
Pat Kar Projekt, 2004

In 2004, Rožmarinke released a limited edition of their debut album. The release contains an extra CD with two songs written and produced by Silence: God Forsaken Country (a rearrangement of the same-titled track from Silence's 2nd album, Unlike A Virgin) and Cliché, the runner-up of the Slovene selection for the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest.

SUBOUT – VARIOUS ARTISTS
Basic Unit Productions and Waldorf Electronics, 2000

The Subout compilation features The Cliffs of Norway, a haunting ballad written by Ernst Horn. The song features Benko.