Hamlet Express: Fantom svobode

Andraž Polič, voice; Miha Petrič, electric guitar; Gregor Cvetko, bass; Blaž Celarec, percussion

Started by poet and author Andraž Polič, Hamlet Express has been running at full steam for the past twenty years. The concert at Cankarjev dom is dedicated to their sixth release, Fantom svobode. The album is a tribute to freedom and a rebellious spirit, a philosophy echoed in the poetry of songwriter and guitarist Andraž Polič who writes virtuosic, witty arrangements for his "Hamletian" locomotive. Shovelling fuel into the steam engine of this “fusion-chanson” quartet are the musicians-cum-stokers, Blaž Celarec on percussion, Gregor Cvetko on bass and Miha Petrič on guitar. 

In its choice of title, Fantom svobode (“The Phantom of Freedom”), the album continues in the tradition of Luis Bu?uel’s surrealism and A. Camus’ existentialism, while thematically defying genre classification: grounded in elemental eros, the music emerges through the dynamic of rock energy or poetic fragility.

In today's world of simulacra and artificial intelligence, Hamlet Express – a one-off, living musical & poetic eros – feels uncompromisingly liberating and inspirational.