From the small Croatian town of Labin, songwriter/singer and multi-instrumentalist Valdet Luboteni weaves organic sounds, deep lyrics, and fitting vocals.
For an artist of his talent and skill, he should have more exposure. Luboteni, who records as Trees of Maine, creates a rich tapestry of fine textures, moving lyrics and impressive instrumentations as evidenced on his new E.P., Twin Cities.
One of the many standout tracks on the E.P. is the gripping, beautiful song, “Mud & Snow.”
Luboteni said the title is a “reference to everything that had been going on with the band,” citing the main lyric: “we were never made of stars/ we’re mud and snow/ never hawks; we’re always swallows/ far from home.”
Although his former band of 15 years – The Orange Strips – did have a studio, that was lost when the band split up in 2015.
“So I recorded the entire album in my apartment,” he says. “I was working on the album while waiting for the birth of my second child and did most of the recording when he was only months old. I would do all the quiet bits with my headphones on, went to sleep around 3-4 AM, and then off to work in the morning.”
“I remember the day when I was recording vocals for ‘Mud & Snow’,” he says. “I sat behind the kitchen table, pushing and pulling the stroller with one hand and pressing record with the other hand while singing.
Later, Luboteni received a call from his producer saying: ‘you know, there’s a lot of baby sounds on the recording.’ He replied: “I know. Do your best, please.”
“I am aware of my low visibility,” Luboteni says. “I live far from the capital. I can’t be part of the scene physically, which makes me an outsider.”
“Not many people care about this kind of music, not only in my town but in this entire region. It used to be difficult in the past, now it’s pretty much hopeless.”
Well, we can say for sure that there are millions of people in America that care about this kind of music, especially that which is refined and pure.
Part of what we love about what we do is ‘finding’ or ‘discovering’ new and talented artists that we never heard of before, and who are not being featured anywhere else.
That describes the music of Luboteni’s solo project. By the way, he does not live in Maine but does have family connections there.
For the past few years, the songs that Luboteni has been dropping pack a huge punch, including his recent album releases such as 2019’s, Twin Cities, and his debut, False Dawns.
While he was with The Orange Strips, the band opened for artists like Maximo Park, Atlas Sound, Arcade Fire, and Skunk Anansie. His major musical influences are The Smiths, Bon Iver, Sufjan Stevens, and R.E.M.
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