Synth Pop · Elektronics · Avantgarde · Soundtrack · instrumental
The Slovenians don’t shy away from playing around with the zeitgeist. Sounds of the Nineties are used as well as psychedelic analogue-sounds meet modern dance elements. Though being catchy, their music is much too peculiar to just being “nice”. An addicting mixture, topped by the Benko’s great vocals.
Silence have written numerous scores for plays and dance performances. They regularly collaborate with the Slovenian theatre directors Matjaž Pograjc, Tomaž Pandur, Aleksandar Popovski and Primož Ekart. The duet’s discography includes the following theatre scores: Maison des rendez-vous (2003), Love Unto Death (2007), Veronika (2005) and The Passion of the Cold (2008), a double album with music from (and inspired by) Pandur’s plays Barroco and Caligula. The duet has also scored two feature films by Damjan Kozole (A Call Girl and Project Cancer) and a handful of short films.
Collaborations with Ernst Horn and Anne Clark enrich their already colorful sound kaleidoscope. In 2006, the duet composes and produces Volk, Laibach’s 12th album.
1992 - The band is founded by Boris Benko, Matjaž Ferenc and Primož Hladnik.
1994 - First Silence concert in Ljubljana.
1995 - Producer Peter Penko (Coptic Rain, April Nine, Laibach…) starts working with the band.
1995 - Ferenc leaves the band.
1996 - Silence’s international debut - the song Shut Up appears on The Daydream Compilation (Chrom Records), an international collection of modern European Synth Pop.
1996 - Silence sign a contract for two albums with Chrom Records, an independent label from Germany.
1997 - Ma Non Troppo, Silence’s debut album, is released by Chrom Records.
1997 - Ma Non Troppo is voted ‘Album of the month’ by New Life, a leading German Synth Music music magazine.
1998 - Silence sign a contract with Brainstorm / Devman Publishing.
1998 - Silence embark on a short German Tour with the German act Distain!
1998 - The duet records its second album with producers Peter Penko and Gregor Zemljič (Random Logic).
1999 - The duet’s second album, Unlike A Virgin, is released by Chrom Records.
1999 - Unlike A Virgin is voted ‘Album of the year’ by Orkus, one of the most influential German alternative music magazines. It receives the highest grades in Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung, Ragazzi, Online.de, Wrath and Zillo.
2000 - Sold out unplugged performance at Cankarjev Dom (the central Slovene culture and congress centre).
2000 - Chrom Records releases the Son Of Sin Maxi Single. Ernst Horn contributes one of the remixes.
2000 - The first collaboration between director Matjaž Pograjc and Silence takes place. The duet scores Midnight Meat Flight, Betontanc’s eighth performance, and performs the music on stage.
2000 - Delo, Slovenia’s biggest daily, classifies Unlike A Virgin as ‘one of the five most important Slovenian albums this year’.
2000 - Unlike A Virgin is nominated for ‘best newcomer’ at the Bumerang awards - the Slovene awards for different music.
2000 - Benko interprets Cliffs of Norway, a haunting piece written by Ernst Horn, the songwriter of Deine Lakaien. The song appears on Subout, a compilation featuring De/Vision, Oomph!, Front 242, Wolfsheim and others.
2001 - The duet scores Peter Pan, a play co-produced by Ljubljana Puppet Theatre and the Mladinsko Theatre.
2001 - Benko sings live in Švic & Švarc (Sweat & Soot), a contemporary dance performance directed by Goran Bogdanovski.
2002 - The duet scores Betontanc’s ninth performance, Maison Des Rendez-Vous.
2002 - The duet scores Viktorji, the biggest Slovenian media awards.
2003 - Silence write two songs for Emofad (Emotivity Of Adventures), a contemporary dance performance directed by Goran Bogdanovski. The score is performed live by Random Logic and Benko.
2003 - Silence’s private production facility - the Daily Girl studio - becomes operational.
2003 - Nika Records (in co-operation with Chrom Records) releases the Maison Des Rendez-Vous soundtrack.
2003 - Silence record Hall Of Mirrors for Trans Slovenia Express volume 2, a compilation featuring Kraftwerk classics reinterpreted by Slovene acts. The track features Anne Clark.
2004 - The duet scores Betontanc’s tenth performance, Wrestling Dostoievsky.
2004 - The duet scores Winnie The Pooh, a puppet show produced by the Ljubljana Puppet Theatre.
2004 - The band writes and produces two tracks, Kliše and God Forsaken Country, for Rožmarinke, a Slovene female string quartet. Kliše places second at the Slovene selection for the Eurovision song contest.
2004 - Matrix Music & Chrom Records release Vain - A Tribute To A Ghost. Silence become part of the legend surrounding Matej Smolnik a.k.a. Vain, a young artist whose strange death in 1998 baffled pathologists.
2004 - Sold out unplugged performance at Cankarjev Dom, Ljubljana.
2004 - The duet scores Lulubaj, a play produced by the Mladinsko Theatre.
2004 - Sobotna priloga (the weekly supplement of the biggest Slovene daily, Delo) lists Vain - A Tribute To A Ghost as one of the three best Slovene releases of 2004.
2005 - The duet scores Veronika decides…, a contemporary dance performance directed by Gagik Ismailian. The music appears on Veronika, a CD released by The Slovene National Theatre Opera and Ballet Ljubljana.
2005 - The duet joins Contribe, a German booking and promotion agency.
2005 - German tour with Diary Of Dreams.
2006 - the duet composes and produces Volk, Laibach’s 12th album.
- The story continues on the band’s website -
Silence today:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrLSm9Toso4
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dTxOPkC8as