The Anti-Teleological Rock ComboPavle Jovanović (HR), Leo Beslać (HR), Luka Čapeta (HR), Marco Quarantotto (HR)

The Anti-Teleological Rock Combo (HR) is a contemporary chamber ensemble featuring four Zagreb-based instrumentalists who, although stemming from different backgrounds - classical, rock, jazz, experimental, and electronic music - share an equal interest in group improvisation and intergeneric approaches to musical composition: Luka Čapeta and Pavle Jovanović on electric guitars, Šimun Matišić on drums and assorted objects, and Leo Beslać on electric bass and flute, who himself prefers being referred to as the group’s ideologue rather than its principal composer or spiritus movens. Initially conceived as a vehicle for the development of a common improvisational language derived from predetermined pitch-class sets within the stylistic idiom of a guitar-oriented rock quartet, the group has since adopted a wider range of compositional and improvisational methods, seeking to expand the dynamic, textural, and timbral possibilities of what is generally perceived as a fairly limited and thoroughly explored musical unit. Graphic scores, gesticular notation, and game theory are just some of the devices utilised by the group to achieve and improve on its ever-evolving musical vocabulary. The group’s first LP, titled Motorcycle Rallies of the Third Kind, addresses this presumption in a way deliberately detached from any notion of either theory or discourse, preferring to remain firmly within the domain of aphoristic expression and plain silliness. It is due to be published through Kopaton Records in May 2024.

Pavle Jovanović (HR)

Pavle Jovanović (HR) graduated in jazz guitar from the conservatory in Klagenfurt, in the class of Professor Agostino Di Giorgio, in 2011. After his studies, he returned to Zagreb, where he collaborated with various ensembles and musicians such as the Croatian Radio and Television Jazz Orchestra, Cantus Ensemble, and the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb. At the same time, he founded his own projects Cromatik 5 and PEEK 3, in which he explores jazz composition and improvisation. In 2016, he co-founded the ensemble Abstract Construction Collective with Zoran Šćekić, whose expression is based on free improvisation and graphic compositions. They performed at the Music Biennale Zagreb 2017 alongside Chris Jarrett. In the summer of 2020, he completed his master's studies in jazz guitar in Vienna under the guidance of Professor Martin Koller. He works as an educator in the fields of classical, jazz, and experimental music.

Leo Beslać (HR)

Leo Beslać (HR) is a singer, multi-instrumentalist, and literary translator. Since 2017, he has been actively involved in the Croatian music scene, where he has collaborated on around forty projects as a member or external collaborator of groups of various genres and has released eight albums as a band leader or solo artist. He regularly releases original albums through the online platform Bandcamp. He lives and works in Zagreb.

Luka Čapeta (HR)

Luka Čapeta (HR) is a musician from Zagreb, Croatia. Since he started with the guitar as his main instrument, Luka has explored a variety of activities within the music medium, ranging from composition, production, performance, and education. Since his studies at the Vienna Music Institute, he has produced and composed music for contemporary dance, theatre, and film while playing in many different bands and projects from Zagreb and the surrounding region. Rooted in electronic, ambient, jazz, and classical music, Luka constantly evolves his language by experimenting with various traditional and world music, noise, and avant-garde aesthetics to create a unique approach to performance and sound.

Marco Quarantotto (HR)

Marco Quarantotto (HR) was born in Pula, Croatia. He earned his master's degree in jazz drums and percussion at the University of Music and Performing Arts - Jazz Institute in Graz, under the guidance of Professors Alex Deutsch, Manfred Josel, and Howard Curtis. In 2009, he moved to London where he continued his music career and established significant collaborations with a number of renowned artists. He has recorded over forty albums spanning jazz, rock, experimental, and world music genres. In 2019, he founded the trio ŪROK, releasing their debut album on Chant Records in New York. In 2020, he returned to Croatia and significantly intensified collaborations in the music and art scene: with various improvisers in the CRI Orchestra, with Nenad and Alen Sinkauz in the band Roj Osa, with artist Danijel Žeželj, with the Robert Mikuljan Quintet, Jazzistra Orchestra, and the Leon Brenko Trio.