An Interview with Klemen Breznikar, Founder of It’s Psychedelic Baby! Magazine, by Jiah Carron

It’s Psychedelic Baby! Magazine is an invaluable resource for old and new “out” music. Across hundreds of interviews, reviews and features, founder Klemen Breznikar has created a treasure trove for anyone looking to dig deeper. In 2011, Klemen published an interview with Dave Bixby that provided some background on Dave’s two albums.

After providing tons of coverage for great music at any cost, we were pleased that Klemen agreed to be on other side of the interview process. He answered a few questions about what it’s like to be a psych music curator and tastemaker.

HARBINGER STAFF: Tell me about your own musical journey. When did you first get interested in psychedelic music and how did It’s Psychedelic Baby! Magazine come into existence?
KLEMEN BREZNIKAR: I started listening to music at a very early age. At first, I was influenced by well-known groups such as Led Zeppelin, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, King Crimson, Free, etc. Eventually, I stumbled across Electric Music for the Mind and Body by Country Joe and the Fish. That particular album interested me so much that I started searching for similar sounds and that’s how it all started. At the time, I was probably 12 years old or something like that. There were a lot of blogs covering rare psychedelic rock music back then, and I decided to skip classes in high school and, instead, listen, read and browse through all those blogs. A bit later, I started my own blog where I shared some private press / super rare records that I stumbled across. From there on, I somehow got an idea to start something more specific. I’m always searching for bizarre, different, “out-there” stuff. You won’t get bored, ever.  

H: You’re based out of Slovenia. What’s the independent music scene like there?
K: The independent scene here was quite broad and interesting. Lately, there is less and less happening and then, sadly, the pandemic took over, so we don’t know what will be left or what will be resurrected. 

H: Tell me about how and when you first heard Dave Bixby. What were your impressions of his music?
K: Oh, that’s a sweet memory. I first heard about Ode to Quetzalcoatl many years ago while browsing through some blog dedicated to loner folk music. His music is truly a journey through good and bad, as life is. I regard it among my favourite albums, and I’ve heard a ton of music. The “real” stuff.

H: You’ve been publishing It’s Psychedelic Baby! Magazine for over a decade. What do you hope readers get out of your writing?
K: Yes, it’s been a decade. I can hardly imagine that it’s been so long. Over 1,500 interviews and countless reviews and articles, etc. I think we offer an in-depth view into the music world, not necessarily just underground music, but everything my contributors and I think is worth investigating. The magazine is covering a variety of genres. To quote our slogan: “A place where musicians can express themselves.” What’s different about It’s Psychedelic Baby! Magazine is the fact that I don’t edit out their stories. Let them share their part of the story. And there are so many adventures… a neverending story when it comes to music.

H: Do you have any upcoming projects or interviews for the magazine that you’re excited about?
K: There’s never an end to it. There’s a ton of new material coming in every day and I’m doing my best to cover that and, at the same time, I’m working on countless interviews with artists from the sixties and so on. So, basically, if you’re a music freak like I am, there’s no end to excitement. I think our readers will enjoy the upcoming interviews… which I won’t reveal, yet.