Bratko Bibic, Accordion

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Bratko Bibic is Ljubljana (Slovenia) based accordionist and composer, well known in some audiences and media internationally and less, if at all known in others. He has been involved in numerous solo performances, collaborations with other musicians and artists in various experimental projects and sharing festival stages, establishing member of the legendary "progressive rock" (rock in opposition) group Begnagrad ("One of pioneers of world music"), member of international groups Nimal (with Momo Rossel and Tom Cora) and Accordion Tribe (USA, A, SF, S), as well as a leader of The Madleys group (SLO).

He has published 11 LPs and CDs (counting together with two CD releases announced in 2002) in Switzerland, France, Germany and Slovenia.

Bratko Bibic is one of the very first composers and perfomers who, beginning in early 1970s, started to make music for and by accordion in a way which liberated this instrument from its notorious one-way identification with particular music genres such as traditional and especially so called "new composed" commercial folk music of mainly European origins.

On his uneven way from then to now, Bratko has consistently developed a strong individual music style charaterised by a combination of different methods of composing/performing music, inherentely connected with a mixture of musical genres, stretching from various traditional and urban folk music traditions (incl. Balkan, Mediterranean, Alpian, African...), classical and modern chamber music, jazz, rock... In sum, Bratko's music can be grasped in terms of a strong narrative melody lines, harmony-disharmony contrasts, often dramatical changes in a complex rhytmical movements of his music which challenges the audience at crossroads between (concert) listening and dancing.

Discography

1. LP Begnagrad, 1982
2. CD Begnagrad | "The Concert for a Broken Dance", AYAA Reims (France)
3. CD "Tastare/Theoldwones", 1992
4. LP Nimal | "Voix de surface" Rec Rec Zuerich (CH), 1990
5. CD Nimal | "Voix de surface", RecRec Zuerich (CH), 1990
6. CD Nimal | "Dis - Tanz", AYAA Reims (F), 1992
7. CD Solo | "Bratko Bibic & The Madleys, LabelUsines Neuchatel (CH), 1996
8. CD Live in KUD | "The Oldies and the Newies - Bratko Bibic & The Madleys", 2001
9. CD Bratko Bibic & The Madleys | "In the Family Garden", Nika Records, 2002
10. CD "Accordion Tribe" | Intuition Records (D), 1998
11. CD "Accordion Tribe II" | Intuition Records (D), 2002

Other CD releases

1. "Strictly Mundial 2000" (2000), NoEthno, on behalf of European Forum of World Wide Music Festivals, Belgium
2. "Tom Cora: Tribute" (1999), Tzadik Records, New York 1999
3. Orkester Ben Jeger, "Idraulica" (1999), LabelUSines LUS 004, Neuchatel 1999
4. Haikus Urbains, CD (1997), Cave12Disques C12DO2, Geneve 1997
5. Borghesia, CD "Pro Choice" (1995), FV 002CD, Ljubljana 1995
6. Martin Krpan, LP/CD "Mali Bogovi" (1988), ZKP RTV, Ljubljana 1988

Bratko Bibic & The Madleys cd "In the Family Garden"
In the very beginning of the year 2002 (February), Bratko Bibic and his group The Madleys will release their new CD album titled "In the Family Garden". The title of the CD refers to the silent movie which has been edited by Bratko himself from the Slovene film archive materials in the time period from 1999 (part 1) to 2001 (part 2) and has been produced by the Cinema Ear Program of the Slovene Cinematheque.

The Madleys are:
Bratko Bibic - accordion, vocal &
Bogo Pecnikar - clarinet, bariton sax (perc.)
Matjac Sekne - violin (piano)
Alec Rendla - drums, percussion
Nino De Gleria - el. bass guitar, acc. bass