Biography
Slovenian accordionist Bratko Bibič anchored Begnagrad, an early ensemble that fused Eastern European folk sources with avant-prog throughout the seventies and eighties. In the late eighties he next entered the transatlantic, Rock in Opposition-leaning project Nimal assembled by Swiss multi-instrumentalist Momo Rossel, then became a member of Slovenian/American Guy Klucevsek’s international Accordion Tribe during the nineties. Stepping outside these collective settings, Bibič formed his own group, the Madleys, which began in 1995 as a trio with Begnagrad clarinetist/saxophonist Bogo Pečnikar and violinist/violist Matjaž Sekne. The Swiss imprint LabelUsineS issued his debut solo album that year, Bratko Bibič & the Madleys of Bridko Bebič, featuring both Pečnikar and Sekne, whom he invited to complete a working trio for live appearances. On disc and onstage the unit pursued an avant-gardist reading of Eastern European folk, pairing graceful melodies with irregular rhythms, improvisational passages, and a consistently off-kilter tone.
Bibič devoted substantial attention to the Accordion Tribe in the late nineties, leaving the Madleys largely dormant until the turn of the millennium, when the project grew from trio to quintet through the addition of two further former Begnagrad colleagues, bassist Nino De Gleria and drummer/percussionist Aleš Rendla. At Eastern European venues this expanded Bratko Bibič & the Madleys presented a Bibič-composed score to accompany screenings of Na Domačem Vrtu (In the Family Garden), the accordionist’s collage of archival footage from the Slovenian Cinamatheque Film Archive Department. The quintet laid down the score at Ljubljana’s Fabrika 13 studio across 2000 and 2001; Slovenska Kinoteka released the resulting Na Domačem Vrtu (In the Family Garden) album—containing two live tracks as well—in 2002.
Subsequent years found Bibič continuing with the Accordion Tribe and assorted collaborations, yet the Madleys resurfaced in an enlarged configuration for a major undertaking. They joined forces with Swiss quintet Rämschfädra (Sonja Füchslin on piano and violin, Patrizia Pacozzi on violin, Livia Bergamin on flute and piccolo, Thomas Estermann on double bass and acoustic guitar, and Roberto Imfeld on accordion) plus Canadian-born multi-instrumentalist Shirley Anne Hofmann, already a contributor to Bratko Bibič & the Madleys of Bridko Bebič, to deliver Bibič’s repertoire at the Alpentöne international music festival in August 2007. Violinist/violist Sekne returned for the occasion, now alongside newcomers Vasko Atanasovski on saxophone and flute, Boštjan Gombač on clarinet and flute, and Marjan Stanič on drums and percussion. The resulting eleven-piece ensemble attacked the breadth of Bibič’s demanding yet affable music with force; their vigorous blend of skewed Euro-folk, precisely etched chamber textures, robust swinging jazz, lyrical and dramatic compositional turns, and avant-gardist exploration was captured on Live at Alpentöne, issued by the Bergtöne label in 2009.
In December 2011 Bratko Bibič & the Madleys reappeared onstage at Ljubljana’s Kino Šiška Center for Urban Culture to present new Bibič compositions written over the preceding two years. Slovenian trombonist Uroš Polanc entered as the newest regular member alongside the leader, Sekne, Atanasovski, and Gombač, while several guests—including Vienna-based accordionist/vocalist Otto Lechner, like Bibič a former Accordion Tribe participant—enlarged the ensemble to a scale comparable with that heard on Live at Alpentöne. Material from the Kino Šiška concert surfaced on the album Kabinet čudes Brutka Bimbiča (aka Cabinet of Wonders of Brutko Bim-bitch), released by the Slovenian Klopotec label in 2013. The album also incorporated largely improvised selections drawn from a 2010 Madleys club date, inspired by Dante’s The Divine Comedy and incorporating sampling together with nonsensical vocals.
Bibič devoted substantial attention to the Accordion Tribe in the late nineties, leaving the Madleys largely dormant until the turn of the millennium, when the project grew from trio to quintet through the addition of two further former Begnagrad colleagues, bassist Nino De Gleria and drummer/percussionist Aleš Rendla. At Eastern European venues this expanded Bratko Bibič & the Madleys presented a Bibič-composed score to accompany screenings of Na Domačem Vrtu (In the Family Garden), the accordionist’s collage of archival footage from the Slovenian Cinamatheque Film Archive Department. The quintet laid down the score at Ljubljana’s Fabrika 13 studio across 2000 and 2001; Slovenska Kinoteka released the resulting Na Domačem Vrtu (In the Family Garden) album—containing two live tracks as well—in 2002.
Subsequent years found Bibič continuing with the Accordion Tribe and assorted collaborations, yet the Madleys resurfaced in an enlarged configuration for a major undertaking. They joined forces with Swiss quintet Rämschfädra (Sonja Füchslin on piano and violin, Patrizia Pacozzi on violin, Livia Bergamin on flute and piccolo, Thomas Estermann on double bass and acoustic guitar, and Roberto Imfeld on accordion) plus Canadian-born multi-instrumentalist Shirley Anne Hofmann, already a contributor to Bratko Bibič & the Madleys of Bridko Bebič, to deliver Bibič’s repertoire at the Alpentöne international music festival in August 2007. Violinist/violist Sekne returned for the occasion, now alongside newcomers Vasko Atanasovski on saxophone and flute, Boštjan Gombač on clarinet and flute, and Marjan Stanič on drums and percussion. The resulting eleven-piece ensemble attacked the breadth of Bibič’s demanding yet affable music with force; their vigorous blend of skewed Euro-folk, precisely etched chamber textures, robust swinging jazz, lyrical and dramatic compositional turns, and avant-gardist exploration was captured on Live at Alpentöne, issued by the Bergtöne label in 2009.
In December 2011 Bratko Bibič & the Madleys reappeared onstage at Ljubljana’s Kino Šiška Center for Urban Culture to present new Bibič compositions written over the preceding two years. Slovenian trombonist Uroš Polanc entered as the newest regular member alongside the leader, Sekne, Atanasovski, and Gombač, while several guests—including Vienna-based accordionist/vocalist Otto Lechner, like Bibič a former Accordion Tribe participant—enlarged the ensemble to a scale comparable with that heard on Live at Alpentöne. Material from the Kino Šiška concert surfaced on the album Kabinet čudes Brutka Bimbiča (aka Cabinet of Wonders of Brutko Bim-bitch), released by the Slovenian Klopotec label in 2013. The album also incorporated largely improvised selections drawn from a 2010 Madleys club date, inspired by Dante’s The Divine Comedy and incorporating sampling together with nonsensical vocals.
Albums
Live
