Artist
Sašo Vollmaier is a Slovenian composer, pianist, performer, and pedagogue. He collaborates with Panteatre and the Roy Hart International Art Centre in Paris, as well as the Atelier of Performing Arts in Düsseldorf. Since 2014, he has been teaching at the Academy of Arts in Arezzo, Italy. In recent years, Vollmaier has focused on solo projects, including Vollmaier – Kind of Laibach, Vollmaier:Nietzsche, and Vollmaier:Ligeti (How to Explain Ligeti to a Dead Audience). He seeks his expression in darker sonic landscapes, bridging the classical and improvisational realms – a sonic quality recognised by Yamaha, which named him a Yamaha Artist in April 2023. In recent years, Vollmaier has also been active in performance and theatre, composing music for dance and theatrical productions. Sašo Vollmaier is a Yamaha Artist. The concert is supported by Yamaha Slovenia in cooperation with the Japan Piano Centre Ljubljana.
Artist
Internationally acclaimed violinist Volodja Balžalorsky performs as a soloist and chamber musician both at home and abroad. He regularly appears in venues around Europe and USA, and is regular guest of several international festivals and concert series. He is member of the Amael Piano Trio, works with many notable artists and ensembles and regularly performs in a duo with distinguished Slovenian pianist Hinko Haas. Volodja Balžalorsky’s educational work as a violin teacher importantly complements his artistic career.
Artist
Keeping alive the tradition of the musical groups from Slovenian Istria, Vruja have greatly popularized and enhanced appreciation of the musical heritage of Istria over the last decades. The group's name, which derives from the Istrian dialect, translates as source, spring. The group is a fortuitous collective of both experienced artists, who are considered the pioneers in folk music revival, and up-and-coming musicians who grew up in an environment that fosters tradition.
Artist
Death metal group Vulvathrone from Murska Sobota has replaced many memberssince its creation. The band in the form of a quartet has performed with bands such as Dying Fetus, Napalm Death, Nile, Incantation, Lividity, Abrasive, Sanatorium and others. They have performed at festivals, the likes of Metaldays, Metalfest, Austria, Rockmarathon Hungary, among others.
Festival
The Vurberk Folk-pop Music Festival, whose history goes back over 25 years, takes place on the third Saturday of June in the courtyard of the Vurberk Castle.
Artist
The four-piece band Prismojeni profesorji bluesa (Wacky Blues Professors) play a high-powered version of blues that tends to deviate into psychedelic rock or pulsating funk. The band’s specialty is the inclusion of distorted harmonica, whose sound elevates the already high-spirited and forceful music and transports the audiences into raptures of joy. When played live, the duration of a composition, and consequently a gig, usually depends on the band’s mood. Although a piece has a certain predetermined running time, its duration will be doubled and even tripled in size, provided the vibes are good, but never curtailed. While mostly performing self-penned music, the band’s playlist occasionally includes covers of foreign artists – their role models –, most notably the legendary rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix and blues giants Freddie King and Muddy Waters.
Artist
Slovenian techno dons and modular enthusiasts Lifecutter and Shekuza join forces on a new project dedicated to the exploration of industrial, techno and dark ambient sonics. The former left a mark on the local scene with his “power electronics meet blackened techno” approach, while the latter secured his position as underground mainstay with two outstanding modular techno releases for the Ljubljana netlabel Kamizdat. Warhorse is a love child of their shared passion for tissue-mutilating frequencies and noisy techno—an ode to punchy and punishing dance music that will please fans of names like Perc, Scalameriya, Surgeon and Blawan.
Artist
An electronic project by producers, DJs & queer activists Nina Hudej (2018 SHAPE artist) & NinaBelle, which explores forward-thinking club and experimental electronic music.
Venue
The concept of the Wetrinsky Club was formulated by a social initiative called Peron Cooperative with the intention of creating a unique club venue with a highly vibrant cultural repertoire and establishing a new cultural scene. The centrally-located Wetrinsky Club incorporates and presents progressive, young end evolving first-rate culture, providing a platform and public visibility to its creators whilst also featuring a variegated catering service. Location: Maribor
Artist
Wild Strings is a collaborative music project between Slovenian ethno guitarist Aleksander Kuzmić, Slovak jazz violinist Petra Onderufová and French classical cellist Toby Kuhn. Taking inspiration from Balkan and Celtic traditions, jazz and classical music, and of course flamenco, the trio has created an informed and energetic blend of styles that intrigues and delights audiences everywhere. They have performed around Europe and also as far as Iran and Uzbekistan. The trio feels at home both in concert halls, jazz clubs and on festival stages. Their debut “Lost Weekend” was released in 2016. It was followed by their sophomore album “Bendjistan” in 2019.