Begnagrad -

Begnagrad was a Yugoslav avant-garde/trad band from Ljubljana, located in modern-day Slovenia. In 1982, the band released a self-titled album on ZKP RTVLJ that was reissued in 1990 as Konzert for a Broken Dance. Material for a proposed earlier album, recorded in 1977, was finally issued as Tastare (Theoldwones) in 1992.

Members: Bratko Bibič (accordion, vocals), Bogo Pecnikar (clarinet), Igor Musevic (drums, 1975-78), Vlado Spindler (bass, 1975-78), Nino de Gleria (bass, 1981-83), Ales Rendla (drums, violin, 1981-83), Boris Romih (guitar, 1981-83)

Background

Begnagrad formed in Ljubljana in 1975 with accordionist Bratko Bibič, clarinetist Bogo Pečnikar, bassist Vlado Špindler, and drummer Igor Muševič. The members drew the name from wordplay around Bežigrad, a Ljubljana district tied to their rehearsal route. Špindler entered the group after more than 700 prior performances.

Begnagrad first worked inside Ljubljana’s student and alternative circuit, where Radio Študent and faculty playback sessions connected the group with early listeners. Stane Sušnik heard the band through Radio Študent and helped bring it to RTV Ljubljana’s Alternative Days of Slovenian Music. The group played student halls and Kino Sloga in Ljubljana. Regional dates took the first lineup to Subotica, Novi Sad, and Belgrade. Singer-songwriter Andrej Trobentar joined some first-period shows.

Anđelko Maletić, a Radio Novi Sad editor and Subotica festival organizer, became an early advocate after the Subotica festival. Maletić arranged a 1977 Radio Novi Sad studio week, and Begnagrad cut album-length material with him producing. The tapes remained in his archive while the first lineup wound down. Špindler entered Yugoslav army service in 1978, and Begnagrad suspended activity.

Bibič and Pečnikar reactivated Begnagrad in 1981 with bassist Nino de Gleria, multi-instrumentalist Aleš Rendla (drums, violin), and multi-instrumentalist Boris Romih (guitar, percussion). Drummer Zoran Kanduč replaced Rendla during Rendla’s army service. Guitarist Igor Leonardi joined near the end of the second lineup. The second lineup entered Studio Top Ten in Ljubljana in May 1982 with producer Neven Smolčič and engineer Dare Novak to cut the self-titled LP for ZKP RTV Ljubljana.

Begnagrad

Begnagrad released their self-titled album in 1982 on ZKP RTLJ.

The album presents asymmetric Alpine/Balkan dance forms with clarinet–accordion counterlines, whistled breaks, cabaret vocal insertions, and electric-bass figures. The lineup places accordionist, melodica player, pianist, and vocalist Bratko Bibič beside clarinetist, ocarina player, whistler, and vocalist Bogo Pečnikar, bassist and mandolinist Nino de Gleria, drummer and violinist Aleš Rendla, and guitarist and percussionist Boris Romih. Composer credits assign five titles to Bibič and two titles to De Gleria.

“Pjan ska” reels through a compound folk-dance pulse, sidesteps the expected tune, and breaks into staccato runs, slurred tavern voices, and a bright clarinet close. “Romantična” slows over a low drone, pivots through theatrical pace shifts, and ends with freer clarinet phrases above a grounded accordion figure. “Bože (Če Bo)” opens on a plain folk figure, then splinters into throaty saxophone cries, frantic bowing, gasped mouth sounds, and a late violin line. “Cosa Nostra (Waltz)” parades through a trad waltz theme, strips the middle to small gestures, and returns through a firmer rock-weighted bass push before the jaw-harp finish.

“Narodna i kmetska” skitters over ticking compound accents and hard-edged percussion patterns. “Coc’N Rolla (Ljubljana ponoči)” lunges into electric guitar, throws clarinet phrases against chordal accordion vamps, and settles into a broader horn-and-reed passage before the closing accent run. “Žvižgovska Urška” brightens the set with a rural whistle-led theme and springy low-end motion. “Joj Di Di Joj” compresses voice, mouth sound, and clarinet into a brief comic fragment. “Tazadnatanove” starts from a jazz-like theme, pushes saxophone and electric bass to the front, and thickens with accordion, echo effects, and heavier ensemble drive.

A1. “Pjan ska” [The Drinking One] (3:16) – Bibič
A2. “Romantična” [The Romantic One] (4:26) – Bibič
A3. “Bože (Če Bo)” [All Will Be Well (Maybe)] (4:11) – Bibič
A4. “Cosa Nostra (Waltz)” (7:08) – Bibič

B1. “Narodna i kmetska” [Knecht Ska] (5:48) – Bibič
B2. “Coc’N Rolla (Ljubljana ponoči)” [Coc’N Rolla (Ljubljana by Night)] (6:03) – De Gleria
B3. “Žvižgovska Urška” [Whistling Urška] (6:23) – De Gleria

Begnagrad recorded the album in May 1982 at Top Ten Studio in Ljubljana. Begnagrad and Neven Smolčič produced the sessions with engineer Dare Novak.

Original LP credits identify Peter Kosmač as photographer; the cover image places a brass instrument across a hillside field beneath red title lettering.

AYYA reissued the album in 1990 as Konzert for a Broken Dance with alternate titles and the added session piece “Tazadnatanova” (8:26). The reissue switched the first two titles and divided “Žvižgovska Urška” into “Žvižgovska” and “Joj Di Di Joj.” Konzert trims two tracks: “Cocn Rolla” (5:31) and “Žvižgovska” (5:00).

Tastare (Theoldwones)

Begnagrad issued Tastare (Theoldwones), an archival collection, in 1992 on Bess-Pro Market.

The collection presents 1976–77 material from Radio Novi Sad, Radio Študent in Ljubljana, and cinema Sloga in Ljubljana. The archival lineup places accordionist Bratko Bibič beside clarinetist Bogo Pečnikar, bassist Vlatko Špindler, and drummer Igor Muševič. Composer credits assign the fourteen titles to Bibič, Pečnikar, Muševič, and Špindler.

“Begnagrad” darts through a clipped folk-dance figure and loosened swing phrasing. “Kranjskagorablues Nazaj” stomps through polka-weighted accents and compact ensemble turns. “Rismih Boro” folds a Serbian kolo quotation into its short anagrammatic fragment. “Uspavanka za Juvana” settles into an elastic beat and coils clarinet through an echo-tinged solo.

“Jara Kača” sprawls through long-form improvisation, with bass and drum solos set inside the group’s fractured dance pulse. “Unisolo D.O.O.” threads a solo reed line through homemade tape echo, leaving each phrase with a rough mechanical tail. “Tazadna Tanova” careens from a jazz-like theme into echo-treated accordion, heavier accents, and folk-dance turns.

1. “Begnagrad” [Escape to the Castle] (4:06)
2. “Kranjskagorablues Nazaj” [Kranjska Gora Blues Back] (2:20)
3. “Ta Leva (Pancer Valzer)” [The Left One (Ski-Boot Waltz)] (2:33)
4. “Rismih Boro” [Boris Romih] (1:24)
5. “Tadolga” [The Long One] (11:17)
6. “Tolmun” [Deep Pool] (4:09)
7. “Uspavanka za Juvana” [Lullaby for Juvan] (7:52)
8. “Tanova” [The New One] (2:48)
9. “Begn Agrad” [Escape to the Castle] (1:50)
10. “Jara Kača” [Spring Snake] (10:40)
11. “Zimska” [Winter One] (3:00)
12. “Unisolo D.O.O.” [Unisolo Ltd.] (3:57)
13. “Tinetova (Pikca)” [Tine’s (Little Dot)] (0:24)
14. “Tazadna Tanova” [The Last New One] (9:10)

Tracks 1–11 came from Radio Novi Sad recordings with producer Anđelko Maletić and engineer Katalin Farkaš. Additional 1976 material came from Radio Študent in Ljubljana. The release credits engineers Boris Romih and Tine Žitko for “Unisolo D.O.O.” and “Tinetova (Pikca).” The closing “Tazadna Tanova” came from a 1977 Ljubljana cinema Sloga performance. Peter Gruden mastered the Radio Novi Sad sequence, and Janek Križaj mastered the remaining material.

Tastare (Theoldwones) appeared in a cover designed by Ernest Bevc and Jurij Dobrila with photography by Aleksander Sedlak.

Discography: