Monsieur Doumani // Gugutke

Saturday, July 18, at 21:00
Star plac, Cerkno; in case of rain the venue will be covered
Tickets: 12 € presale / 15 € at the concert

Photo: Michalis Demetriades / promo

Monsieur Doumani (CY)
acclaimed Cypriot band with a psychedelic vision of traditional music

Antonis Antoniou (tzouras, voice, electronics)
Demetris Yiasemides (trombone, flute, voice)
Andys Skordis (guitar, electronics, voice)

Gugutke (SI)
cheerful versions of folk songs from Slovenia to Turkey and back

Nejc Poljanec (accordion, voice)
Tomaž Zevnik (clarinet, voice)
Benjamin Barbarič (12-string guitar, jumbus, violin, voice)
Gal Golob (double bass, voice)
Luka Poljanec (percussion, voice)

At the double concert, we will hear one foreign and one Slovenian band, which are tackling traditional music with modern approaches. In the case of Monsieur Doumani, it is a Cypriot tradition that the trio modernizes both by adding instruments that are not typical for folk music (trombone, electronics) and by electrifying the traditional tzouras (small bouzouki). The band has been active since 2012 and is considered one of the most awarded in recent years. The mix of traditional music, experiment and psychedelia has earned the band, among others, the German Critics’ Award and the Songlines magazine award for the best group. The Slovenian quintet Gugutke, using mostly acoustic instruments, plays a wide range of traditional songs, both Slovenian and Balkan (from Hungary to Serbia and Turkey). As they say, they “add their own touch to their own interpretations, while remaining faithful to the original source and traditional techniques for performing various dances and songs”. The band has performed at numerous prominent festivals, such as Czech Music Crossroads (Czech Republic), Kultursommer Wien (Austria), Pannonica Festival (Poland), Mittelfest (Italy), and Slovenian MENT, Druga godba and Godibodi festivals. In 2025, the acclaimed debut Gugutke was released by Celinka.