BOBNARS UNITED - BU
is a group of seven young drummers from all over Slovenia. For the past
three years they have been expressing themselves through traditional
afro and afro-cuban rhythms, recently the desire for the new musical
experience has been driving them into combining tradition with contemporary
sounds and multimedia, adding further traditional instruments, dancing
and VJing. With over 100 appearances home and abroad the collective
has made quite a name in the region.
For more than three years the group Bobnars United or
BU for short have been trying to present their love
towards rhythm to various publics throughout whole of Slovenia as
well as abroad. At the beginning the eight members of the group started
with the traditional afro and afro-cuban rhythms, but soon they began
combining these traditions with rhythms of other continents. The fusion
of the traditional with the contemporary began, adding new media to
express themselves through body, image, space and electronics.
The west-african djembe is the basic drum in
the band, originaly followed with the bassline of three drums, the so
called sangba, dundun and kenkeni. The strong dance charge is reached
not only with the big african drums but also with more subtle sounds
of small percussions (shakers, bells, claves). Recent and most enchanting
contribution to the sound of the band are native instruments from other
continents, such as the darbuka, conga, frame drums as well as the australian
didgeridoo which adds a mystical vibration to it all. The more they
explored the world of percussion, the urge to express themselves in
a different and unique way became a challenge. In the recent two years
the music has been upgraded with dance expression and live VJing
thus comunicating with the audience on various levels of pictures in
motion and experience of movement.
The first cross-genre project of the Bobnars United collective was a
drum-drama "BUsingye" (2002): at festivals
throughout Slovenia they revived the old story of love, hate, war and
peace without verbal communication, through rhythm, movement and screaming
- Shakespeare as a drummer, if you dare. Body language, dancing, VJing
and audience animation in the event called "BUmBUs"
(2003-2004) present african rhythms and culture to the deaf and hard
of hearing. The daring idea was warmly welcomed by the target group
across Slovenia as well as abroad and a project is bound to address
further audiences with special needs. The odissey of the rhythm-raft
"BUdiseja 4002" echoed the intertwining
of four basic elements along the Ljubljanica river and mirrored them
through wild vibes, fervent dancing and magical VJing on the banks of
the architect Plecnik.
BU already played more then 100 gigs on various
stages and diverse occasions, among others at festivals (Rock Otocec,
Koupa fest, Cmakajne, LentFest, Zmaj ma mlade, Ana Desetnica, Sniff,
Jurjevanje, Cipkarija), in clubs all over Slovenia (K4, Ambasada Gavioli,
Rdeca Ostriga, Pekarna Maribor, Metelkova Ljubljana, MC Celje, KUD France
Prešeren), as well as charity events (Križanke). They also founded and
supported civil society initiatives such as Million Marijuana March,
Drums not Bombs, Gay Pride, NO Nato.
In spring 2004 they toured Belgrade, played all over Slovenia in summer,
in autumn they participated in the project "La
nuit de Ljubljana" by Merlijn Twaalfhoven, together with other
musicians from the Netherlands and Slovenia they created a sinergy of
different genres. BU wintered in the studio preparing for the 2005 season
that will offer fresh repertoire and new initiatives and even more audacious
rhythmythical journeys: basic pulse of black africa penetrates the veil
of mideastern mystery, triggering the southamerican avalanche of pleasure
and the untamed balkans stir up from melancholy. The collective brings
a different yet unforgettable experience of music and multimedia, pushing
the primeval to the ultimate.
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