Lojze Slak

Slak was born in 1932 in the village of Jordankal near Mirna Peč in the Dolenjska region. He was first introduced to the diatonic accordion in his childhood by his uncle. As a self-taught accordion player Slak started playing at weddings when he was only fifteen years old. He later said that „the weddings were his best music school“. In 1957 he won the radio competition “Pokaži, kaj znaš!” (Show us what you know) and became known to a wider public. In 1959 he founded, together with his brothers, his own ensemble the Slak Brothers. In the beginning of the 1960's they won the competition of new folk ensembles and won the hearts of the audience with the song Domači vasici (To my village).
In 1964 Lojze Slak teamed up with the singing quintet Fantje s Praprotna and they formed the Lojze Slak Ensemble, developing a distinct and original sound. They soon became one of the most popular and influential music groups in Slovenia. Slak recorded more than 30 records and the group received numerous awards in Slovenia and around the world. Slak also spurred huge enthusiasm for the diatonic accordion in the USA and Canada, where the instrument became very popular.
In 2004, the Lojze Slak Ensemble marked its 40th anniversary with a special concert in Ljubljana and the publication of an extensive monograph, entitled En godec nam gode (An entertainer plays for us) by Ivan Sivec.
Lojze Slak left an indelible mark on the Slovenian folk music scene. He was an undisputed master of the diatonic accordion, which he improved by adding the “Slak” button (a sixth button for bass) and a button for the right hand. He is also the author of many evergreen melodies, such as Čebelar (The Beekeeper), Po dekle (I'm going to find a Girlfriend), Spomini stare Ljubljana (Memories of Old Ljubljana), V dolini tihi (In the Quiet Valley), and many others.