Bard Introduces Itself (2014)

Arhiv Arhiv Last updated 11 June 2026

Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik

Location: Ljubljana / CUK KIno Šiška / Slovenia
Concert date: 15.01.2014
Attendance: 40
Ticket price: €0.00 (free entry)

Former Niet man Aleš Češnovar founded his own music project called Bard last year and pulled together enough material for a debut studio album. Self-titled, of course: »Bard«. The record officially came out in November 2013, and the man staged a first album presentation back in December 2013 at Popi’s Pub in Ljubljana. But with the event at CUK Kino Šiška, backed up by a proper press conference, both the work done so far and the new musical vision of Bard got a much more high-profile showcase.

In the first part, Bard played a five-song set: Umiranje in življenje, Zvenenje, Novo jutro, Siberija and Vzhod & Zahod. For the live presentation of the album »Bard«, though, Češnovar turned to a hard-hitting rock ‘n’ roll trio lineup. That made for a real little surprise for those of us who were expecting a re-interpretation of the material from the record »Bard«, which features extra arrangements contributed by great masters of their craft, like Vasko Atanasovski (woodwinds), Nino Mureškič (percussion) or Češnovar’s great guru from the Niet days Borut Činč, plus Dejan Lapanja (guitar), Jure Kremenšek (vocals, guitar) of Dandelion Children and Severa Gjurin (vocals).

So up on stage with Aleš (guitar, vocals) were just Yuri Baron on bass and Nataša Zamida on drums. Five songs, a good fifteen minutes of gig. Every song gained something from the rock trio treatment (quietly expected), as the three of them delivered them in a stripped-down, direct and noisier rock variety, with a (quietly expected) Niet-style resonance. Still, Bard’s music is full of sophisticated parts too. Aleš’s musical perception is a kind of reflection of Niet’s musical philosophy, with especially meaningful parallels to be drawn from what the albums »Trinajst« (2010) – RockLine review HERE and, after it, »Rokovnjači« (2012) – RockLine review HERE have to offer, which clearly signaled that Niet had arrived at a point of new artistic musical challenges.

The gig was followed by a press conference, hosted by the voice we all know, the friendly, velvety, caressing Valovec voice of Jure Longyka, with Aleš Češnovar and the great master of the Buldožer Hammond, Aleš’s musical tutor Borut Činč, sitting down next to Jure. As expected, it was a loudly amplified conversation among the trio, while those of us from the media, following the debate of this “musical symposium at the highest level”, politely smirked once again with our voices squeezed down between our shoulders, which has been something of a constant over the last few years. Let me distance myself from the sarcasm, though!

So on this day, in the middle of CUK Kino Šiška, Aleš and his crew of three musicians successfully and vividly presented the content of his new project Bard, along with his creative motives and his newfound creative inspiration, and announced the general march of the new creature onto the Slovenian music scene. The creature of a new musical epic of self-expression called »Bard«. Let’s wish him luck and plenty of joy and fun!