KUD RUSTIKA

	Slovensko

Diva-Dodola Folk Orchestra

Neo-Folk

	Diva-Dodola Folk Orchestra bases their music on Slavic tradition. They sing ancient songs from various regions of Russia and Slovenia, but their highly original interpretations often venture far beyond the conventional frontiers of traditional music. They are convinced that folk music must be connected to life and not condemned only to preserving folk traditions. Such music simply must exist for today's public! Musicians of the group have chosen their own way in folk music - very different from other Slovenian or Russian groups, but they made sure that the program would be pleasing to ear and to eye and attractive to listeners. All musicians have been active in various groups, but have found in the Diva-Dodola an ideal platform from which to venture along new musical paths.	Irina Gushchina / vocal Alexander Gushchin / violin Branko Rozman / accordions Uros Rakovec / guitar, mandolin Ziga Golob / double bass Boris Leiner / drums arrangements / IRA ROMA

Irina and Alexander Gushchin, graduates of a renowned Russian music school, come from Samara, a town by the Volga river in the central part of European Russia.
As a student of a music academy, Irina joined a group of enthusiasts who went from village to village to learn from old people ancient, nearly forgotten songs; she sang in a Russian quire. As a member of the ZHIGULI band, she performed in Finland, Bulgaria and Japan.
Fifteen years ago she began to perform with Alexander. They are known in Slovenia as IRA ROMA. Initially their music program consisted of traditional Russian songs, but lately they have been intensively involved in reviving Old Slavic folklore. In past ten years IRA ROMA had many concerts and performances in Slovenia and abroad.

Branko Rozman is an accordionist and a composer . He played a key role in the preparation of the Diva-Dodola project, being one of the leading members of the bend right up till 2004, when he left the bend in order to dedicate himself completely to composing music for the theatre.

Boris Leiner was born in 1957 in Chakovets, Croatia. He has played drums since the age 15. He has made a name for himself in the famous Croatian band called AZRA. Seeking a new musical direction, Boris Leiner formed the reggae group Natural Mystic in 1983. Later, in 1987, he became a member of the well-known folk-rock group called VJESTICE (“witches”). This is a good group of musicians, and it enabled him to realize his musical ideas.

In 1990 he moved to Berlin, where he joined Freedom Lovers (reggae) and Love Sister Hope. Since the mid-90s he has been active in various Croatian groups. In 2000 Boris published his own CD »BIORITAM« and joined the Diva-Dodola Folk Orchestra. He has a distinctive style, and is among the outstanding personalities of Croatian folk and rock scene.

Ziga Golob was born in 1973 in Kranj, Slovenia. He joined his first band at the age 10, and has been a member of at least one band at a time ever since. He studied double-bass at the Ljubljana Conservatory of Music and Ballet under Luciano Bole. Later he studied jazz under the bassist Paolo Cardoso. While at the Conservatory, he started to play with the Slovenian Radio Big Band. Zhiga divides his time between many different musical idioms, from jazz to rock and world music. He has worked with the most distinguished Slovenian and Croatian musicians of jazz, rock and folk scenes.

Uros Rakovec is a talented guitarist, who gained his first musical experience in rock and folk. He studied the guitar at Berklee College of Music in Boston and graduated from Landeskonservatorium in Klagenfurt (Austria). Uros Rakovec is known and respected in wide circles at home and abroad. He is a member of several groups (AMALA, Tamara Obrovac Transhistria Ensemble, ...); he plays jazz and rock as well as classical music. He composes music for theatre, television and films. He is a technically brilliant and inventive musician with a fine sense of improvisation.