Ansambel Taims

Ansambel Taims is a Slovenian folk-pop ensemble, a narodnozabavni ansambel, of the Slovene minority in Italy. It was founded in 1970 at Finžgarjev dom in Opčine (Opicina) above Trieste and had its seat there. Slovenian Wikipedia calls it a Slovenian ensemble from across the border, and that is why it is on Muzika-Balkan under Slovenia. It sings in Slovenian.

The idea came from Franc Pohajač, and the name was made from the first letters of the founders: Tone Trento on drums, Anica Škerlavaj on guitar, Igor Košuta on clarinet, Marko Lupinc on organ and Sergij Guštin on accordion. Over the years the ensemble was a quartet or a quintet with accordion and a male vocal group, a mixed duet or a trio. From 1986 it also called itself Fantje s Krasa, the Boys from the Karst, to be better known.

The band played more than a thousand times at village fêtes, dances, weddings and concerts, mostly for the Slovenes of the Trieste and Gorizia areas and Friuli, and in Slovenia. In 1987 it played the Alpine evening at Bled, released a cassette with RTV Ljubljana and recorded its own television show. Most of its songs were written by accordionist Janez Beličič and lyricist Saša Martelanc, about home music, the nature of the Karst and the heart.

It was most successful at the Števerjan folk festival: second prize for performance in 1971, first prize for performance, best melody and best minority ensemble in 1983, first prize for performance again in 1990, and in 2010 the prizes for the best melody and the best lyrics. It also did well at the Ptuj festival.

The ensemble played without a break until 1992, then only on special occasions, while some members played in Kvintet Adria. It was revived in 2009, recorded new songs and returned to Števerjan. In 2011 the RTV Slovenija label released the CD Štirikrat deset, with eight unreleased songs, for its fortieth anniversary, and on 10 April 2011 a big concert in Zgonik was named after its hit "Melodija zelenih dni". Its best-known songs also include "Čez gmajno", "Deset let", "Mala harmonika" and "Zbogom pomlad".