Rudi Bučar

Rudi Bučar is a Slovenian singer-songwriter and folk rock musician who gives new life to the musical heritage of Istria. He was born on 9 February 1978 in Koper and grew up in Izola. He learned piano and guitar as a child, went to the secondary music school in Koper and then enrolled at the Giuseppe Tartini Conservatory in Trieste.

His musical path began in the band Spirits, which he founded with Gaber Radojevič; their debut album Zemljin krik came out in 1999. Under the influence of Luciano Kleva he became interested in the musical tradition of Istria and began collecting old Istrian folk tunes, which led to his solo albums Kapot (2004) and Kambiament (2007). In 2007 he sang backing vocals for Alenka Gotar at Eurovision in Helsinki, and in 2009 he formed the rock band Rudi & The Cool Vibes.

He became a festival regular in 2009, when he sang "Zadnji dan", written by Jan Plestenjak, in a duet with Alya at EMA and finished third. That year he also wrote "Samo ti" for Anika Horvat, named the best song at Slovenska popevka by the expert jury. Two years later he won the same grand prize as a performer with his own "Naj traja".

In 2011 he formed Istrabend with Janez Dovč and Goran Krmac; the album Rudi Bučar in Istrabend followed in 2012. 2014 was his biggest festival year: he won Melodije morja in sonca with Frčafele and "Sen znala jes", and at Slovenska popevka "Ti" took the grand prize for the best song and the award for the best interpretation. At EMA 2015 he came second with "Šaltinka", sung with Figoni.

Later albums are Konəc (2015), Šentiment (2017), Kambjale so čase (2020) and Šelestenja (2021). In 2025 he released Kamen Trn Brin, recorded at Radio Koper's studio and produced by Gaber Radojevič, with his own songs, traditional Istrian tunes and versions of songs by Marko Brecelj and Tomaž Pengov. He sings mostly in Slovenian and its Istrian dialect, with some Italian Istrian songs, and has recorded duets with Lea Sirk and Hamo.