Slapovi

Slapovi was a Slovenian narodnozabavna ensemble, active from 1992 to 2007, known for mixing the folk-pop of the Slovenian countryside with modern pop. Its core were singer Jože Skubic, Martin Štibernik on vocals, button and piano accordion and keyboards, guitarist and singer Robert Kuhelj and bassist Gregor Štibernik.

It began in 1991, when Jože Skubic released the well-received album Prelepa dežela and needed a band to play the songs live. He joined Slapovi, a group that played both pop and folk music at dances, then with Jože Pečjak, Marko Mirtič and Robert Kuhelj; in May 1992 the brothers Martin and Gregor Štibernik came in. That year Slapovi won the new festival in Vurberk, and over the next seasons they kept collecting prizes, more and more from expert juries, while swapping folk costumes for elegant suits.

Their first record, Ne reci nikdar (1995), led the video chart of TV Slovenija's Po domače for nine weeks with its title song. It earned a diamond record and remains the best-selling narodnozabavna album in independent Slovenia. Po domače, malo drugače (1996) went gold, with the waltz "Da spočijem se na tvoji rami", over five minutes long and counted as the longest narodnozabavna song; on it, as on "Pomembno je nekoga imeti rad" before, they combined the button and the piano accordion. Zdaj je pravi čas (1997) was a pop album with the hit "Črnolaso dekle", and Poje spet harmonika (1999) brought them back to folk with a cover of a Bazar Fehtarji song.

From 2000 Martin Štibernik also played the button accordion and produced their records in his home studio. Rože z domačega vrta (2000) put them back at the top, and for their tenth anniversary Pravljica življenja (2002) gathered duets with Karmen Stavec, Alfi Nipič, Ivan Hudnik, Ansambel Franca Miheliča, Beneški fantje and Štajerskih 7. The live album Dol na Kreto followed in 2003.

The album Pop Slapovi (2004) brought "Ko mi rečeš, da me ljubiš", a duet with Nuša Derenda that became a radio favourite. Their last album, Najlepše je doma (2006), returned to narodnozabavna music. After August 2006 the members stopped playing for family and other reasons, and they said goodbye in 2007 in a special TV programme, Na zdravje!