Music / Leftfield / experimental
Preview: Mario Batkovic, Cafe Kino
You don’t often see the words ‘Bosnian accordion virtuoso’ on our music pages, but it seems we’ve been missing a trick.
Mario Batkovic – who makes his Bristol debut at Kino on Good Friday – is the latest signing to Invada Records, the excellent Bristol label run by Geoff Barrow and Paul Horlick. Mario’s approach to the accordion is both experimental and highly physical, creating an armoury of effects from scratches and clicks to feedback and synth-like drones.
Although he grew up in Bosnia, Mario Batkovic is now based in Switzerland. His Bristol connection came through Joe Volk, the former frontman of Gonga and Crippled Black Phoenix, who relocated to Bern to make beautifully atmospheric solo records under his own name. Joe introduced Mario to Geoff Barrow, resulting in both the Invada deal and the chance to support Beak> on their recent UK tour.
Mario’s debut solo album will be out in the autumn. Meanwhile, there’s a chance to catch what Swiss newspaper Der Bund called his “beautiful madness” at one of Bristol’s loveliest small venues.
Martio Batkovic plays Cafe Kino on Friday, March 25. Doors at 9pm.
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