Tinkara Kovač
Tinkara Kovač (pron. "kovach") was born on September 3rd 1978 in Koper, Slovenia.
She started singing aged four, and has been actively involved in music since the age of seven (classical flute, Koper Music School first, then finished her studies and got her diploma in a record breaking period of just three years at the Giuseppe Tartini Conservatory of Trieste, Italy).
Attended high school (Liceo Linguistico France Preseren) in Trieste, Italy, as well, and took studies in six languages: Slovene, Italian, English, German, Latin and Russian. She is currently a part-time student at the Philosophy and Literary Studies faculty of Ljubljana's University (studying English and Italian translation).
Her first "real" singing experience goes back to various more or less legendary children's music festivals and competitions (Pomlad na Obali, Djeca pjevaju hitove, Veseli Tobogan) of former Yugoslavia. Her talent was first noticed by the late maestro Bojan Adamič, a legend of Slovene contemporary music, who wrote a song exclusively for her and thus begun a several years long collaboration with the then child-wonder.
She subsequently studied flute, jazz harmony, vocal technique and contemporary composing by taking various courses and stages, two of which also in Italy, one held and hosted by world famous flutist Raymond Guiot, the other by jazz guitarist Tommaso Lama, with whom she briefly performed as a duo.
After a couple of years cutting her teeth with various local cover bands, in 1997 she started to work with two of the most important Slovene songwriters (Danilo Kocjančič and Drago Mislej-Mef, who often work together in a star hit-making partnership) and landed her first record deal with a major label, ZKP records, owned by Slovene national RTV. Her first album, Ne odhaja poletje (Summer's Not Leaving) immediately goes gold.
She begins to perform live with a rocking backing band whose line-up of studio musicians and friends alike she periodically changes and varies. 1998 brings Tinkara two Zlati petelin awards (the Slovene version of the Grammies), as Best Debut and Best Pop-Rock Artist, plus a collaboration as guest star vocalist in the Terra Mystica project, that releases an album named Carsica (strung between etno, new age, world music, cool jazz and rock sounds), awarded with a further two Zlati petelin awards.
Her second album, Košček neba (A Piece of Sky) is released in 1999 and goes both gold and platinum on the wings of no less than six radio hit singles, amongst which Od zvezd pijan, a remarkable cover of The Corrs' Only When I Sleep.
This album marks her growing role as co-writer of her lyrics and music, plus an even more specific blend of classic /rock flute playing and trendy production and sound.
One of the singles and its’ computer graphics sci-fi video, Lahheeiyeee, is picked by London's MP3 TV NOW as Best Video and Best Song in that period, and is therefore featured on the compilation album of MP3.com.
More concerts (cca. 40) and more band line-up changes, and in the meantime a memorable swoop of four Zlati petelin awards that leaves all competitors gobsmacked: Best Album, Best Artist, Song of the Year for the single Ko bo prišel, and last but not least Best Produced Album.
In late 2000 Tinkara signs a new record deal with another major, Dallas Records (the Slovene subsidiary and licensee sister company of the EMI-Virgin Group) that releases her third album, Na robu kroga (On the Edge of the Circle) in March 2001, premiered with a gala concert event at the prestigious Cankarjev dom of Ljubljana (practically Slovenia's Royal Albert Hall). Five radio hit-singles, with Tinkara now co-writing quite a number of them, and just as many videos, and the album going gold is this year's balance. German television VOX comes to Slovenia to tape a 1 hr special feature show on the "Slovene phenomenon named Tinkara".
In 2001 Axis, the second and swan song album of the Terra Mystica project, is released, featuring Tinkara as guest star singer, flutist and co-writer, also guesting in some of the more important live shows in which the album is played live. With her own band, Tinkara plays some 60 concerts all over the country.
On April 16th 2002, invited by Cankarjev dom (despite its' being usually exclusive to classical music or major international music stars), Tinkara has the honour to perform there again, and "rock the (packed) house" once more, a rare pleasure shared by only two other Slovene pop-rock artists. This time, however, her live show and pyrotechnic live band are enhanced by an international guest star: Carlos Núñez, the Galician bagpipe, or rather Gaita, and flute virtuoso, former child prodigy and seventh member of the legendary Irish band The Chieftains, friend and musical collaborator of artists such as Jackson Browne, Sinead O'Connor, Ry Cooder, Dulce Pontes. Carlos responds enthusiastically to Tinkara's invitation to fly to Slovenia and perform live on stage with her and the band - and both audience and critics are jut as thrilled.
The fourth and latest album, O-Range, is released on Sunday March 30th 2003, preceded by the (now certified hit) single and video MED ZEMLJO IN ZRAKOM (Between Ground and Sky). Once again, the album is premiered in front of a full house on the very day of its' release at Ljubljana's Cankarjev dom. The now traditional and almost mythical live event and sophisticated show production is as usual greeted by the unconditional approval of Tinkara's ever-growing fan base and by the Slovene music press and media alike. This year's guest are songwriter legends Paul Millns, from the UK, and Massimo Bubola, from Italy (both having contributed a song to the new album), who bring the house down alongside Tinkara and her road-tested band.
On Saturday, May 24th 2003 Tinkara is the first EVER Slovene artist to top the first ever Slovene official chart to be featured on MTV, and to be played by MTV Europe in its' regular programming schedule, with the video for MED ZEMLJO IN ZRAKOM (international version: STUCK BETWEEN).
Invited by young UK director & videomaker Steven Grantley and with the help and collaboration of music (e.g. late sixties David Bowie album cover), fashion & publicity photographer Vernon Dewhurst, both thrilled by her music, Tinkara flies to the UK to shoot a videoclip for her second Slovene single from O-range, Še tam ne (international version: Reason Why). Shooting takes place at Vernon's Pixeleye Studios, in London, and on location in Glastonbury, on the mythical Tor Hill, that Arthurian legends identify with Avalon, the door to eternity, and where Merlin supposedly accompanied the dying King Arthur on his last journey.
The English version of this same song travels all the way to the ISC International Songwriting Competition in the USA, where a star-panel of experts (including music greats such as Pat Metheney, BB King, Rob Thomas of Matchbox 20, producers Nile Rodgers, Jimmy Bralower, Arif Mardin and other top ranking names of USA recording industry) ranks it 10th amongst over 11000 song entries, worldwide, in the highly competitive Pop/Top 40 category!
Reason Why is also released on the international compilation album "Megahit", in Turkey, where Tinkara triumphantly takes part in the TV music festival of the same title.
On 18th January 2004 Tinkara, Dallas Records and AKG Acoustics of Vienna, Austria (Tinkara is an AKG artist & endorser) organize an extremely successful and quite unique live music event - in fact, possibly a Guinness Book Of Records candidate!
Her band is joined for several songs, within an over two hour show, by a one-off ensemble of 32 young flutists (and fans), ages 9 to 29, from all over Slovenia, auditioned & selected amongst the hundreds of candidates applying after a massive press campaign for the event. The concert, named "O-range Jam" and recorded & videotaped for posterity (and soon to be released on DVD), is a huge success with the fans & critics alike, and the sound of 32 flutes playing in unisono or in three part harmony is unanimously deemed as indescribable.
KJER STE VI (KAJ TU DOGAJa?) (international version:
THE PLACE 2 B) is released as third single for Slovenia, with a video directed by legendary & eccentric big screen movie director Franci Slak. MTV Europe immediately picks up on it and secures a worldwide exclusive and premiere for the track - again, an absolute first for an artist from Slovenia.
The Place 2 B is also the title appropriately chosen for the fourth yearly megaconcert at Ljubljana's prestigious Cankarjev dom - and this time the "very special guest" is none other than Ian Anderson, of Jethro Tull, himself... On March 6th 2004 audience and media reporters enthusiastically witness a top level encounter between the undisputable king... and effectively the only princess of rock flute in the world - the circle is now complete... and it's colour is very definitely orange!
During late spring and summer 2004, following the exceptional chemistry and success of the collaboration with Ian Anderson, Tinkara is invited to join Jethro Tull on stage as special guest in Zagreb, Croatia (where the Tull surprise and honour her by learning & playing their version of The Place 2 B!), and again in Wiesen, Austria. Plus, Tinkara and Ian also perform several songs together at Salo' stadium, on the enchanting Garda Lake, in Italy, in one of the five shows of his tour with his "electric band" and the Regio Teatro di Parma symphonic orchestra. Each and every time, fans & critics find their "flute duels" blazingly incandescent.
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