Jure Tori (Slovenia) — Charismatic ear candy
Jure Tori's music carries the scent of wine and earth, the spirit of the Pannonian Plain, of the Mediterranean, the Alps and the Balkans. The Slovenian's performance venues are also diverse: underground coal mines or the highest mountain peaks, small villages as well as the world's big stages.
No contradiction when the intimacy of his solo accordion touches the soul, his powerful folk-punk band Orlek rocks the crowd, or his band Tori Tango delights with subtle compositions of a Slovenian tango.
Among other band activities, Jure's works can be heard in animation, feature films and documentaries and are also part of the curriculum for accordion students.
Zabou Guérin (France) Colorful - Lively - Virtuosic
The French Zabou Guérin was already carried away by the sound of the accordion in the womb and was born, so to speak, an accordionist.
Whether as a soloist or in bands, whether classical, tango, song accompaniment, traditional music from different countries, swing waltz ... Zabou plays what she likes. She arranges, she transforms, she creates and when she has a little free time, she teaches.
The fact that she grew up with central French dance music can be experienced especially (and best dancing) with her duo Michaud/ Guérin.
Zabou is also on the road with her fado-pop band Madragoa, a musical juggling show and a clown show.
Aïcha Touré (Gabon) — A voice, an accordion and life
Aïcha Touré comes from the Central African country of Gabon and lives in Paris. The multicultural artist has a rich and formative career: tap dancing, acrobatics, equestrian and dance theater, poetry, music, singing ...
Today she dedicates herself to chanson and accompanies herself on the accordion. With her music, Aïcha creates a wonderful combination of African, Latin American and French influences - her songs tell of life in the raw, with tenderness, nostalgia, humor and realism.
In addition to her work as a singer/accordionist, she works in numerous dance, circus and street theater groups, as well as in various jazz formations.
Benjamin Macke (France) — Vivacious with hand and foot
Benjamin Macke comes from northern France. He first learned classical drums and jazz percussion before discovering the diatonic accordion for himself and becoming a professional musician in his early 20s.
Benjamin also plays an almost forgotten instrument, the Basse aux Pieds (foot bass) - a Belgian accordion invention.
His work is varied - from traditional Flemish dance music and Bal Folk, his Pocket Cinema concerts, compositions for theater and silent films and wide-ranging teaching activities, to an extraordinary music project together with his wife: the Macke-Bornauw Duo with Baroque music for accordion and bagpipes.
Servais Haanen (Netherlands) — The Master of Fine Sounds
As a musical maverick, Servais Haanen is the mastermind and organizer of the Akkordeonale. The master of fine sounds composes and arranges the ensemble pieces of the festival and leads through the program. His introductions to each composition and each musician, peppered with dry-as-a-bone humor, have already acquired cult status, famous for their wit and wisdom.
For a long time, Servais has been working on pushing the boundaries of the accordion and incorporating elements of new music, minimal structures and other unusual and exceptional sounds. Thanks to his multifaceted work with bands (including Appellation Contrôlée, Quatro Ventos, KlangWeltenFestival) and his activity as a composer for music theater productions and documentary film, Servais brings a wide variety of musical material into play.
Besides the Akkordeonale and his teaching activities for accordion, ensemble work with unusual to impossible instrumentation is one of his dearest occupations.
Accompanying musicians
Birgit Bornauw (Belgium), French baroque bagpipe/ violin
Birgit Bornauw comes from Flemish Brabant in Belgium.
Initially trained on classical violin, she encountered the bagpipes at the age of 15.
After a passionate search for traces across the various traditional European musical styles, Birgit perfected her playing style, earned her master's degree in Musette de Cour (Baroque bagpipe) and Cornemuse, and is a sought-after lecturer throughout Europe. She has played with Frans Brüggen's 18th century orchestra, the Belgian Bagpipe Groove Experience and can be heard today in the exceptional baroque duo Macke-Bornauw with her husband.
Johanna Stein (Germany), Cello
Multi-stylistic cellist and singer Johanna Stein from Cologne feels at home on every stage, in every orchestration and in every studio - be it classical music, jazz, rock, pop, fusion or world music – no style is foreign to her.
Besides her soloshows, she plays in the avant-garde string quartet "Badz", the Chamber-Pop duo "SteinMays", the quinteto non-tipico "Tango de Minas" and the big band "Été Large", among others. Known to many from past years, once again Johanna will enrich the Akkordeonale with her passion for the unconventional use of the cello.