Magnifico, a musician defining our time
Photo: Tomo Brejc
Magnifico has left a strong mark on Slovenian culture over the past three decades. The enfant terrible of the Slovenian music scene began his creative journey with 24,000 kisses, introduced us to Silvija and Emanuelle, drove leisurely from Ljubljana to Portorož, and in the process broke many taboos and stereotypes.
He gave a sense of pride to children of immigrants from other former Yugoslav republics, self-esteem to gays, lesbians and other sexual minorities and legitimacy to members of other marginalized social groups. He taught us the March on the Drina river and gave us Only love. When he sang Hir aj kam hir aj go, Export/Import happened to him, followed by the charlatan hymns Tivoli and Cici Mici.
During his career, he released eight original albums and three soundtrack albums, and performed more than 1,000 concerts at home and abroad. His songs are being played in 53 countries around the world, and in some of them they have surpassed the fame of the author himself. The song Pukni zoro developed an almost mythical reputation in Serbia, where many people still claim that it is an old folk song and cannot believe that it was written by a musician from Ljubljana in the 21st century.
With his first albums Od srca do srca (1993), Gdo je čefur (1996) and Sexy Boy (1999), Magnifico established himself as an unorthodox, versatile composer and musician not only in Slovenia, but in the wider area of former Yugoslavia.
In 2002, he won the national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest as an author of the song Samo ljubezen (Only love) performed by Slovenian drag act trio Sestre, and his albums Export/Import (2003) featuring the dance hit Hir aj kam, hir aj go, Magnification (2010) and Charlatan de Balkan (2016) significantly contributed to his outreach to an international audience.
In December 2017, he sold out the Stožice Arena for the first time, and then repeated it three more times. In 2020, he set a record for online ticket sales for his traditional Christmas concert. In 2024, on the 30th anniversary of his career, he organized an outstanding concert in Stanežiče in Ljubljana, which attracted as many as 23,000 visitors, making it one of the biggest musical performances in Slovenia to date.
Magnifico is a musician whose music draws a world without borders, and as a result, his live performances provide a unique experience for the audience. And he doesn’t show any signs of winding down any time soon. At present he is finalizing his newest, ninth studio album, in his Tivoli studio. It will be released shortly under the title Alpe Adria.