Tokyo is not a place where one would expect to find a professional oom-pah band, and even less so one which would sing in Slovenian. The East Asian love for themed events and cultural learning, however, has ensured that this aspect of cultural heritage is also represented in Japan.
Among a variety of interesting things one can experience in Japan there is the Oktoberfest in Fukuoka and other places, with German beer, dirndl dresses and lederhosen (SLO: irharce) and of course with Edelweisskapelle and their impeccable interpretations of German, Austrian and Slovenian oom-pah and oom-pah-pah.
Edelweisskapelle, which consists of professional musicians, also performs in Europe. Their last tour on this side of the world was in 2017, which unfortunately didn’t include Slovenia.
In 2015 Fukuoka and Edelweisskapelle also hosted a German accordionist Alexander Koll and Slovenian diatonic accordion manufacturer Jernej Brilej. This is what they played together:
We certainly hope to see Edelweisskapelle in Slovenia someday. Planica would be nice, or perhaps the New Year celebrations in Ljubljana?
