Nikša Bratoš (born 17 August 1959) is a Croatian musician. He is known for having played in bands Bonton Baya, Valentino and Crvena jabuka. He has worked on songs for a variety of

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

n pop artists.

Biography

Bratoš was born in 1959, and graduated from the University of Electronics in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

in 1985. He played guitar and sang backup vocals in Bonton Baya and then moved Valentino before transitioning into Crvena jabuka. Bratoš first worked with Crvena jabuka as a producer. He was recruited to produce 1988's '' Sanjati'', and then every subsequent album. Bratoš was later recruited as a member of the band. He is known for having played many different instruments. Generally he played

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...

, but periodically

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

melodika The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usual ...

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

, and

woodwinds Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and re ...

and sometimes keyboards,

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

s and singing backup vocals. Bratoš was able to add horn arrangements as well as other string instruments which the band became known for in the 1990s. In 1990 Bratoš moved to Zagreb where he continued to be involved in music as a guitarist, producer, and keyboard player. In 1994 he became an official member of Crvena jabuka and since then has performed at all of their concerts and their albums. He was also responsible for the production and programming on each album. He arranged the song "Metak sa posvetom" for

Lepa Brena Lepa may refer to: People * Astrid Lepa (1924–2015), Estonian actress and director * Margus Lepa (born 1953), Estonian radio journalist and actor Places * Palma de Mallorca Airport, assigned the ICAO code LEPA * Lepa, Samoa village in Samoa ...

's 2011 album ''

Začarani krug ''Začarani krug'' is the sixteenth studio album by pop-folk singer Lepa Brena. It was released in presale on 20 July 2011 and for regular sale on 20 August 2011 through the record label Grand Production. The record was primarily produced by Že ...

''. In July 2014, Bratoš was appointed president of the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

-funded Croatian Music Union (HGU), succeeding

Husein Hasanefendić Husein Hasanefendić "Hus" (born 30 January 1954) is a Croatian and Yugoslav rock musician, songwriter and music producer, best known as the guitarist, leader and principal songwriter of the highly popular band Parni Valjak. Hasanefendić rose ...

at the post.

Personal life

Bratoš has two sons, Goran and Marko. Son Marko works as a presenter at the radio station

Narodni radio bravo! is a Croatian radio station broadcast nationally. Founded as Narodni radio, it was the most listened-to radio station in the country in 2014. , it was one of three radio stations with national concessions, along with Otvoreni Radio and C ...

in Zagreb. In late 2017, HGU president Bratoš filed a

libel Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

lawsuit against

Croatia Records Croatia Records is a record label in Croatia owned by AUTOR d.o.o., based in Zagreb. Summary Croatia Records d.d. is a joint-stock company currently led by the chief executive officer Želimir Babogredac, a sound engineer. It releases mostly (but ...

CEO Želimir Babogredac over his claims in a June 2015 ''

Slobodna Dalmacija (, where "Free" is an adjective) is a Croatian daily newspaper published in Split. History was first issued on 17 June 1943 by Tito's Partisans in an abandoned stone barn on Mosor, a mountain near Split, while the city was occupied by the I ...

'' interview that "Bratoš and his HGU loyalists engaged in malfeasance via blackmail and collusion with Croatia's state-run brodcaster, HRT, for illegal monetary gain". At one of the trial dates, Crvena jabuka frontman

Dražen Žerić Dražen "Žera" Žerić (born 20 July 1964) is a Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian and SFR Yugoslavia, Yugoslav musician currently based in Croatia, best known as the vocalist for the popular pop rock band Crvena Jabuka. Žerić started his career ...

was called to provide testimony. The verdict was delivered in 2018 with the court ruling in Bratoš's favour.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bratos, Niksa 1959 births Living people People from Travnik Bosnia and Herzegovina musicians Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatian pop musicians Musicians from Zagreb