Lelo Nika, was born in the village of Nikolinci and spent his early childhood in Denmark. Lelo started playing the accordion at the age of five. Lelo’s father, also an accordionist, was his first accordion teacher. Their family was well known for its gypsy music traditions passed down through generations. Lelo moved to Yugoslavia when he was ten years old and from the very first day he became active in a folklore orchestra led by lonel Corneanu. First violinist of the orchestra, Corneanu introduced Lelo to music in the best of ways – how to play as a soloist, the orchestral structure, and the history of the music. Lelo also studied under the Serbian accordionist Branimir Dokic for three years, going deeply into Slavic and Romanian culture. He then went back to Denmark, to study under Mogens Ellegaard and got a classical education for five years. After that he studied at the Danish Harmonica academy for Jeanette Dyremose and later at Malmo Academy of Music with Lars Holm.
Through the years, Lelo has performed and played with several jazz celebrities and has toured with Joe Zawinul (Weather Report) and Randy Brecker. With time, his musical horizon grew versatile and broad. Today he places great importance on the mission of both preserving and developing the musical traditions that he derives from, as well as on composing new music. He has won the title ‘Accordion World Champion’ twice.
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