Tonči Huljić

Who is Tonči Huljić?

Tonči Huljić is a Croatian musician, songwriter and music producer from Split.

Huljić made his name in the late 1970s as the founder and key member of pop band Dalmatinski magazin. The band gradually built a reputation as one of the most popular and most enduring Croatian pop bands, with repertoire and music arrangements influenced by Dalmatian folk music.

In the 1990s, following the break-up of Yugoslavia, Huljić was among the first Croatian musicians to introduce elements of folk music from other former Yugoslav republics into his repertoire. Although many rock critics did not like that, and accused Huljić of bringing turbo folk to Croatian music, Magazin became arguably the most popular music group in Croatia at that time. Its popularity continued across republics of the former Yugoslavia, just as it had done previously.

At that time, Huljić showed great managerial ability and founded the Tonika record label that is among the most influential in Croatia. Huljić has also written popular pieces for Croatian piano player Maksim Mrvica such as Kolibre and Nostradamus, and Maksim's greatest hit "Croatian Rhapsody".