Valerija Nikolovska (b: January 7th, 1969, Ohrid, Macedonia), growing up in a Croatian town of Kutjevo, surrounded with music, starts to sing early. In the beginning for her parents' friends, and singing solo in a school choir later on. All of her free time, Valerija spends with a record player, practicing along with her favorite records. The first and most loved one was that of Mahalia Jackson, thanks to whom Valerija discovers her connection with and love for Afroamerican music tradition. Playing a guitar and a harp as an accompaniment to her beautiful voice, she performs on lots of school and other events.
In 1987, as she moves from Kutjevo to a Croatian capital, Zagreb, to study philosophy and history, she meets young men from an accoustic group called Delta that played country blues and ragtime music and they ask her to join them. This has been a beginning of Valerija's singing career .For the next 10 years she sings mostly blues on lots of Croatian, Slovenian, Italian and Austrian stages, with numerous musicians. After that she gives her voice a try in various music styles, from soul, gospel and jazz to modern music, co-working with lots of musicians from urban Croatian scene. (Songkillers, Igor Gerzina, Eddy&Dus…)
She makes an album as a singer and co-author with an acid-jazz band called Mayales and stays with them for a while.
In 2000, Valerija makes her first solo album «The bright side of the blues», recorded live at the Aquarius club in Zagreb, where she combined all of her previous work; and takes turn to a new direction, finding out her own music.
In 1999, Valerija was a nominee for the Croatian National Discography Award «Porin» for the best female vocal peformance.
Two years in a row, in 2000 and 2001, she wins a Croatian Journalist's Rock Award «Crni macak» for the best female singer.

Viktor Lipić (b: December 8th, 1978, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina ), who is a producer and co-author on Valerija's first album «The bright side of the blues» and is a producer, arranger and author of most of the music on the second album «Open», started to play a piano as a child, growing up in a little town of Zavidovići in Bosnia and Hercegovina, in a family of musicians. With 13 he plays in a local rock'n'roll band, until the beginning of the war in his country.
In 1995, Viktor moves to Dubrovnik, a beautiful Croatian town, where he continues his music activities and starts musical education.
A year after, he moves to Zagreb where his professional career as a musician begins. He joins Mayales, making the album with them and there he meets Valerija, with whom he works closely since then.
In 1999, Viktor was a nominee for the Croatian Musician Union Award «Status» for the best keyboard player of the year. He begins his own project, fusion jazz band Baobab, making his own music with them. Viktor works as an accompanying musician on stage, and records for numerous musicians on the Croatian music scene. Ideas and first songs for Valerija's second album «Open» emerged from Valerija and Viktor sharing professional and private life together, while expecting their child.

On the «Open» album two of Valerija's and Viktor's longtime co-workers and friends also appear - a guitarist Vladimir Mirceta plays on most of the songs and is also a co-author of the song «Look & see», and a blues harp player Kreso Oremus plays on the song «Open».

 Percussionist Mladen Ilić appears on several songs and a bass player Alen Svetopetrić on «Look and See».

Erol Zejnilović, a young guitarist, is co-author of the song «Open».

Album was recorded during summer of 2004 in FORTE studio in Zagreb and published in October 2004 by Aquarius Records.

 Recording engineer and producer, along with Viktor Lipić, was Gojko Tomljanović, many times awarded keyboard player and producer.

 Album «Open» is in english, and all lyrics were written by Valerija Nikolovska.