3. Discovery-new artist of the year?

bicikl. primarily a live improv band. These young harbingers of the uprising local underground folk / dilletant ethno scene have been around for some time, but their melting pot of heavily perfumed Turkish delights, Macedonian rhythms, Lithuanian paganism, Serbian epic battles and surf guitars took a new life in 2012, and is ripe to be discovered by all enthusiasts for psyched out ethno muzik.

Nikola Vitkovic is one of Serbia’s prime underground music evangelists, an advocate of the beautiful outsiders whose work often remains in obscurity. “There are dozens of undiscovered experimental gems from that era, but I was specifically interested in escapist projects outside of any scene, people who nurtured their private ‘one man scenes’ in isolation,” he told us in an interview about the compilation Crni Pek that he released last year. 

His efforts do not stop with archeological musical efforts. NAUK, his “Nacionalna Asocijacija za Umetnost i Kulturu”, has just released a series called “Sertifikat: Nebriga” which highlights more recent electric efforts stemming from the region that follow in the footsteps of the legendary Yugoslav postpunk/wave/electro 80ties heritage.

Zmikeo! is our Belgrade friend. We still remember his first live show that we had an honour to put up in Pančevo two years ago. We have kept an eye on the affable chap ever since, and after several tracks unleashed into cyberspace, it is fair to say he has carved his own - dirty, mangled lofi electric - sound. His “rape rave” album is aptly titled - Damage Music. A music that’s not damaged, but that’s aimed at all of us - damaged souls.

Insane Eyes is an “anthology”, an autobiographical compilation of several guises of a “Zen Buddhist hitmaker” from Višnjice. Sonically, the output varies between italo disco, high energy or wave, and is mostly faithful to the eclectic Yugo musical heritage.

Third release by Ilegalne Emocije has no music at all, just a series of jpegs. The single is a series of drawings, each of which is open for public reappropriation. The resulting recontextualisations can be sent back to the label. “The more interaction, the more EU funds,” they say. Get your artistic juices flowing then, folks!

You can download all the three releases - for free - here.

Listen to an interview with Nikola about his compilation Crni Pek for our Radio Wave show.

Fat Kid Beny and Hyphy in Belgrade, 2k11

FAT KID BENY, the founding member of Belgrade’s “domestic rap” posse RAP CAT$ has gone solo. With the release of his latest batch of synth&dirty tracks and raw beats that Beny and his friends call “rap music” we asked him for an interview. A sole survivor on a “sinking ship” of a city, this is his manifesto. At times dark and gloomy, Beny’s flow documents the desilusionate no-outcomes feeling, felt not only in Serbia but almost everywhere we traveled or stayed. But that’s life, yo. And maybe there’s the light at the end of the tunnel, or at least we hope so. Now listen.

Tell us a little about yourself please.

High, it’s me fat kid beny, “if u don’ kno’ me by now i doubt u’ll ever kno’me” #KRSONE. “I just write some of the word i write the way i write them” #DOSEONE (pardon my french) I thought that school is over, i wear skinny jeans and listen to rap since i kno’ 4 myself, people say i look lik jesus (still learnin’ how to turn water into wine), my favorite color is fluorescent pink #nohomo, sometimes i’m watching fox life with girls, always wanted to be a garbage man, never change my jeans i even drink my coffee on usa rap slang, “i’ve got that middle aged rapper blues” #SOLE If u wanna know more follow me on twitter

What would you say is the main difference between RAP CAT$ and FAT KID BENY ?

Basically it’s a same shit i just don’t have a HD video 2 post on my tweeter feed :D hahahah, just a joke #42 I ride alone now, it’s easier that way, it’s still a raw sound like always, it can’t b different, i just don’t ask nobody and i don’t care about other people’s opinion, never did, i forced HYPHY to make music cause he was always with me and it was good, but when i’m alone it’s much more experimental, i like 2 go crazy sometimes and he’s more like, following rules type of guy, so often we had like mad discussions cause i didn want 2 put a funky jazz vibe in our genre and he’s into that :D I miss that muthafucka, it was kinda yin & yang

It’s not that we r like Joy Division or some famous band, we r still here on this planet we r still friends just looking at a different sky right now, so it’s hard 2 think about makin music, they all got jobs now, MILKSHAKE is on his own preparing some dope shit. Can’t wait 2 hear it. Who knows maybe HYPHY never come back or maybe i’ll go somewhere also. I’ll keep doin my shit where ever i am, at least, hope so.

You are involved with graffiti, tatoos, art & music. Can you survive like that in Belgrade ?

HOW MUCH MONEY U NEED JUST 2 B BROKE ?! haahahah u can survive here if u have money already by birth, i never planed anything so i didn’ plan to do this also it’s just came 2 me, these r the thing i enjoy 2 do it’s a hip hop yo it’s street life, Jesus is bigger than money. u can not rely on that shit, it is possible if u r ready 2 sale yo’r ass cause nobody wanna buy yo shit if it’s not wrapped up nice. U need 2 adapt 2 people here and i don’ wanna do things that everybody like 2 hear or see, it’s just a shit that i do, “if u dont like it obviously this wasn’t made for you, so fuck you!!” #COMPANYFLOW My mother told me “b different always b different son” and father told me “the less u know the better 4 u son”.

Name 5 things that inspire you right now..

5 things that inspire me right now, hard one yo, there is nothing that inspires me to do shit, maybe sad life, dissatisfaction, irony and sarcasm ? 

there is no positive feedback son, i’m still alive doin’ shit 4 myself cause i’m bored as fuck here, it’s very inspirational fact

but if i need 2 spell that than it goes like this :

1. my dogg dolly
2. my skateboard
3. my mad collection of markers 2 destroy all city
4. my BF (best friend) aka my muse (u know who u r ;)
5. and of course clear blu sky

How does Belgrade change for you ? Ever thought of moving away ?

Hm hm hm i don’t care much for this shitty ass town no mo’, like 2 Pac sad “i see no changes all i see is racist faces” fuck all that man, life really ain’t that long, there’s a lot of #NKOTB, hey, they made couple of new benches i heard some rumors that on the spring we’ll have a H&M LOL, but i need some fresh water 2 drink if u follow me what i’m sayin so far, i don’t wanna wait all my life 4 metro yo, who want 2 live in the city that never wake’s up? in general it’s a sinking ship and i’m waiting. My closest friends left so it’s time 4 me to shine a bit, heading toward limelight. #EGOTRIP Don’t have any special plans i read my books from the end cause i don’t like surprises. Your home is where your heart is. I wanna see a palm tree before i die. USA top of the food chain :D it’s funny cause it’s true. This party ain’t over. “I’M GONNA DIE LIKE A ROCKSTAR” #DANNYBROWN

What is the ideal setting to listen to ur music ?

U think u r ready 4 this ?
Think twice if u have a weak stomach.
I don’t make music u can dance 2,
this is not pop music, ain’t no r’n’b
i make my own bed, no breakfast, no toilet paper.
Don’t compare me with nobody.
Don’t complain about sound quality unless u r involved in music making
(that shit i respect)
Put it on your mp3s or i-poors whatever shit u got there.
Play it loud YO.
“Don’t let my music bother just knock yo’r heads it’s aint that complex” #SOLELEARNIN2WALK
Try 2 hear it, it’s easy 2 listen but it ain’t inaf.
This is not collage i don’t have time 2 teach u
it’s gonna b plenty of time 4 u 2 learn.
MY MUSIC IS CHEAP ENTERTAINMENT #SOLE
Man, it’s so hard 2 b a rapper these days…

mangulicaFM is no stranger to easterndaze’s ears. The Belgrade producer, who currently lives in cold cold Hamburg, played at our party in September in Pancevo (Belgrade;). His affinity for recontextualising the musical heritage of his mother country defies the tired preconception about the naffness of such an endeavour. His latest release, a menacing, exotic and buoyant offering, came out on his own label over9000, a promising imprint whose roster also includes our friend Vladimir Lenhart aka Lenhart Tapes. You can download the album below.

Can you tell me about your new album? 
It is my first full album. 90% of the tracks were made after I moved to Hamburg 6 months ago.

How did the songs come to life? 
Get an idea, find the right sample or shape the right synth, then start building the song around it by adding more samples, synths and rhythms in a rush. 

Any concept behind it? 
Yes, I wanted to make an album about conspiracy theories, local and global superstition, pig meat, beauty and madness of Serbia and Montenegro and wanted it to sound club friendly in a way.

The artists on your label over9000 seem to have in common the utilisation/recontextualisation of various sonic ephemera/root/folk/oriental samples, is there an intention label-wise? 
It’s just a coincidence that these artist share that atribute. Our intention is to provide
something that doesn’t come out of bedrooms and basements too often, though we obviously do like this idea about exploiting localism.

What are the upcoming plans aside from your new album? (btw is it meant to be a joke since its released on April 1)
I hope to play gigs, finish some film projects I’m working on, start working on a new mangulicaFM album, work on a new project with dead bird, play more basketball, over9000…

Well not everything that happens on April 1st is a joke. 3 examples:
1st April 1933 : Nazi Germany begins the persecution of German Jews by declaring a boycott of Jewish owned businesses
1st April 1991 : Iowa becomes one of the first states to allow riverboat gambling .
1st April 2001 : Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has been arrested and taken to prison.

Check out the newly-established label over9000 here.