Electric Post-Yugoslavia /Zmikeo, Insane Eyes, Ilegalne Emocije/

Published December, 2012
by Easterndaze

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.