There are probably very few countries which have had such a long history of a scene which refuses to become mainstream such as Croatia. Over the last few years we've had numerous ups and downs but most of the parties still remain pretty small.

Because of the cancellation of our annual UWOG festival we have seen a lot of foreign artist bookings throughout the year, more than ever before. Many local crews have focused on bringing small quality gatherings with a local lineup, good quality decor and sound system. It's exactly this type of gathering which has managed to become the most successful. One such crew that needs special mention is Ministarstvo Psihodelije (the Ministry of Psychedelic) who managed to create a monthly serial of parties in one of Zagreb's most popular alternative clubs, Močvara.

Apart from bringing in a wider audience we have also seen the birth of a really talented string art decorater called Nemo. The Marsroom team from Pula have also been doing very impressive deco and managed to pull off their first big festival in 2007. Apart from a good cooperation between Zagreb and Pula we have seen a lot of other smaller gatherings throughout Croatia. The OddVod crew had a few successful open air parties in a very attractive location close to Zagreb, the Boomshromtribe crew in Osijek organized another annual “Koola” gathering and there have also been smaller parties in Split and Knin. Together with the Soundmute crew the crew from Knin made a mess while trying to make a festival during the summer. They announced a big international lineup but didn’t secure any other basic necessities and in the end cancelled the festival. There have been a few flops with organizers who wanted to bring someone from abroad badly but failed to bring even half of the people a normal party with a local lineup gets. This is a simple reflection of the general state of the country but it doesn't stop organizers from trying.

There are currently no shops or places where people can buy music or get informed about the next trance party. Recent protests from the Attack organization are trying to change that but for the moment our only trance portal Trancepleme.com basically holds the bulk of the scene together. We have also started an experimental internet radio project and had a few successful sessions. A new weekly trance radio show has also been announced on a very popular radio station called Radio101. The Zagreb organization crew Attack has recently been trying to get a new space for their parties and concerts, they organized a few protests as well as an illegal party in a closed club called Lap. The funny side of it is that the club is located very closely to the Croatian parliament.

One thing that recently shook up most of the alternative scene is a prison sentence of 2 years for one person who had around 10 grams of pot. Also the zero tolerance policy for alcohol still stands, it is forbidden to drive with any amount of alcohol in your blood.

Links

www.trancepleme.com
www.attack.hr
www.myspace.com/ministarstvopsihodelije
www.pistolerobreaks.org

Contacts

val@trancepleme.com (Ministry of Psychedelic)
ratko@trancepleme.com (Ministry of Psychedelic)
oknarbo@gmail.com (Ministry of Psychedelic Radio101 host)

om_kudjo@net.hr (HUK, Knin organization)

Text by Dovla

dovla@trancepleme.com
Gamer, Graphic Designer, Iboga records/Sofa Beats label DJ
“Please stop the electro trash trend!”

Photos by Teddy-Lee

teddy-lee.a@pu.htnet.hr