COMPILATION RELEASE FESTIVAL IN BELGRADE:
◥ (DRUŠTVO VOLUME 5) ◤
April 17-20: fb.me/e/3CBZP5Sir

"The Music of the Secret Society that Owns Belgrade" is a series of compilations and festivals by Inverted Spectrum Records that aims to document and promote the alternative, underground and sub-underground music scene of Belgrade and its environs, particularly highlighting authentic, uncompromising and unorthodox musical acts. Having begun in 2018, the project has included diverse styles of music, with a focus on psychedelic and avant-garde forms of rock, pop, jazz and punk, experimental electronics, and intersections of traditional music with contemporary forms.

This is the first edition of the project that is built around a particular theme: As the previous editions had predominantly male contributors, this time we decided to systematically look into the works of female musicians and decided not to include any all-male acts: all of the contributions to this edition are musical projects where women play important roles as songwriters or as performers. This was not meant to be a symbolic act of increasing female representation in the project, but was an attempt at embracing great music that could have so far slipped under our radar for one reason or another, in the light of the fact that both conscious and unconscious negative bias towards women are widespread, a fact that might have directly or indirectly affected the content of the previous editions.

The inclusion of many new artists have also widened the stylistic scope of the project. On this edition, we have, on the one hand, a high amount of various experimental forms of pop and rock (Umbra, Zenit Zed, Halftones, Dodola, Lira Vega, Pinokio Petkom, Suzana Sumrah) and, on the other hand, more abstract and contemporary works (Ilia Belorukov & Marina Džukljev, Manja Ristić, Kumah), along with punk-rooted projects of various styles (Konvoj Bonton Bajkera, Nike Eyes, Svlak). Only two of the long-time collaborators of the project are featured in the current edition: Buzukije Dunavski (here under the name JuVeЛири) contributing with a psychedelic retro pop ballad featuring Marija Lončar from The Cyclist Conspiracy on vocals, a collaborative work that was created specifically for the compilation; and The Cyclist Conspiracy itself, this time with a heavy folk rock cover of an early 20th-century rebetiko track dug up from an old concert recording, featuring Svetlana Spajić singing in Greek. Like the previous volume, this collection also includes the music of post-war Russian émigrés who are currently active in the music scene of Serbia: The all-female psychedelic folk rock band Lucidvox, two members of which live in Belgrade at the time of this release, and the Novi Sad-based saxophonist Ilia Belorukov, captured here in a previously unreleased free improv collaboration with the pianist Marina Džukljev, their first ever release in duo form.

The release festival for the Fifth Volume will be held in Belgrade from the 17th to 20th of April in Guvernanta, KC Živa, UK Parobrod, DC Krov, and Kvaka 22, featuring 13 live acts that contributed to the compilation, along with 4 DJ sets, one lecture/workshop, and one popup kafana party. From this year on, the festival’s name also has an alternative short form, ‘DRUŠTVO’. The festival program can be found here: fb.me/e/3CBZP5Sir

You can read more about the origins of the compilation/festival project (in Serbian) in an article published in Danas in 2023:
danas.rs/kultura/scena/vremenska-kapsula-beogradskog-andergraunda-kako-je-muzicar-iz-ankare-od-domace-scene-stvorio-kulturoloski-artefekat/

Compiled by Işık Sarıhan, 2023-2024.
Released digitally by Inverted Spectrum Records, 16.04.2024.
Cover art: Katherine Woznicki - "Invisible" (2023) instagram.com/amanitadodola/
Additional mastering on tracks 2, 12 and 16 by Özüm İtez.

Thanks to Nikola Urošević, Buzukije Dunavski, Vukašin Đelić, Duška Rajković, Kia, Nikola Cakić, Özüm İtez, Una Miletić, Igor Horozović, Ammonite Records, Pop Depresija, and Idiotski Internat.

All rights reserved by the artists and/or the credited labels.