Dubioza Kolektiv

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Once upon a time (2003) in a far away land called Bosnia and Herzegovina, a group of friends decided to form a band. But this was no ordinary band, and they did not form under ordinary circumstances. True, along with local Balkan flavors, musical influences came from all over the world: ska, punk, reggae, electronic, hip-hop. Yet, there was no music industry, few concerts, no space for cultural or political expression among the new crop of plugged in youth. In fact, the entire region was reeling from deep moral and economic stagnation. It was from this environment that Dubioza Kolektiv was born, and not quietly, but kicking and screaming, presenting no-go topics front and center, and demanding to be heard-and in doing so, they created a phenomenon. And it has continued in this fashion ever since. Fast forward to 2016, we find band continues stronger than ever, already established itself as among the best and most popular live outfits in Eastern Europe, hallmarked by their most recent musical release “Happy Machine”, perhaps their most provocative album to date. For a quick rundown of the band’s history, their self-entitled first album “Dubioza Kolektiv” was released in 2004, and was instantly met with an enthusiasm not seen on the Bosnian scene since pre-war times. Next came the ep “Open Wide”, this time featuring dub poet Benjamin Zephaniah and Mush Khan from Fun-da-mental. Then, their second full length cd: “Dubnamite”… and this is when their popularity...