InterviewsScene
With a career spanning three decades, DJ Filip Sulić—recognized under his alias Dancelectric—has become a go-to booking agent for A-list DJs across Croatia. From the early days of underground parties to commanding stages at renowned venues like Culture Club Revelin in Dubrovnik, his journey mirrors the rise of the Adriatic’s club scene onto the global map.
As he celebrates 30 years behind the decks, this interview takes a closer look at the milestones, challenges, plans, and inspirations that have defined his career—highlighting the pivotal role of venues like Revelin in shaping both his journey and the broader electronic music landscape. While preparing for this weekend, more specifically the opening of Zagreb’s new venue, The Hall, which will host his long-lasting friend, Fedde le Grand, one of the most popular DJs and producers in general, Filip shared his plans for the venue and the lineups he curated this year.
Your career in electronic music now spans nearly three decades. When you look back at the early days of DJing in Croatia, what stands out the most from that period, and how have you seen the scene evolve since then?
DANCELECTRIC: “Yes, 3 decades on the scene are behind me, and I can’t believe it. Well, back in the days, late 90’s, the scene was growing rapidly, people were more relaxed, maybe even happier than today, less stress, more love, less self-focused. People were attending raves, and there was only one goal: to have fun and leave all the troubles at the venue entry for that night. Today, we still have proper raves, but not as many as we used to. Yes, many people gather around often, but I don’t call it a rave – most of them are there to be seen, not to really enjoy music or to support a local or warm-up DJ. It’s all about headliners, and the industry made it like that.”
The DANCElectric name has grown far beyond a DJ alias over the years. How did the project develop into a broader platform that includes production, events and booking international artists?
DANCELECTRIC: “That’s right, well, I’m not getting any younger, am I? To be clear, I will be on stage as long as I have a crowd that is there for music and dance, no plans to retire any time soon. But alongside DJing, there is booking assistance that we provide with the help of the office crew for more than 10 years now. It was a logical move since, over the years, we managed to cooperate with almost 90% of the top 500 acts. So that was no brainer for us, but to go into this.”
You’ve spent years both behind the decks and behind the scenes shaping events. How does that experience influence the way you approach building lineups today?
DANCELECTRIC: “Well, I don’t think being behind decks helps me nowadays when I have to do a program-project-booking, for example, for our Club Revelin. I tend to overthink every booking, act, date, pros and cons… it takes a lot of time, and finally, when I make a decision, I find out that it was a pretty simple decision and solution to go with a certain act on a certain date. And that happens more often than you would think…”
Your long-standing relationship with Culture Club Revelin has become a defining part of your career. What has made that collaboration so special over the years?
DANCELECTRIC: “Well, first of all, if there were no Club Revelin, there would not be a career that I have now, I’m most certain. Since 2011, they have welcomed me and shown remarkable trust in my vision and ideas for the venue. To be honest, there is a whole team behind the Revelin project, and it would be disrespectful to take all credits for the amazing results of the venue. I aways have always had and still have unconditional support from management and the owner, now more than ever. And for me, that’s all that matters to get the results that we have. It’s just a simple relationship between the whole team that made this work.”
Revelin has welcomed some of the biggest names in electronic music. When you’re putting together lineups for a season or a specific event, what are the key things you look for in an artist?
DANCELECTRIC: “For example, if I’m in negotiation for an act that is coming for the first time in Club Revelin first thing I ask the agent/manager is for the latest set recorder and to have a listen to their work. Then I take a look at past production, incoming production, and collaborations. I make sure this is “Revelin material” before I move on with booking.
And for established acts on scene or acts that were already on our stage and have made a proper result on the dancefloor, that is no brainer – we invite them again. At the same time, each year we tend to add 30-40% of new names to the lineup. I don’t like the same pattern each year that most of the leading venues in the world follow. We prefer to offer new names each year to our guests to experience as many acts as they can while visiting our venue.”
Looking ahead to the upcoming summer, what can audiences expect from the next Revelin season?
DANCELECTRIC: “Oh wow, yes, 2026 in numbers looks unbelievable, like this: over 60 international acts, 12 resident DJs, 5 of them are international residents, and 7 regional residents. Over 160 nights in a row. We have for the first time Kasablanca (live) on stage that will require major reconstruction of the venue. Moreover, one more first-time live act is coming to Revelin this year, but I can’t reveal the name at this moment. They will perform on July 24th, so that will also be something special. Moving on, Duke Dumont is joining the lineup this year on the same week when we have one more ‘heavyweight’ name that we will announce after Ultra Europe is over. Speaking of debuts in Dubrovnik, Son of Son is booked for June (Voices in My Head), GoodBoys, along with the well-established names like Ferreck Dawn, Michael Canitrot, Kurd Maverick, and techno legend Stan Kolev in September…. And this is not even the tip of the iceberg we are providing for the upcoming summer. We will soon announce a brand partnership with the No.1 festival in the world. All dates and acts are confirmed a long time ago, all you have to do is follow the socials and be really fast on early bird tickets.”
Alongside Revelin, a new venue — The Hall — is entering Zagreb’s nightlife landscape. How did your involvement with the project begin?
DANCELECTRIC: “Yes, The Hall Zagreb is my new personal project that I’m starting with several partners. The project is conceived around the idea of a multi-functional venue hall. There will be many events, raves, parties, but there are also other projects planned, such as fashion shows, conferences, private events, festivals, exhibitions, live bands, weddings…”
Zagreb has always had an electronic music audience but venues and concepts constantly evolve. What opportunity does The Hall represent for the city’s scene right now?
DANCELECTRIC: “For now, I won’t reveal all plans, but we are going with something new in mind that I saw BBC radio1&2 did back in the days, and that had a major impact on their scene. Alongside those project we are entering into brand partnerships with several established organizations that will be revealed in the upcoming weeks. And yes, we are planning some of our own events and bookings.”
What kind of musical direction can people expect from the lineups at The Hall?
DANCELECTRIC: “We are most certainly not going into ‘underground’ concept, we will be more mainstream oriented, while under our organization, there will be all kinds of DJ’s, acts, live bands… Names that we have already confirmed are going to support that claim. Just watch us work. I think Zagreb is missing something like “us,” so we will try to fill in that gap.”
Beyond booking international names, what do you think is essential for building a venue that can develop a loyal audience and a real club culture?
DANCELECTRIC: “Honestly I’m figuring that out myself at this point for The Hall Zagreb, I would say fair relation with crowd, not overhyped prices for drinks, affordable tickets, honest marketing, not overcrowded dancefloors, venue with nice sound and light system, clean service and most of all smiled face on the hosting crew that welcomes each guest an interacts with them.”
This year also marks around 30 years of your career in music. Do you have any plans to mark that milestone in a special way?
DANCELECTRIC: “Yes, but I can’t talk about that just now. There will be several major sets that are confirmed for 2026, but I’m not allowed to speak at this point about that.”
After nearly three decades in the industry, what continues to inspire you to keep pushing forward with new ideas and projects?
DANCELECTRIC: “Oh, this is easy, pure love towards music, pure and unconditional love towards scene and future projects. I really miss stage and playing music when I’m not behind the decks for several weeks, and that has not changed after 30 years, not a bit.”
Looking at the Croatian electronic music scene today—from clubs to festivals—where do you see the most exciting energy right now?
DANCELECTRIC: “For me, and this is not just my opinion, I share it with really many DJs around the world, the best energy was and always will be in the clubs. As a dancer or a guest, you get more intimate co-relations with DJ’s, a better approach and view of everything (if we exclude hyper clubs). Generally speaking, DJs are all looking forward to playing in the clubs, but higher fees come from the festivals, so they have to focus on playing on big stages for massive crowds with no relation to anyone, especially when the first row is 10 meters away from them, and the last row can be hundreds of meters away.”
Finally, as someone who has watched the scene develop over decades, what advice would you give to the next generation of Croatian DJs and promoters?
DANCELECTRIC: “Don’t give up! Success does not come overnight.”
