Meet Dejan Milicevic, one of the pioneers of the techno scene in Serbia whose experience and influence went beyond borders. During his almost 30-year-long career, Milicevic performed across four continents and had gigs at the most popular events, venues, and festivals, including Boiler Room, Tomorrowland, ADE, Awakenings, Sonus Festival, OFF Sonar Barcelona, Tresor Berlin, Fabrik Madrid, The Egg London, Circuito Brazil, Glow Bangkok, Monegros and many others.
Since he started producing music, he didn’t rest much as he released over 100 tracks for various labels, including his own, the renowned Tit Zero Recordings. This year has also been busy, as he finished his fifth studio album and released a new EP ‘Live Forever’ featuring Dakman and Yelisaveta that the Ambasador Award jury has nominated for the best regional house release.
As we are approaching the end of the year, we had a conversation with Dejan about 2024 highlights, new releases, and the regional scene in general.
You have been a frequent guest at Croatian clubs and festivals. What are your favourite places to spin records in Croatia? Do you often collaborate with colleagues from the region (Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina)?
Yes, I have been playing gigs around Croatia for 20 years now and it is a lovely place to party. I love clubs like Masters, Lazareti, Sound Factory, Opera (Zadar) but also playing for the We Love Sound family at various locations and for years and being a part of the Sonus festival. The people, the vibe, always good things happen to me there. I have collaborated with my regional colleagues for many years through my label. Ex-Yu countries are a small market now, so for us musicians, those borders don’t count if we want to reach more audiences with a similar mentality, musical taste, and party awareness.
You started your career as a DJ in the mid-90s, which makes you one of the pioneers of the Serbian electronic music scene. How did the Serbian electronic music scene evolve through the years? What were, in your opinion, peak moments, and how did they shape the current situation?
I started my DJ career very young, during the mid-90s, and back then the scene was much smaller but with a large potential. In Belgrade, we had 2 – 3 clubs and everything was happening there – now and then some big events but not as many as today. At that time it was all about the music and the crowd was very educated about what they were listening to, but then again I am talking about a crowd that counted 2000 souls more-less in the whole city. After 2000, things went to a whole new level and grew rapidly into the scene that we know today. Now, in 2024 we have a huge scene with numerous clubs and events that are happening every weekend and are pretty packed with people week into week. From my perspective, I can conclude that there is a shift in generations and younger people dig their own stuff in terms of music genres and taste but the future looks pretty bright.
The early 2000s marked the beginning of your development as a music producer, and it is safe to say that you have been very busy. Looking back at over 100 releases on various record labels, which EPs/tracks established your sound the most?
The funny thing is that I started producing techno back then and very quickly got recognized by the global scene and started traveling around doing my stuff the best way that I knew. But, around 2010 I started going more into house which was my second-best genre since my interest in music started. I don’t know what to say, because during my techno period, I had huge success in my career in terms of playing the biggest events like Tomorrowland, Sonar, Monegros, Awakenings, etc. But with my first album in 2011, I realized that I wanted to go deeper into music exploration. Since then I released 4 albums that combine all of my music knowledge into production and I firmly stand behind all those projects. I am not sure which one is my favorite but certainly, I still enjoy listening to those tunes today. Now, I finished my fifth album and I am pitching it around at the moment but I’d say it is the best one so far. Also, I am working on some EPs like the one that got nominated for the best one in the region in 2024 with my young colleague from the new wave of Belgrade’s finest producers.
In 2014, you founded Tit Zero Recordings. What is the story behind the label? What is the sound you want to promote, and what does the selection process look like when other artists send you their work?
Tit Zero is my legacy in a way and I am very cautious about what is being released there. By now I have only 15 releases out but I am proud of each one. The style is not limited to house or techno – it’s all about the quality of music. I get a lot of promos but only a few get released, not because others are not good, it’s just that they don’t fit the profile and that’s it. The label’s artwork was also picked by one of the oldest artists from my city, and it is very extravagant, avant-garde, and provocative. Tit zero grew in these 10 years so we had label nights, album promotions, cool merchandise, records, headphone bags etc. Still, lots of things are coming your way from us.
This year you finished your fifth studio album and recently, a new EP ‘Live Forever’ featuring Dakman and Yelisaveta. How would you describe the sound of those releases? What do they mean for you as an artist?
My fifth album is still not released but it’s ready and waiting for the right publisher. The sound of the project ranges from house, jazz, acid, and tech-disco to breakbeat, so various stuff like my various tastes. And, as you said I had my E.P. with young forces and we got a huge feedback from the crowd and the media. The sound of our release would be house in some of its forms known today. I must say that I really enjoyed working with them and they definitely gave my music a breath of fresh air.
If we look back at your career as a DJ, you have been a guest at various globally renowned event brands, clubs, and festivals, such as Boiler Room, EXIT festival, Awakenings, Sonus festival, Tomorrowland, ADE, Tresor Berlin, Fabrik Madrid, Circuito Brazil, The Egg London, etc. What were your favourite gigs and where? Why?
I am very happy and honored to have such a dynamic career because, besides the feeling of success that I had over the years, I also got to meet a lot of good people and colleagues that I call friends today. It made my life more interesting for sure and made me rich with those friendships I have. I enjoyed every gig so far so it is very difficult to say which one was my favorite. It is an ongoing thing, you know. The good thing is that music is so universal and I spoke the language that was understood from Sao Paulo, New York, London, and Berlin all the way to Bangkok. A precious feeling I must say. Also, I admire some promoters and organizers like the hard-working people from Tomorrowland, Awakenings, Monegros, and Sonus for stepping up a notch and making their hard work worthwhile in terms of pushing boundaries and amazing hospitality.
In a previous interview for mondo.ba (2022), you mentioned that ‘business is now too invested in underground’. Where is, in your opinion, the ‘line’ when underground becomes mainstream? How can an artist who defines himself/herself more as ‘underground’ establish themself in the electronic music industry?
Huh, tough one. I think the electronic scene today has become completely mainstream no matter what kind of music a DJ plays. We have this hybrid of techno and EDM that is popular at the moment as proof of that. I think that such line evaporated in the last years and things got mashed up completely into this mixture of music that we have on the scene today. Also, I think that is a normal step in the evolution and that it happened to Rock when it was at its peak moment. I mean, who could imagine 50 years ago that rock would become music in advertising for cereals or some other everyday product, right? As for the underground artists, I think it is a matter of feeling that way more than just being that. Today with the presence of social media and similar platforms no one will make it without presenting themselves there, either by being who they are or the alter-ego that comes to their inspiration. This happened the moment business came over music and I doubt that it will change in the coming future, too much is at stake now both for artists and promoters. It is just the way things are.
Besides the mix of house/techno music you produce for yourself, you have also performed with the orchestra and composed music for films. How do you maintain your style in those formats, what was it like to produce music for those purposes and what are the main differences?
As I said in the previous answer, electronic music evolved from the depth of the underground clubs into something very present in everyday life. From my experience in doing music for films, advertising, and other conventional mass media projects, I can say that electronica communicates to people from the age of 15 to 60 and is no stranger to anyone anymore. Therefore it is not difficult to implement beats into whatever you want and be able to reach the right audience. Also, musical experience plays a big role when you start to experiment with such combinations because you just have to know where to put the right beat and that’s it more-less. As I like to say, if it sounds good then it’s good. No limits. Producing applied music in projects such as films for example can be a very challenging task because you have to fit the sound with the picture. I personally enjoy doing that a lot and I think it is a step forward for me as an artist but also for electronic music as a medium for expressing feelings and situations that are familiar to everyone.
As we are approaching the end of the year, could you please tell us the highlights of 2024 and reveal some plans for 2025? What are your New Year’s resolutions? 🙂
2024 was a very exciting year for me and I got to play a lot of interesting gigs around. I had some time to work on my productions as well in my studio so all together was very inspiring. I enjoyed a lot on Lovefest and Sonus because I had time to see a lot of my friends and hear some artists that I never heard before. Also, smaller festivals were super exciting with that intimate 1000-2000 capacity atmosphere like Ša fest in Bosnia or Overload in Serbia. I started 2 new musical projects with my Body Talks crew and another with my fellow MC F. B. but you will hear about that more in the future. 2025 is going to be a good one for sure, so far I have booked some gigs in Slovenia, Switzerland, Serbia and I am prepared for new experiences. My New Year’s resolution is to fill the batteries a bit with my family and hit the road again. See ya!
