KRALJEVSTVO ILUZIJA
KINGDOM OF ILLUSIONS

is dedicated to Mitar SUBA Subotic. The electronic music pioneer was born in Novi Sad - then Yugoslavia, now Serbia - in 1961. In the 80ies he appeared at domestic stages as Rex Ilusivii - King of Illusions. In the early 90ies he emigrated to Brasil, where he became the most influential and sought after music producer. Mitar SUBA Subotic died under tragic circumstances in November 1999, just some weeks after the release of his album 'Sao Paulo Confessions'.

Though his exceptional achievements, the artist was nearly forgotten in the country where he was born. This phenomena inspired the Austrian culture activist Josef Gaffl (aka DJ Acid Buzz) to initiate the project Kingdom of Illusions | Kraljevstvo Iluzija. The idea was to bring back SUBA's artistic spirit to Serbia. Since the project started in October 2003, more than 200 artists and supporters contributed in more than 80 culture events, which were joined by 20.000 visitors. Thanks to all these volunteers, SUBA became popular again inside the amazing scene of DJs and electronic music producers in South-East Europe.

Kingdom of Illusions was not focused on Mitar SUBA Subotic and his achievements only. Reality transformed the project soon into a source for culture exchange and cooperations based on mutual respect and friendship. In this way, it follows the same principles like Mitar SUBA Subotic and his friends.

Kingdom of Illusions is fighting for to break the isolation of artists living in South-East and Eastern Europe. Equal conditions of travelling must be achieved for all citizens in Europe. If politicians are unable to provide fair conditions, artists and civil society must fight together for their rights.

The EU visa regulations must fall in 2009 like the Berlin wall in 1989.

The following review was not written for to be complete. If any wrong facts might be detected, please be so kind and inform us by email

MITAR SUBOTIC

was born in the city Novi Sad in 1961 - then Yugoslavia, now Serbia. Supported by polyglot parents, the serbo-croatian was educated in music since early childhood. The pianist finished his artistic education at the Art University of Novi Sad with the studies of composition and orchestration.

Based on solid fundaments, he started to produce electronic music in 1984. One year later an artist irritated the domestic music and media scene with a groundshaking hybrid sound: New Wave, produced in Yugoslavia. The only evidence for the mysterious artist existed in his music. Neither information nor gossip could be reported, only his synonym was known:
Rex Ilusivii - King of Illusions

Finally the power of reality succeeded the artistic guerilla strategy of Mitar Subotic. The secret of Rex Ilusivii was revealed on a concert tour between Subotica and Sarajevo. In 1987, the accoustic legacy of Rex Ilusivii was published on a long-player, given the hyper-ironical title 'Disillusioned'. The four tracks on side A are rare documents of early electronic music published in former Yugoslavia; Side B contains the complex and epic composition 'Thanks to Mr. Rorschach', which shows the real face of the artist, who had created Rex Ilusivii.

The music of Eric Satie - provided by his piano professor and mentor Branka Parlic - was not choosen incidently for the 25-minutes piece 'Thanks to Mr. Rorschach'. The French artist was the first one, who integrated environmental sounds into compositions. 70 years later, Mitar Subotic turned the concept of the artist, who invented ambient music, upside down and inside out: he integrated the music of Eric Satie into his composition just like all the other sounds and created an electronic ambience, where he placed Satie's music like furniture - which was once the explicit wish of the French composer. At the same time, Mitar Subotic became the inventor of the art concept, which was later discussed as artistic antropophagism.

In 1988, Mitar Subotic was awarded by the UNESCO Fund for Culture Promotion for the concept of 'The Dreambird, In The Mooncage'. The project brought him first to Madagascar, then to France. In Paris the sounds collected in the southern hemisphere was finished with Goran Vejvoda and after this 'published' with ambiental installations in Italy and Yugoslavia. Some years later, such installations in public space were repeated in Brasil, where also a CD 'The Dreambird' was released in 1992.

Before Mitar Subotic was working on artistic projects abroad, he was deeply rooted in the progressive culture scene of Novi Sad. He composed music for contemporary theater plays and left his electronic traces on records of artists like Marina Perazic or bands like EKV.

His artistic cooperation with Milan Mladenovic, co-autor of Rex Ilusivii's lyrics and frontman of the legendary band EKV, is just one evidence, that Mitar Subotic never cut his connections with the art scene in Novi Sad. In 1994, Milan and Mitar recorded the album 'Angels Breath' in Brasil, which was released in Belgrade in autumn of the same year. The unexpected death of Milan Mladenovic erased their common dream of a concert tour with Brasilian friends like percussionist Joao Parahyba and guitar player Fabio Golfetti.

In 1990, Mitar Subotic visited Brasil for the first time to study there afro-brasilian and native music. After three months he returned to Europe - but soon later Sao Paulo became his home again - then for almost one decade. He started a new carreer (or better: several carreers) and became the most influential and sought after producer in Brasil until his untimely death on November 2nd, 1999. (Guto Barra)

His Brasilian oevre is impressive: he created music for dance theater like Os 12 Trabolhos de Hérculo, Sáfara or Bonita & Lampao, which was awarded by APCA in 1994. Between 1995 and 1988 he produced albums for Taciana Barros, Dinho Ouro Preto, Edgard Scanduro, Arnoldo Antunes, Edson Cordeiro, Mestre Ambrósio and Marina Lima. He dropped remixes for Chico Science, Daúde, Os Habitants and many others. He created music for TV-spots and soundtracks for fashion shows, performed at electronic music festivals and toured the whole country with his congenial artistic partner, the Brasilian master percussionist Joao Parahyba.

SUBA became a trademark for a new Brasilian sound, which emerged in guerilla style in a jungle of underground scenes. He was not the first artist, who fused traditional Brasilian rythms with urban dance music - but he never imitated any other music style and thus he became a real innovator of Brasilian music. In the end of the 90ies, the artist synonym SUBA was found almost on each electronic music sampler in Brasil.

It was Joao Parahyba, who persuaded the by producer SUBA to start working on his 'own Brasilian album'. Their friendship has started in 1990, after Mitar Subotic was - totally out of the blue - knocking at Parahyba's door in Sao Paulo. Since this day they collected ideas and accoustic material, they discussed artistic concepts and performed live many times. Eventually noone else than Joao Parahyba knew more about the artistic visions and dreams of the late Mitar Subotic.

JOAO PARAHYBA about SUBA | audio collage by Josef Gaffl

SUBA's 'own Brasilian album' started to grow slowly. In the end of this process, it integrated the voices of Cibelle, Taciana, Katia B., Joanna Jones and Arnaldo Antunes, the guitar playing of Kuaker, Roberto Frejat, Edgard Scandurra and Andre Geraissati, the percussion sounds of Mestre Ambrosio and of Joao Parahyba, who appears on all tracks. Piano, keyboards and programming remain in the gifted hands of the mastermind, who arranged and mixed finally twelve tracks at his Wah-Wah Studio in Sao Paulo.

The variety of artists on the album reflects the megapolis Sao Paulo as a dynamic and modern melting pot of cultures. Like many other people, SUBA arrived there as a foreigner and became one of estimated 18 million souls in an chaotic urban jungle. The album reveals the secret, how such souls can survive this ambience. The title SAO PAULO CONFESSIONS expresses clearly, which degree of sincerity can be expected. Nobody confesses just for fun ...

Sao Paulo, Brazil. The world's fourth megalopolis with over 18 millions souls, and more arriving everyday. A stressful maze of massive sky-scrapers, kilometric avenues and relentless chaos. Think 'Blade Runner' in the Tropics. Life in Sao Paulo is fast, crazy and dangerous, as reality changes constantly. The city is full of people from all over Brazil and foreigners, all trying to make sense out of it. With time and patience to dig deep enough you can make discovery after discovery, you find very strange people and very special places...

Here, they call me Gringo Paulista. I've been in this city for 10 years, and it already feels like I've lived several, parallel Paulista lives ...
- Suba -

Artist's notes taken from:
Sao Paulo Confessions | Vinyl Edition
Ziriguiboom Discos/Crammed Discs 1999

While SUBA was working on SAO PAULO CONFESSIONS, the Belgian label Crammed Discs signed the project for a release in Europe and contracted Mitar Subotic also as producer for the next album of Bebel Gilberto. Suddenly he was working on two albums - and during this time, more and more labels and artists started to knock at his door.

In September 1999, Crammed released SAO PAULO CONFESSIONS in Europe. After the music press celebrated the album and it's producer as delightful discoveries, Crammed prepared a worldwide release. SUBA, who had reserved the publishing rights for Brasil, hesitated to contract a domestic distributor. It looks like too many new dreams appeared since the successful start in Europe: an international Sao Paulo Confessions tour and the perspective of producing music for a global market.

On 3rd November 1999, SUBA was expected to appear in Belgium at a press conference of Crammed Discs. He died the day before after a fire in his home studio in Sao Paulo.

interview: DJ PATIFE from Sao Paulo about th artist SUBA

POST SUBA RELEASES
In the end of 1999, 'Sao Paulo Confessions' was lauched in the USA and in Japan - in July 2000 also in Brasil.

In February 2000, Bebel Gilberto's album 'Tanto Tempo' was released by Crammed Discs and became a worldwide success. Bebel Gilberto dedicated the album to it's producer SUBA.

In 2000, Crammed released a SUBA EP with 'Voce Gosta' remixed by Phil Asher and 'Felicidade' remixed by The Funky Lowlives, Buscemi and Juryman; in 2001, Crammed released another SUBA EP with reconstructions of 'Samba to Gringo Paulista' - produced by Zero DB and Bigga Bush.

In 2002, Crammed released the album 'SUBA TRIBUTO' with 16 tracks. It contains new arrangements of 'Sereia - Amor D'Água' by Cibelle & friends - 'Are You Sleeping?' by Katia B & BiD - 'Lagoa Pinheiros' by Marina Lima & Apollo 9; the new song 'Na Neblinha dos Sonhos' created by Taciana & Apollo 9; remakes of 'Segredo' by Boyz From Brazil and 'Tantos Dejesos' by Modern Quartet & Cibelle; six of the recently released remixes and re-constructions; Joao Parahyba appears with a homage called 'Nithtly Sins' and he is present as live percussionist on three 'Futuro Primitivo' cuts, which were processed by SUBA during a common performance recorded in 1996.

Two hours later I reached the 'Strand' for the very first time, the bank of the Danube River in the north-west of Novi Sad. Finally I was standing upon the ruins of the destroyed bridge Most Slobode. Maybe I understood in these irritating moments, how it had been possible, that Mitar SUBA Subotic was forgotten in the city of his birth.

I just know: at Most Slobode the idea for Kingdom of Illusions was born, which was based on the simple conclusion: If such a bridge could be reconstructed - why not the memory on Mitar SUBA Subotic?

Next morning I returned to Linz, 750 kilometers northwest from Novi Sad. Since these days, both cities were linked not only by the Danube river. Step by step, Kingdom of Illusions transformed the initial idea into a social culpture - some kind of bridge, which was built from two sides though difficult circumstances. Finally, hundreds of hands were involved in it's construction and thousands of ears and eyes witnessed the existence of this connection. All this happend, although nobody was giving orders - and all this was done, althoug nobody received money for her or his work.

In the meantime, Most Slobode (Freedom Bridge) is reconstructed - and I was there that Sunday morning in spring 2005, when the two wings of the bridge - destroyed in April 1999 by NATO bombs - touched each other again after six years.