Dj Soko (ger)

Robert Soko is one of the most reputed people in Balkan dance music. In the early 90´s a young Bosnian named Robert Soko sought refuge in Berlin. Like many exiles he wanted to forget the war and the whole shebang. He wanted to start a new life. Robert began to throw parties for like-minded emigrees and played the old yugo hits. With a melange of irony and nostalgia they finally began to celebrate old socialist bank holidays and the idea of BalkanBeats was born. Thus the Days of the republic, the women or the youth were solemnized. This is not a glamourous DJ career, but vital survival training of emigrees. In the Arcanoa, a Kreuzberg underground punk bar, they tried to regain their lost past and identity. Thus, the fascinating, bizzare, somehow tragicomical celebration of the exiled became a regular event that soon had to take place in larger venues. After a few transit stops, BalkanBeats are blasting in Berlin´s Mudd Club since 2001.The BalkanBeats team was completed by Tatjana Soko and Marko Valic. Twice a month, DJ Soko and his team amaze their audience with gypsy brass music, freshly produced traditional music and classic yugo-hits. Live acts are playing regularly. Now, Soko plays in New York and Los Angeles too.