Pegatina 2nd anniversary pres Vladimir Ivkovic
By Kit Macdonald
"The challenging sets Vladimir Ivkovic delivers are not always easy, but they are almost always ingenious."
Dusseldorf's wildly influential Salon des Amateurs club may have been the place where, alongside names such as Lena Willikens, Tolouse Low Trax and Jan Schulte, Vladimir Ivkovic perfected the skills and sensibilities that have taken him to the pinnacle of his psychedelic, headsy realm. But he initially learned his craft in a very different environment. Born and raised in Belgrade, Ivkovic first tipped a toe into DJing in his still-Communist but relatively liberal home country as a teenager in the mid-eighties. After leaving Yugoslavia to study in Germany, he came back for a summertime visit and took up position behind the decks during a series of impromptu parties at a lakeside restaurant owned by his parents, and the rest has flowed from there.
The possessor of a truly spectacular musical brain and the ability to lead a crowd in whatever direction he fancies with unerring skill, total immersion and submission is always the best approach with an Ivkovic set, whether it's live or in radio or podcast form.