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Darkwood Dub: Introverted Dubwise Escapism from Serbia’s Greatest Rock Band

The greatest Serbian band you’ve never heard of…
Here’s a Serbian band that we came across in this beautiful daytime set by Belgrade-born DJ Vladimir Ivkovic from the 2023 Making Time festival in Philadelphia. Formed in 1988 during a time when Belgrade was experiencing mass poverty and political unrest, Darkwood Dub quickly captured the attention of the city’s underground with their melancholic, yet subtly uplifting sound that mixed post-punk with reggae grooves, electronic percussion, synthesizers, and samplers. Speaking to a generation of disillusioned youth, their music offered a sort of introverted escapism with socio-political messaging layered within singer/frontman Dejan Vučetić’s impressionistic songwriting.
Listen to “Spori Vavilon,” from Darkwood Dub’s 1994 debut album, which references the Rastafarian concept of Babylon i.e. the modern world of corruption, capitalism, and colonialism that Rastafarians believe they must escape.
“Through their music, they have managed to express the sensibility of a (media) invisible Serbia that lives in the modern world and does not suffer from autism and schizophrenia.”
Milan Vukelic, PopBoks
Milan Vukelic, writer for Serbian music publication PopBoks, wrote in 2009: “There is practically no other domestic band that has managed to maintain (discographic and concert) continuity in the last 15-16 years, to constantly change in accordance with the times and not deviate from their core principles. Darkwood Dub is therefore one of the rare (remaining) constants of civilized life in (post) Milošević’s Serbia. A generational band, but more than that. Through their music, they have managed to express the sensibility of a (media) invisible Serbia that lives in the modern world and does not suffer from autism and schizophrenia.”
Stylistically, Darkwood Dub has explored a variety of genres from post-rock to downtempo to electro to acid jazz, but their sound has always been unified in its sonic approach. In interviews, the band members have explained that their creative process is very much informed by the concept of using the studio as an instrument. “That’s why, after all, the band is called Darkwood Dub,” frontman Vučo said in an interview with Serbian music publication Popboks. “Dub is not just a musical genre, it’s a certain way of working.” Echo, phasers, filters, and spring reverb subtly transform the group’s krautrock inspired grooves and post-rock melodic motifs into a sort of dub-not-dub alternative art rock that sounds quite unlike anything else we’ve heard before.
Listen to “Regioni,” from the 2004 album O Danima, which uses echo and spring reverb on the vocals and synthesizers to create a dreamy, almost euphoric atmosphere while Vučetić sings of seeing light within a world of empty dreams: “A ray of sunlight refracts through the glass / Through reverb and filters / The clock shows the wrong time / I pretend not to notice.”
“We’re guided by our curiosity and satisfaction. We still have the same aspiration – to make a song that will brighten our day at that moment…”
Dejan Vučetić
As seen in the above video, the band had the capability of playing massive stages, though they were notorious for rarely playing outside of their hometown (apparently due to their unusual technical demands). From the very start, it seemed the members of Darkwood Dub deliberately kept a low-profile and let the music do most of the talking… Unsurprisingly, their music is relatively unknown outside of Serbia though their videos on YouTube have clocked millions of views (almost entirely from Serbian listeners judging from the comments). Big thanks to Vlad for the introduction!
We translated a few more interviews from PopBoks to learn more about the band’s approach. Speaking on the technicality of their tracks, which sometimes featured jazz progressions and more complex rhythmic ideas, guitarist Bojan Drobac Bambi said, “Our approach to music is anything but technical. We deliberately, tendentiously reduce it to the level of feeling. We try all the time to eliminate the technical approach.”
In a 2004 interview following the release O Danima, which saw the group return to a more traditional band sound after experimenting with electronic forms, frontman Dejan Vučetić shared: “We don’t want to be trapped in any one genre. The changes we’re going through are, among other things, the result of research in different genres. We’re not guided by a philosophy based on the principle – this would do well on the market because it’s in a modern rhythm and has the right speed. We’re guided by our curiosity and satisfaction. We still have the same aspiration – to make a song that will brighten our day at that moment… And I think that jumping out of genres is the common feature of all Darkwood Dub albums.”
Below, check out a few more of our favorite Darkwood Dub tracks.