Author: admin@ks

Sometimes, small really is beautiful, and Ljubljana’s MENT is that rare thing; a perfectly formed little gem of a festival that still feels grand and significant. In only four years it’s carved out a deserved reputation for excellence, from fans and professionals alike – not only was it was recently voted Best Small Festival and Best Indoor Festival at the EFA Awards in Groningen, but it’s also now generally regarded as eastern Europe’s main showcase event, a hub for bands to reach a wider audience and develop their careers.

Ljubljana. Capital city of Slovenia whose population of just over a quarter of a million people accounts for more than 10% of the nation’s inhabitants. Once known as Laibach, a name perhaps more widely associated with being Slovenia’s most famous musical export. It’s a city steeped in history and tradition where tourism is currently rivalling the manufacturing industries of pharmaceuticals and food processing as the country’s fastest growing economic sector.

Their show remains a strikingly stark, no-nonsense affair; the rhythms clatter against synths and shards of noise, all bathed in a sparse, monochrome light.

Of course we will have missed a few bands – MENT is a cornucopia of bands mainly playing in the semi-squat venues of Metelkova Mesto – one the largest, and arguably most successful, urban squats in Europe which sprawls across 12,500 sqm of an abandoned army base and has about six venues in its graffiti-strewn mad max old-school space.