The festival

Following the screening of Elektro Moskva, Alexei Borisov, the protagonist of the film and one of the most provocative sonic artists of the Russian proto-industrial scene according to The Wire, will perform together with Slovenian improv musicians Irena Z. Tomažin and Jaka Berger. Meanwhile, Glintshake/ГШ will bring the feeling of Russian absurdism and rock-in-opposition to the festival, with their singer Kate NV also providing the emotional impact of the pop avant-garde with her solo performance.

MENT Ljubljana is probably the only event where you can catch the exciting Eric Shoves Them In His Pockets from the increasingly vibrant Polish scene, Danish duo Farveblind, crowned “The Chemical Younger-Brothers” by Clash, the catchy indie pop electronica of Estonians Avoid Dave, and the cinematic downtempo of 5K HD, fronted by the expressive voice of Mira Lu Kovacs, all in one place. Ukraine will send on over one of the most interesting representatives of its electronic scene Koloah, Croatia the punk-blues poets M.O.R.T., and Austria the rapper and producer of Syrian origin Mavi Phoenix.

Nesesari Kakalulu, an ensemble of nine instrumentalists from Nova Gorica, will premiere their debut album at MENT, while the Slovenian-Croatian connection Kali Fat Dub will show off its second album, released in November. Croatian Svemirko will teach us what emo-macho sounds like, while Slovenian duo Natriletno kolobarjenje s praho will give us a lesson in punk-songwriting. Italians Pashmak conjure up a cabaret jazz atmosphere, shifting through electronica, art rock, folk and Persian flavour, the music of Swedes Hater is vulnerably real and tiredly beautiful, the Slovenians Futurski are melancholic and comfortably catchy, the Portuguese We Bless This Mess is honest and heartfelt, and Netherlands-based Briton Richard Cejer and his combination of genres are simply good.

Hungarians Freakin’ Disco practice psycho-jazz and techno, Slovenian Čunfa will surprise you with direct and more complex instrumental beats, Serbians Threesome serve up loud, explosive surf music, and Belarusians Weed & Dolphins combine the seemingly incompatible. And as MENT rhymes with Ghent, this year’s line-up is again spiced up by Ghent rock madness, launched in February 2017 by Raketkanon and continued a year later by Shht.

 

The conference

The MENT Ljubljana Conference is inviting you to interviews with Mary Anne Hobbs and Dorit Chrysler, and will feature some of the leading personalities in the music industry, including futurologist and prominent music professional Sammy Andrews (Deviate Digital), London manager and promotor Ina Tatarko (End Of The Road Festival Management, Parallel Lines Promotions), Olya Moldavskaya (The Orchard), who is the representative for Eastern Europe and Russia at one of the leading digital distributors, booking agent Sarah Besnard (ATC Live), Sasha Yerchenko (Atlas Weekend Festival), who organises the biggest international festival in Ukraine, and Pia Hoffmann, regarded in Germany as the chief specialist for music placement in films.

The programme of the upcoming conference primarily aims to expand useful knowledge. Musicians will gain practical experience for conquering foreign markets and successfully managing their band, including how to engage their followers and successfully develop their YouTube channel.

And what’s new in the area? Musicians from the ex-YU region will present the music scene, while we’ll review the status of local publishing in detail, seeing as a platform for Balkan labels is being established at the initiative of the IMPALA network of independent publishers.

 

5K HD (AT) / ALEXEI BORISOV (RU) / ALGIERS (US) / AVOID DAVE (EE) / BLUE CRIME (NL) / CHUI (HR) / COJONES (HR) / ČUNFA (SI) / DARLA SMOKING (SI) / DOGS IN KAVALA (RS) / DORIT CHRYSLER (AT/US) / ERIC SHOVES THEM IN HIS POCKETS (PL) / FARVEBLIND (DK) / FFX (SI) / FRAN PALERMO (HU) / FREAKIN’ DISCO (HU) / FUTURSKI (SI) / GLINTSHAKE/ГШ (RU) / HATER (SE) / HIGH 5 (HR) / HYPOCHRISTMUTREEFUZZ (BE) / IGRALOM (RS) / KALI FAT DUB (HR/SI) / KARPOV NOT KASPAROV (RO) / KATE NV (RU) / KOLOAH (UA) / KUKUSHAI (SI) / LUCIDVOX (RU) / MANON MEURT (CZ) / MART AVI (EE) / MARY ANNE HOBBS (UK) / MAVI PHOENIX (AT) / MOTHER’S CAKE (AT) / M.O.R.T. (HR) / MRFY (SI) / NATRILETNO KOLOBARJENJE S PRAHO (SI) / NEOMI (SI) / NESESARI KAKALULU (SI) / NIEMOC (PL) / NIVE AND THE DEER CHILDREN (GL) / PASHMAK (IT) / RICHARD CEJER (UK) / SEQUOYAH TIGER (IT) / SHEEP GOT WAXED (LT) / SHHT (BE) / SHORTPARIS (RU) / SVEMIRKO (HR) / THE GURU GURU (BE) / THREESOME (RS) / TOLSTOYS (SK) / TRAD.ATTACK! (EE) / ÚLFUR ÚLFUR (IS) / WANDL (AT) / WE BLESS THIS MESS (PT) / WEED & DOLPHINS (BY) / YGT (SI) / YOUNG FATHERS (UK)

 

Tickets:

Festival pass (all three days, all concert venues):

→ Super Early Bird (limited amount) = 25 EUR (sold out)

→ Early Bird (limited amount) = 30 EUR

→ presale (until 30 Jan) = 35 EUR

→ during the festival (from 31 Jan to 2 Feb) = 39 EUR

 

PRO pass (festival and conference):

→ Super Early Bird (until 16 Nov) = 49 EUR

→ Early Bird (from 17 Nov to 15 Dec) = 59 EUR

→ presale (from 15 Dec to 30 Jan) = 69 EUR

→ during the festival (from 31 Jan to 2 Feb) = 79 EUR

 

More: www.ment.si/tickets

 

Website: www.ment.si

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/2053584178209241/

 

M E N T Ljubljana. Produced by: Kino Šiška. Conference co-produced by: Sigic. The festival is supported by the City of Ljubljana and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia.