November 8: Karmakoma’s B-Day, Feel Fly

First of all, srećan rođendan to my favorite place in Belgrade. If it weren’t for Karmakoma, I wouldn’t feel this close to the city, nor would I have found my way back to the love for music that was always with me but got lost somewhere in the immigration process. I was happy to see the club packed, even though it meant I couldn’t just come in and flop on a couch like I usually do.

Secondly, really glad I was able to catch Feel Fly: a rare guest and a nice vinyl set, from which I took some notes.

November 21: Fantastic Man

All I knew about Fantastic Man before the event was the False Consciousness track DJ Seinfeld used in his DJ-Kicks set. And honestly, I only remembered that a couple of days after the event, when I finally checked whether he produces anything.

Yet, I was impressed with his versatility and ability to jump from genre to genre; glad I caught him.

Side note: 20/44 opened a bar on the first floor, and it’s a cozy one.

November 22: MRAK

To begin with, I wanna say I’m genuinely surprised (in the best way) that Belgrade hosts queer-friendly events that actually feel safe. It was my first time attending MRAK and I had zero expectations, but the crowd was lovely, and I felt underdressed around them (again, in a positive way)

But Serbs truly, truly love hard techno. Even though I was attending this event to catch Sacha Mambo and GiGi FM, both of them played much more aggressive stuff than I expected: partly because I’d only ever heard them play a different sound, and partly because I had no idea what usually gets played at MRAK events.

However, I was able to listen to Zanzi, who became my personal highlight of that night. Not only was she a joy to be around, but I'll always respect anyone who drops Short Dick Man in a club.

November 22: Janko

His set was a nice breather from MRAK. I was 100% sure it was his first time playing inside Karmakoma, but he already had a set in February this year! (nice one, by the way, give it a listen).

ICKPA 009 - Takumi Inamoto

I don’t want to write yet another intro for his set that leans on words like “shamanic” or “tribal.” I’ll just leave it here.

µ-Cast > Panorama Channel

Rest in peace, Mutabor. It was fun partying inside your walls.

Max Cooper and Rob Clouth – 8 Billion Realities 

What amuses me most about this record is that Max Cooper describes its creation as “simplifying things and having some fun with the music,” yet the final result feels so rich, flavorful, and effortlessly listenable. Each track feels unique and takes you through a different mood, but my favorite on the record has to be Candeleda.

Four Tet – Pink

It would be a lie to say I discovered this album for the first time this year – though that's only partly true. You see, I actually heard Locked back in June 2020, if we're to believe my last.fm account. For whatever reason, that track alone didn't convince me to check out the whole record.

Fast forward to November 2025: I'm at my favorite vinyl shop, waiting for my friend to finish picking up his purchase. It's the last five minutes before closing. The guy working there stops the record that was playing – which, I thought, was his polite way of telling us to hurry up and leave.

Instead, he reaches for a record in a blank sleeve and drops the needle on Pinnacles. And that, honestly, probably was the actual signal to leave, considering it's a closing track.

Floating Points – Cascade

For some reason, the only Floating Points album I knew about was Crush – don’t ask me why.

What I love most about this album (and FP in general) is that the tracks are long, which is rare in our short-attention-span era. At 5–7 minutes each, they give you time to sink into a wider palette of sounds and grooves.

Favorite track: Afflects Palace.

Various Artists of Music Camp – Monitor Vol. 1

"The label’s first release is a compilation of works by graduates of the 2024 Music Creation Intensive. Over the course of a month, each participant distilled their knowledge and experience into their first truly conscious track."

Sia – Little Man (Exemen Works)

Took me a minute to realise that it was the same artist behind the Chandelier song.

Cut Copy - Zap Zap

Fun fact #1: this track samples Hysteria by Le Knight Club, which itself was made by sampling Miracles by Change.

Fun fact #2: I actually learned about Cut Copy only because they played in Moscow for the first time in 2013. I was young and broke back then, so seeing them live just wasn’t an option.

Max_M & Obtane – 8 Years Down

One of the approaches I use when buying records – and, honestly, the most frequent one – is just looking at the apple. If the image resonates with me, I usually end up buying the record.

8 Years Down joined my collection exactly this way: I got lost in those “windows,” and it instantly reminded me of the times I worked in offices tucked inside business centres.

Sabaturin – Kenemglev

I brought this record home because it’s a test press, and the only thing written on the sleeve was “2020, Portugal.” Turned out to be a decent ambient album with a slight 8-bit game vibe.

A$AP Rocky – Trunks

I’m a victim of TikTok trends, what can I say? Plus, he hasn’t released anything in a while, so it also works as copium.

Mirèle, ЛСП – Вернись домой

When I hear Mirèle's voice, I finally understand the sailors who sank out of desperation to reach the sirens. I can't understand why the last.fm fandom is hating on her recent works – in my opinion, she's found her sound.

Charli XCX – The realities of being a pop star.

Such a nice window into the life of a showgirl pop star.

"We are still trained to hate women, to hate ourselves and to be angry at women if they step out of the neat little box that public perception has put them in. I think subconsciously people still believe there is only room for women to be a certain type of way and once they claim to be one way they better not DARE grow or change or morph into something else."

Snezhana Sitnikova – How Izhevsk became "the capital of electronic music"

I’d heard about this title Izhevsk supposedly has, so it was nice to finally learn how it actually happened. Spoiler: it’s the beauty of gaslighting.

Side note: if you’re looking for Виды Рыб on streaming services, search for Species of Fishes.

Shawn Reynaldo – No One Is Going to Defend Boiler Room

It’s behind a paywall, but if you follow First Floor and skipped this article, here’s your friendly reminder to read it. Couldn’t care less about Boiler Room, but it was interesting to see who’s actually investing in it and how the festival landscape is feeling these days.