Nemeček

Nemeček are a Croatian rock trio from Zagreb who play a heavy, hypnotic mix of krautrock, psychedelia, noise and folk. Instead of an electric guitar they use the tambura, the traditional Slavonian string instrument, for distorted riffs, and they call the result a Balkan wall of sound.

The project began with Vedran Živković, who recorded most of the first album on his own and writes the lyrics. Leo Beslać on synths and Borna Maksan on drums joined later and made Nemeček a real band. The songs draw on Slavic tradition and mythology, and the band names Swans, krautrock and heavy metal as well as Šarlo Akrobata, EKV and Milić Vukašinović among its influences.

Their work is planned as a trilogy. Prokletije came out in 2021 as a self-release, and Prokletije II followed in 2024 on Lack of Records, conceived as one piece to be heard from start to finish, with the nine-minute "Olovni" at its centre. It was recorded at Rattus Rattus Studio in Zagreb and produced by Borna Maksan.

With "Mirila" Nemeček won the sixth Milan Mladenović award for the best song in the region, which brings support and concerts, and the band was booked for the Exit and Modro i zeleno festivals in 2025.