October 18th - Sophisticated @ Sass Music Club with Tibor Holoda (Wilsonic, SK)

Tibor Holoda is highly regarded throughout Europe as Slovakia's foremost DJ. He is the most significant and respected artist and individual from Slovak electronic music culture both at home, and abroad. Tibor’s DJ career spans over a decade. His technical precision and his ability to flawlessly rock any crowd, reflects his long and respectable history behind the decks. He has performed alongside almost every international DJ that has graced the stage of Eastern Europe.

U.Club
Always ahead of his time, Tibor was the first DJ to introduced techno and house music to Slovakia in the first place. Tibor is the founder of the legendary “bunker under the castle”, U.Club. Alongside DJ-partner DJ Dalo (Tresor, Pure Plastic, Olga + Jozef), Tibor and Dalo maintained their weekly(!) residency at U.Club for five years, remarkably influencing the evolutionary process of the young Slovak club culture. DJ Toky (Tresor, Numb) joined the duo five years later. They packed U.Club with enthusiastic fans every weekend for its ten year lifespan. U.Club is historically regarded as the roots of Eastern European techno and many DJ’s and producers list the club as one of their favorite venues in the world. U.Club has hosted the ‘crème de la crème’ of international DJs. Introducing Slovakia to such esteemed DJ’s and acts as Neil Landstrumm (1995) or Jeff Mills (1996), Andrew Wetherall, David Holmes, Regis, James Ruskin and Mark Broom among the many others. Unfortunately, U.Club closed its doors in June 2003 when the crew decided to redirect their attention towards music production.

Radio
Tibor was also one of the first to bring alternative radio to Slovakia in 1993. Radio was essential in delivering unheard music to a country with a shattered economy. Most citizens of Slovakia could not afford to buy records or travel to concerts out of the country. Fragmented early years of post-communist Slovakia needed a starting point. Radio Ragtime was it. The famous program ran from 1993 to1998. Radio Ragtime was the main voice of the alternative music scene in Slovakia and had a huge impact on the domestic electronic music culture. Currently Tibor programs a weekly radio show on Slovak National Radio (Radio_FM) together with his long time friend and an ex-Radio Ragtime colleague Daniel Balaz.

Wilsonic Festival
Tibor also manages and curates the world renowned Wilsonic Festival which he started with his friend, writer and publicist, Michal Hvorecky. Founded in 2000, Wilsonic’s primary mandate was to introduce Slovakia to new and innovative electronic music culture from around the world. Past artists include: Matthew Herbert, Koop, Jimmy Edgar, Digital Mystikz, MRK1, Daddy G, Dani Siciliano, Funkstoerung, Nouvelle Vague, M83, Hood, Krikor, Noze, Akufen, Ricardo Villalobos, DJ Vadim’s One Self, Apparat, Thomas Brinkmann, Luciano, Jeff Milligan, Jeff Samuel, Jake Mandell, Safety Scissors, Trueby Trio, B.Fleischmann, Jazzanova, Lali Puna, Donna Reginna, Keith Teniswood, Herrmann & Kleine, Crane AK, Max Tundra and Gus Gus among many other local acts. Wilsonic’s primary objective however, is to open Slovak music culture to the rest of the world, showcasing local artists with their international counterparts, establishing dialog between Slovakia and the globe.

Tibor Holoda @ MySpace

Listen to Tibor's DJ sets here:

c/o pop @ Club Elektrokueche 18/8/2007 (Cologne / Germany) - opening set
Nu Spirit Bar 17/5/2007 (Bratislava / Slovakia)
Kompas @ Radio_FM 15/2/2005 (Bratislava / Slovakia)