There’s something distinctly cinematic – even mythic – about the way Serbian duo UTOPIA approach their live performances. As a hybrid live act, the Novi Sad-based pair bring a rare depth and intentionality to the stage. In their latest audio-visual statement, they took over the striking Kadinjača Memorial Complex, a dramatic Yugoslav-era site perched in the hills of western Serbia, to deliver a hybrid set that feels as reverent as it is forward-looking.
Framed by towering concrete pylons and the 14-meter sculptural monolith that anchors the site, UTOPIA’s performance unfolds like a ritual. Analog synths, brooding melodic techno sequences, live vocals, and custom visuals melt into the concrete. The result isn’t just a performance in a beautiful location – it’s a conversation between architecture, memory, and sound.
Igor Trešnjić and Miloš Đurić, the duo behind UTOPIA, have spent the last few years crafting a distinctive audio-visual identity: sleek, emotive, and rooted in a vision of progress. Their hybrid live sets aren’t just DJ sets with flair – each is a tailored composition, with mashups, reinterpreted vocals, and unreleased material adapted to the site and atmosphere. This latest session features several new track IDs, set for release later this year.
Kadinjača – a memorial built to honour WWII partisans – offers a compelling stage for their aesthetic: post-industrial, stoic, and ghostly. It’s also the latest in a series of live recordings UTOPIA have filmed at culturally charged locations across the region, part of a long-form project that seeks to reframe local heritage through contemporary electronic music.
The set follows a standout year for the hybrid live act. After a six-city tour through India and appearances at Illusions and Infuse festivals, UTOPIA have continued to expand their reach, with releases supported by David Guetta, Miss Monique, Korolova, and Innellea, and a recent #2 on the Beatport Hype chart. Their viral covers – especially “Faded” and their haunting version of “Ederlezi” – have further established them as artists who move fluidly between club culture and something more emotionally expansive.
This is UTOPIA at their most distilled: introspective, intentional, and sonically rich. If their goal is to build a vision of what music – and art – could be when placed in direct dialogue with the world around it, this set at Kadinjača is a powerful argument in their favour.
Watch the full performance on their YouTube channel and follow them on Instagram for release dates and upcoming shows.
