No imitation: Echo0000 is nurturing Ljubljana’s alternative scene

Functions is our interview series profiling parties from across the world. This time we meet: Echo0000.

It’s fair to say that Slovenia doesn’t really have a global reputation for its club culture. It isn’t as prolific in the media eye as its neighbouring Croatia, home to shoreside parties and festivals attended in their masses by Brits, or its bordering Italy, where the booming techno scene is having its moment. But, as Staš Kramar will tell you, Slovenia’s capital is home to “one of the best nightlife scenes in the region”, despite the fact that it’s majorly overlooked in the West. As the founder of Ljubljana club night Echo0000, and a DJ-producer in his own right under the name Fujita Pinnacle, Staš stands his ground: “There’s a large number of promoters producing all kinds of alternative events, lots of them bringing great acts to the city at their own expense.”

Staš has been running events in Ljubljana for over seven years now, though Echo0000 is just the latest project in his portfolio. Launched in 2024 in former squat venues across the capital, the underground club night recently completed its ‘second season’, offering up a range of global acts often in the bass music continuum including UK-based Planet Mu signee Ship Sket, Swiss industrial head NVST, and, though later cancelled due to nearby political unrest, a booking of Colombia’s CRRDR. 

With an effort to create a “warm and cosy atmosphere” that also caters to different budgets in a city that is heavily populated by students, Echo0000’s mission is clear: “My aim was to tone down and simplify the production to a logistical and promotional template, making the series more coherent, budget-friendly, and consequently more accessible to the crowd of Ljubljana in times of ever-inflating living costs,” Staš explains. And while Ljubljana’s club scene faces the same financial pressures as its wider European counterparts, Echo0000 is working with others in the scene to “face our common troubles” and continue helping to make Slovenia’s capital a great place to party.

We met Staš Kramar, aka Fujita Pinnacle, to talk about nightlife in Ljubljana, being one of the first club nights to enlist an MC all-night-long at a dance music event in the capital, and how Echo0000 is navigating rising costs and difficulties in the industry. Check it out below.

How and when did Echo0000 begin?

The Echo0000 event series began in the spring of 2024, less than half a year after I stopped co-producing Štrom events with the Nimaš Izbire collective at the end of 2023. After seven years of working mostly as part of a larger team co-producing events for collectives, clubs, festivals, and radio stations, I wanted to curate a series of my own – this time with a smaller crew and a consistent, reliable output of affordable and quality underground events.

What were your aims when starting out?

Contrary to the events I produced or helped to produce prior to Echo0000, my aim was to tone down and simplify the production to a logistical and promotional template, making the series more coherent, budget-friendly, and consequently more accessible to the crowd of Ljubljana in times of ever-inflating living costs. The aim was also to cut production costs by connecting with fellow promoters in the wider Balkan region – doing double bookings and collaborative events, co-hosting headliners, and exchanging local line-ups.

What’s the atmosphere like at an Echo0000 party?

With the help of our small team of promoters, we're doing our best to introduce our series to a younger and diverse crowd, while also trying to decentralise and bring in guests from other cities in the region. We always have a more personal stage arrangement, with artists performing in the crowd, minimal lighting, and the Echo0000 logo as a centrepiece behind the stage. The aim is always to create a warm and cosy dancefloor atmosphere with a strong emphasis on the contact between the artists and the crowd, and the sound as the primary medium of the series.

You’ve had artists like Ship Sket, NVST, and DJ Fucks Himself at your events so far. How do you go about curating these line-ups?

The line-ups at Echo0000 are mostly based on my clubbing experiences abroad, local requests and recommendations, and personal connections with artists and agencies. I found the latter being more and more relevant over the years, as it’s much easier to explain our regional financial and production capabilities to someone familiar with it, than someone expecting the Western standard of revenue and hospitality. The regional collaborations also play a big role in curation, as we’re working together with other promoters to prepare competitive double booking offers and bring in bigger names that are otherwise inaccessible to individual productions.

Where do you host your events?

Echo0000 parties have so far taken place in Channel Zero, Gromka and Gala Hala – all three alternative clubs situated in a formerly squatted street called AKC Metelkova Mesto (aka Metelkova City Autonomous Cultural Centre), an autonomous social and cultural centre located in the heart of Ljubljana. The area is one of the few remaining locations in the capital where venues aren't solely profit-oriented and where promoters are still able to curate their events independently.

Ljubljana feels like quite a free, punky city with a really interesting social culture where people gather outside to drink and hang out. What are the rules and regulations like for nightlife in Slovenia, and specifically throwing events?

The influence of the Balkan social culture can be felt in Slovenia for sure, even though our nation is known for pretending to be superior and more Western than our southern counterparts. Besides that, Ljubljana is also particularly lively due to a large number of students coming into the capital to study and work, while also being a fairly popular and cheap tourist destination for younger folk from all around Europe. When it comes to indoor events, the regulations are quite similar to European standards – maybe a bit laxer in areas like AKC Metelkova Mesto, as the current municipality leadership recognises and tolerates its existence and modes of operation to some extent.

What’s the nightlife scene like in Ljubljana?

I’d say the nightlife in Ljubljana is one of the best in the region – I’ve said this in the interviews before, and I stand by this. There’s a large number of promoters producing all kinds of alternative events, lots of them bringing great acts to the city at their own expense. Lots of us are just happy to be a part of the vibrant scene, and do our best to deliver quality nights for our crowds. This also used to be a form of competition between crews in the capital in the past, but most of the promoters nowadays communicate and help each other for the good of the scene. We’re working together, facing our common troubles like the loss of crowds and presales due to inflation, venue scarcity, and lack of stable promotion outputs in times of unpredictable algorithm-based social networking tools. But as a party-goer myself, it’s still amazing to see at least a few quality events pop up every week in a city at least 10 times smaller than most Western capitals.

Can you tell us about some of your favourite Echo0000 parties?

It’s hard to pick the favourites, but I’d say the last one we did with Chunky and Yungfya was really special since it was one of the all-time rare event formats and the first time I experienced an MC being present throughout the whole night at an electronic music party in Ljubljana. Other than that, I enjoyed the collaborative events the most, as we got to spend some time working and traveling with other crews and the artists we host together.

Just over a year into running Echo0000 parties, what have you learned? And what do you think you’ll do differently in 2026 when it returns for the next season?

Running Echo0000 for two seasons gave me confidence in the stripped-down event concept, and I’m glad to see people keen to come around to clubs for the simplified and more intimate clubbing experience. I can see our limits regarding budgeting and ticket sales more clearly, and will work on arranging better funding through sponsorships and government support to keep the ticket prices unchanged while further delivering the quality programme. Since the alternative scene of Ljubljana is currently noticeably saturated with similar event series, I’m also planning to reduce the frequency of our productions in 2026, while spending the extra time between events to optimise promotion and logistics. 

What’s next for you?

I’m heading to Berlin for the winter to gain more practical experience in event production and management, hoping to get in touch with more amazing artists and return home with fresh ideas for the coming events next year.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Associate Digital Editor, follow her on Twitter