Damien Dubrovnik
Loke Rahbek (Damien Dubrovnik, Posh Isolation) curates an introverted selection (STM 165). A collision of Scott Walker’s avant-balladry, Serbian folk, and raw industrial texture.
Listen to the mix
Damien Dubrovnik is the Danish noise duo of Loke Rahbek (known for Croatian Amor, Lust for Youth, Var) and Christian Stadsgaard (Vanity Productions, The Empire Line). Together, they are also the founders of the seminal Copenhagen label Posh Isolation.
Damien Dubrovnik’s sound is a crystalline aesthetic combination of raw power electronics intensity and romantic ambient decadence, unveiled through an intimate performative expressiveness. Their album Vegas Fountain stands as a defining document of this artistic world. From the piercing abrasiveness of “Interior 1, Upper Lip” to the melancholic synth patterns of the title track, the record leads the listener through a seductive, intimate space of sound and emotion. It manages to be both personal and universal, exploding in a sheerly confessional manner empowered by subtle lyrical content.
Records and connections
As Loke stated in an interview for Secret Thirteen: “We want the exaggerated movements of a well-performed lie to help us understand something true, namely the artist’s truth and if it is skillfully done, some of that will become our truth.” Those who have witnessed their dynamic, immersive live shows know how easy it is to become embroiled in their sharply elegant noise.
STM 165 was compiled by Loke Rahbek. It serves as a map of the influences instrumental in shaping the duo’s sound. Even though it may not be obvious at first, Damien Dubrovnik’s aesthetic presence pierces all of these musical pieces. The selection has numerous interconnected layers which can all be traced back to the project’s sonic and artistic core.
The narrative explores the boundaries of the frighteningly beautiful through the avant-garde balladry of Scott Walker, the fatal dramatism of Nico, and the chamber lyricism of Arthur Russell. It also holds a very personal ambient textural core—the intimate hospital field recordings of Arv & Miljö, the melancholic cinematic haziness of Erik Enocksson, and a drone excerpt from Iannis Xenakis. The inclusion of Ancient Greek music played by Atrium Musicae de Madrid and the Balkan touch of Goran Bregović adds additional diversity and flavor to the mix.
The dynamics are carefully orchestrated; introspective moments coexist with abrasive noise, while subtle micro-drones stand next to epic chamber voyages. It is emotionally touching, thoughtfully expressive, and charming in its own peculiar way, mirroring the twisted surreal forms of Gyarmathy Tihamér’s painting Lights and Shadows.
Damien Dubrovnik — The Weight of Sound
Christian Stadsgaard and Loke Rahbek on noise, seduction and the strength found in weakness. The 2015 conversation with the duo behind Posh Isolation, with the later archive introduction kept separate.
Loke Rahbek — Intimacy and the World Around Us
The artist behind Croatian Amor on love, Copenhagen and the strange closeness a piece of music can create. The original 2016 conversation, with a separate introduction and afterword by Justinas Mikulskis from 2026.
Sources and image credits
- Photograph by Jonas Bang.
- Original release artwork: Damien Dubrovnik — Vegas Fountain.
- Original release artwork: Damien Dubrovnik — Great Many Arrows.
- Original release artwork: Scott Walker — The Drift.
- Original release artwork: Arthur Russell — World Of Echo.
