Ill in the Head was founded by Berislav Sabolic in Croatia in 1992. The project started as a fanzine, but evolved into a record label shortly after the publication of the first issue of “Ill in the Head Zine” in June of 1992.
Label’s initial release was a cassette compilation entitled “Life?” featuring punk/HC music by several Croatian bands. It was the first in total of 6 punk/HC compilations produced over the next 4 years. Geographical scope of these compilation cassettes was later expanded to feature bands from all over the world.
In addition to the compilations, the label started producing full length cassette albums in 1993, focusing on underground punk/HC and metal music from Croatia and Ex-Yugoslavia.
Ill in the Head was the first Croatian record label to release music by a Serbian artist after the breakout of the war in 1991. It was the cassette album entitled “Osiguranje zivotne vecnosti” by punk band Ex-Cess from Belgrade. The cassette was released in 1994.
The next step in the expansion of Ill in the Head activities was the creation of a mail-order distribution. In the spirit of the true punk DIY approach, the items (cassettes, vinyl, CDs, fanzines, T-shirts etc.) sold via mail-order were acquired through exchange with other independent record labels from around the word. The label’s distribution catalogue was extensive and represented 40% of Ill in the Head’s total sales, reaching underground/indie music audiences in every corner of Croatia and further in the Balkan region.
In 1996 Ill in the Head started focusing on vinyl records, specifically 7”EP format. “Vragoder” EP by the Croatian band Gipps, and a split EP by the bands Running Party and The Cardinals came out that same year.
All activities related to Ill in the Head stopped, and the label ceased to exist at the end of 1996, when Berislav decided to move from Croatia to Canada. In the span of four years Ill in the Head produced a total of twenty-two cassettes, two vinyl records, and distributed numerous international and national music releases and merchandise.
The idea of restarting the label and focus it on promoting music from ex-Yugoslavia came about in 2013. Three years later, and exactly 20 years after the end of the label’s Croatian chapter, Ill in the Head is starting a new life in Canada. The first Canadian release, and also the 25th in the label’s complete catalogue, will be a 7” EP by the Macedonian band Bernays Propaganda. The record is scheduled to come out in early November 2016. At the end of the same month it will be followed by a full-length vinyl release by the Croatian artist The Marshmallow Notebooks.
Stay tuned!