Mitar Subotić
Mitar Subotić "Suba" (Serbian Cyrillic: Митар Суботић Суба; 23 June 1961 – 2 November 1999), also known as Rex Ilusivii (Latin for The King of Illusions), was a Serbian-born musician and composer who was set to become one of Brazil's most prominent producers when he died in November 1999.
Mitar Subotić | |
|---|---|
Subotić in 1985 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Rex Ilusivii, Suba |
| Born | 23 June 1961 Novi Sad, PR Serbia, FPR Yugoslavia |
| Died | 2 November 1999 (aged 38) São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil |
| Genres | Experimental rock, ambient music, minimal music, electronic music, latin rock, bossa nova |
| Occupation(s) | Producer, musician |
| Instrument(s) | Keyboards, piano, synthesizer |
| Years active | 1982 – 1999 |
| Labels | PGP RTB, "M" Produkcija Radio Novog Sada, Ziriguiboom, SSR Records, Six Degrees Records |
Subotić obtained a university degree in his hometown from the University of Novi Sad, Vojvodina, Serbia, before continuing electronic music studies in Belgrade. He was a pioneer of electronic music in former Yugoslavia, since he mixed and produced a number of celebrated albums of Yugoslav new wave acts such as Ekatarina Velika, Haustor, Marina Perazić in the course of the 1980s. In 1986, his fusion of electronic music and Yugoslav folk lullabies, In The Mooncage was awarded the International Fund for Promotion of Culture from UNESCO, which included a three-month scholarship to research Afro-Brazilian rhythms in Brazil. Falling in love with the country and its music, he emigrated to São Paulo in the 1990s, where his fruitful production began and ended. During that time he participated in Milan Mladenović's last project Angel's Breath, and recorded his famous album São Paulo Confessions.
On 2 November 1999 he was working on the post-production of the album of his new-found diva, Bebel Gilberto, when his studio caught fire. Overcome by smoke, he died trying to rescue the newly recorded material with her. Suba died just a few days after the release of his album São Paulo Confessions, and shortly before the completion of Bebel Gilberto's acclaimed Tanto Tempo, the biggest selling Brazilian album outside Brazil.