Rebuilding Alex’ life and the Sandokan Hifi Sound

Dear all,

I am Alex. I lost my home and parts of my sound system last week in Zagreb's biggest earthquake since 140 years. And as much as I hate to admit that, I fear I will need your help. But slowly and from the start:

Sandokan Hifi is a Roots & Culture sound system originally from Germany, founded around 15 years ago, but based in Zagreb, Croatia, since 2015. We were always a people's sound, having grown up in DIY culture and autonomous cultural places, such as (formerly) squatted houses. Our principles are solidarity, antifascism and non-profit. We always tried to give a helping hand, donating profits from our parties to those in need. We were building up our sound system with money earned by ourselves and never asked anybody for any support. We strongly believe in a better society outside of capitalist market logic and try to be an example just by the way we do things.

Maybe because of that it is just natural, that we ended up having our headquarters in AKC Medika, a huge autonomous cultural center in the heart of Zagreb, the Capital of Croatia.

Now, last sunday, March 22nd, around 6am, a massive earthquake with the magnitude of 5,5 hit the city and left a trace of destruction. It was the biggest earthquake in this region since the last 140 years. Unfortunately, it also hit AKC Medika.

The headquarters of our sound system were built inside an attic of one of Medika's buildings. I just finished its construction around a month ago, putting in a lot of effort and my own money. Apart from that, just at the beginning of 2019, I renovated the Sandokan Hifi sound system to bring it back to life, also investing several thousands of Euros.

Now, with one destructive event, all my efforts found a sudden end, as the attic got completely destroyed and I thus lost my home. I am left with an uncertain future, many worries (including financial ones) and no home.

The control section of the sound system suffered a lot too. I don't even want to start to talk about the state of my over 17 years carefully built up record collection... Luckily, the speaker boxes and amplifiers of the sound system were in a garage which survived and things there seem okay.

I have not much experience in asking for help. Honestly, I am scared that people will say I am making use of this situation. But the reality is that I have no means to bring anything of my life or the damaged parts of the sound back to life by my own. I am left without a house, I have to move out, find a new place, built a new life. And since the sound system is one of my main motivators to carry on in my life, I will have to built it up again too.

Since it is super hard for me to financially estimate the damage, I decided to create a funding without set goal. That's why I set up this fundraiser as ongoing, without deadline, and with no specific financial goal. For the damaged equipment, I just know as much:

- Technics 1210: 500 Euro
- Mostec Preamp: 500 Euro
- 6x effect units: 100 Euro each (very very conservatively calculated) = 600 Euro
- A&H MIxWizard: 800 Euro

This does not include at all the damage of my place nor the record collection. Anyone who knows my sound system and my selections also knows about the rarities I play, that here and there I spent 40 to 70 and sometimes 90 Euros or more for one specific record, just because I want to provide my audience authentic Roots & Culture and this specific song is not available for cheaper money..

You get the picture, the damage is huge, it is a cost I cannot compensate on my own at all. Thats why this time I am depending on help from others to first be able to build myself a new base from which I can operate further and rebuild the sound as well.

Me, in all of this, I am maybe learning to finally accept help when offered... because even writing all this makes me feel super uncomfortable.

Thank you all so much! When all of this is behind us and I am finally capable to being creative and playful again, I will come up with a way to give something back to all of you!

Alex / Sandokan Hifi

PS: For those of you who are not familiar with my sound system, feel free to have a look:
http://www.facebook.com/sandokanhifi
http://www.instagram.com/sandokanhifi
http://www.soundcloud.com/sandokanhifi
http://www.youtube.com/user/SandokanIntl