Around the time Dundov also hooked up with one of the longest-standing and most respected European techno labels - Ghent's Music Man. "Some time after my release on [Swedish label] Tronic, I received an email from the A&R of Music Man with compliments for that release and the offer to do some records for them.", recounts Dundov. "I knew what they were releasing for years and I liked the idea. I accepted and the first release was the 'Libra EP' in 2002."

Several more releases followed - including a collaboration with Amsterdam's godfather of deep techno, Steve Rachmad - until Dundov took a creative break in preparation of his first album in almost ten years: 'Escapements'.

"I wanted to do album that would reflect me as an electronic musician," explains Dundov. "Through the years I have had the opportunity to work with sound and I just loved what you could accomplish with synthesizers. When I was young I learned classic guitar, so probably this approach is still pronounced in my music in a sense of melody and rhythm. Songs like Oasis or Kanon you could easily translate and play on string instrument."

'Escapements' indeed combines many of the ideas that Dundov has been working on the past, from ambient tracks ('Kanon', 'Oasis') to melodic Detroit-style techno ('Desert Island', 'Sparkling Stars') and hypnotic trance-like patterns ('Rain', 'Anja's Theme'). "I wanted to relive all my experiences I have made as musician since I started doing music. After years you start to distinguish what is really important and what elements become a part of you." At the same time the album marks a break from what Dundov calls the "functional part of dance music": "At some point I even started arranging songs to a particular duration to fit on a record nicely. I needed to break out of that way of thinking and focus again on the feeling of music."

This explains the time-out Petar Dundov has taken from 2005 to 2007 - an escape that has certainly benefited his creativity. "In that time I started working on a new studio - this had been a dream for me since I started releasing records. It took almost two years to complete everything and it gave me a new perspective on sound and possibilities."

With Zagreb being Dundov's centre of life and work, was it difficult to establish a network of friendships and professional relationships as international as his? "Maybe being Croatian was in a way easier, because nobody really knew what to expect from me except what they could hear from my music. On the other hand when it comes to being present, you are far away in some appendix of Europe," Dundov explains the pros and cons. "Most of the time things were happening spontaneously. You meet someone on the party, stay in touch, maybe work on a record together. I used to send a lot of demo CDs around and sometimes it worked. Today things are easier in a sense that you can send someone mp3 or mail, but the numbers of people doing it are overwhelming. What worked for me were steady and quality releases through years that made connections easier."

What has certainly helped Dundov's music to spread around was the series of internationally renowned club nights he has been organising in Zagreb for many years, called Perfection. At the moment Dundov however limits those to yearly anniversary parties, as the Croatian capital's club scene is currently going through a "quiet phase", Dundov says. "Many clubs that were going well at beginning of the century are now closing down. Mostly they get sucked up in their own greed. They didn't take care of their people, so people found other interests. Frankly if for example friends from abroad come to visit me, I wouldn't know where to go out. We would probably end up in a local bar. I believe that it is normal phase to go through, it is even for better, as there is a space to start something new: Three new clubs will open in Zagreb alone till the end of year, so I hope we can finally find a place to develop something long term."

Something that also holds true for Zagreb's production scene, which is small and bar a few noteworthy exceptions has yet to make a mark on an international level. "Electronic music here is still perceived in the media as something that happens somewhere other than Croatia," says Dundov. "I am happy that there are people who are doing music however and believe that this is just a transition," he adds. "If I can think of one really good disco producer from here that is doing regular releases, it is surely Ilija Rudman. There are also a few good young artists developing at the moment - we will see what the future brings."