Mato Došen

Biography
In the late 1970s, Mato Došen was a member of pop groups Hobo and Izazov. He also released one solo album as a vocalist. In the 1980s, he became the single most sought-after arranger in former Yugoslavia, working on songs for virtually every important artist: Oliver, Magazin, Arsen Dedić, and Ljiljana Nikolovska, to name just a few. Between 1988 and 2008, Došen lived in Marbella, Spain, where he owned a recording studio and a nightclub.

Mato Došen was involved in three Yugoslavian entries in the 1980s, of which he conducted one. In 1983, he arranged ‘Džuli’ for Daniel and played the accordion on stage; this Yugoslavian entry, conducted by Radovan Papović of RTV Titograd, finished fourth and became a major European hit. One year later, Došen both arranged and conducted another Montenegrin entry which won the Yugoslavian heats, ‘Ciao amore’ by Vlado & Isolda; in Luxembourg, this song finished second-last. In 1986, finally, Došen arranged ‘Željo moja’, sung by Doris Dragović. This entry, submitted by Croatian broadcaster RTV Zagreb, represented Yugoslavia in the 1986 contest in Bergen. Because Došen was on stage playing the keyboards, the orchestra was conducted by Nikica Kalogjera.

In due course, a more extensive biography of Mato Došen will be published on this website