About us

Imperfect State is a genre-blending band founded in 2025 by pianist and composer Jadran Mihelčić together with Petar Pavasović, Jakov Kontak, Thian Schjaer and later on Nikola Budimir.

Jadran (born 2004) is a fifth-year piano student at the Academy of Music in Zagreb, an award-winning classical pianist and composer, and a devoted blues and jazz musician. 

He has appeared at major festivals including the Thrill Blues Festival, the Zagreb International Blues Festival, and Norway’s Notodden Blues Festival, where he attended Little Steven’s Blues School on a full scholarship from the European Blues Union. 

In 2024, he won the Croatian Blues Challenge, earning the opportunity to represent Croatia at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in 2027. In 2025, he represented Croatia at Pinetop Perkins’ Blues Camp, performing in legendary blues clubs across Memphis, Chicago, Nashville, Clarksdale, and beyond.

All of this experience converged into Imperfect State.

The band quickly established itself as an electrifying live act, performing multiple concerts at the iconic Kunst Caffe, headlining the 16th Zagreb International Blues Festival, appearing at the 8th Thrill Blues Festival and the 21st Pirovac Blues Festival, and selling out a stand-alone concert at the Komedija Theatre Club “Kontesa.”

Imperfect State’s sound is an original and expressive fusion of jazz, blues, psychedelic rock, funk, progressive structures, and oriental colors. 

Their music moves fluidly between groove and atmosphere, precision and spontaneity, structure and improvisation — always grounded in emotional honesty and powerful stage presence.