Proggin' in communism: Prog in ex-Yugoslavia
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Topic: Proggin' in communism: Prog in ex-Yugoslavia
Posted By: Weirdamigo
Subject: Proggin' in communism: Prog in ex-Yugoslavia
Date Posted: August 06 2010 at 09:06
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---------------------------------------Background----------------------------------------- The first post may be regarded as a sort of history lesson to those who would like to know how rock n' roll was allowed in ex-Yugoslavia: Ex-Yugoslavia had a unique communistic system under "President-for-life" Josip Broz Tito. His socialistic ideology is commonly referred to as "Titoism" which has some major difference compared to communism in the USSR. Yugoslavia was seen as an Independent nation whose communistic party had no connections to Moscow which even remained neutral during the cold war with Egypt and India (see Non-aligned Movement). For this neutrality people from all over the world came to Yugoslavia and brought with them the gift of music, the magic of rock n' roll,progressive rock,jazz and blues. The regime allowed this "craze" to settle with the people saying that they did not want to hinder the creativity of the socialist youth (even though discos were outlawed) and soon the first rock bands to came to be. One of the most plausible and accepted theories of why Tito allowed rock to spread in Yugoslavia is surprisingly simple: Tito had a great love for international art and photography and banning music would mean to ban art as well. In 1989 Yugoslavia ceased to exist, the rock scene had simply vanished. Yet the spirit of rock lives on though a revival is sadly nowhere in sight. To show you the atmosphere of rock in former Yugoslavia a certain song always comes to mind: "Elektricni Orgazam" (Electrical orgasm) with the song "Igra rokenrol cela Jugoslavija" (All of Yugoslavia is playing Rock n' roll) The next post I will introduce the blues rock/progressive rock band "Smak" (End of the World) |
Replies:
Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: August 06 2010 at 09:27
| I wonder but there exist some new/old prog bands on ex-Yugoslavian countries though. You can find some of them added on PA. |
Posted By: Weirdamigo
Date Posted: August 06 2010 at 09:36
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Yes that is true,even the old Prog bands are still active ,but what I was meaning to say is that the people on the balkans (especially in Serbia) have completely lost interest in rock and prog. Now Turbo-folk and House dominate the music scene in serbia (if not in all ex-YU countries).
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Posted By: omardiyejon
Date Posted: August 06 2010 at 09:56
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wow, this is an interesting post which really got my attention. thanks for this weirdamigo.. i had heard about elektricni orgazam in an old yugoslavian movie. the yugoslav army was in war with the croatians(forgive me if i am wrong), and josip broz tito(the communist leader of former yugoslavia) was in charge. one of the soldiers in the yugoslav army wrote the name of this elektricni orgazam band on a wall of one of the military buildings. the commander had got really pissed off with him as far as i remember. i do not think that this is really related with the topic but i just wanted to share it... ------------- http://www.normalisr.com/?username=omardiyejon" rel="nofollow - http://www.normalisr.com/?username=omardiyejon |
Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: August 06 2010 at 10:02
You still have great Exit in Novi Sad , and not everyone listens to Ceca  . But yes - it's almost impossible to find something different than "narodniak" around Serbia or Bosnia nowadays. Happily the situation in Croatia or especially Slovenia is very different
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Weirdamigo wrote:Posted By: Weirdamigo
Date Posted: August 06 2010 at 10:34
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--------------------------------------------Smak-------------------------------------------- Smak (End of the world) Founded:1971 Country: Serbia Genre:Progressive rock, Blues rock, Hard rock Years active: 1971-1981,1984,1986,1992,1994- (On hiatus) Current Members: Radomir "Tocak" (The wheel) Mihailovic (lead guitar) Slobodan "Kepa" Stojanovic (drums, percussion) Dejan Stojanovic (drums) Dejan Najdanovic (vocals) Milan "Miki" Milosavljevic (guitar) Sale Markovic (Bass) Former Members: Slobodan Kominac Boris Arandeljovic Miki Petkovski Tibor Levay David Moss (guest) Dado Topic Chris Nicols Srdan Miodragovic Zoran Milanovic Discography (Studio Albums): NOTE: There are excellent reviews of these albums on Progarchives (Thank you Seyo and clarke2001 !) Foundation: Smak is perhaps the most successful Prog band in Ex-Yugoslavia winning many fans not only on the balkans but also in central europe and in the U.S.A. Smak was founded in 1971 by Radomir "Tocak" Mihailovic,who is arguably one of the greatest musicians on the balkans and known for his unique playing style, with his childhood friends: Drummer Slobodan "Kepa" Stojanovic, singer Slobodan Kominac, bassist Zoran Milanovic and organist Misa Nikolic. "Smak" 1st Album 1975 After 4 years of playing Gigs around the Balkans and hiring vocalist Boris Arandelovic they have produced their Blues influenced work to date: the self-titled album "Smak". A song that has thrown Smak into popularity was the Blues song "Bluz u parku" (Blues in the park) with phenomenal guitar licks by Radomir Mihailovic and a fantastic tenor vocal peformance by Boris Arandelovic Bluz u parku: Put od balona (Path of ballons) is a very progressive instrumental piece with very elegant tones by both Mihailovic and Misa Nikolic Put od balona: This Album has marked the beginning of Smaks legacy EP Satelit (Satellite) and Crna Dama(Black Lady): If one had to choose the most famous Smak song most fans would yell "Satelit!". This Song has a cathy riff and probably the oddest lyrics in a serbian song: Hocu u Michigan da vidim lejdi En Hocu u Hollywood da vidim lejdi Wud Translated: I want to go to Michigan to see Lady Ann I want to go to Hollywood to see lady Wood This song has become so famous in the United States and in Serbia, that the yugoslavian airlines opened a new plane route to New york and Smak had to play on that plane which happened sometime in 1976. Satelit: But of course the band did not just go in a plane to perform to maybe a hundred people, they were more on a business trip. They came to New York to record Crna Dama which is regarded as Smaks greatest album. The album features many of their greatest hits and was (again) such an international success that the band had to make an english version of the album. Here's the song "Daire" (Tambourine) in serbian and in english for your pleasure and, to some, for your amusement serbian: english: Stranice naseg vremena - The pages of our time By now most of you will say "This all nice and all but where's the prog?" Well the moment has come to show you the most progressive album that the band has produced "Strane naseg vremena". Even though the friendship is deteriorating between band members this album is still one of their greatest works. Lyricist and guitarist Radomir Mihailovic left the band shortly after the release in 1978 Povedi me sa njim (take me with him): Return of Mihailovic,"Rok cirkus" and "Zasto ne volim sneg": Radomir Mihailovic returned to Smak in 1979 and with him Croatian rock musician Dado Topic. Now the band could function again after failed attempts of replacing Mihailovic. Topic had some new plans with Smak and worked on a more mainstream-rock album with the other members. "Rok cirkus" however is seen as a very weak album by most critics and the rock scene had to cope with the new "New wave" music which spread throughout Yugoslavia. One year after the release of the unsuccessful "Rok Cirkus" came the more melodic and slightly more Prog-like album "Zasto ne volim sneg". Zasto ne volim sneg is actually Radomir Mihailovic's solo album with the help of Topic but the record label insisted that the album was to be released under the Smak name. Even though it did not share the same fame as "Smak" and "Crna Dama" it is still regarded as an above-average album with some very energetic songs. Nonetheless the disputes between band members continued which, with Topic leaving the band, ultimately led to the bands disbandment in 1981. Juzni voz: Return of the band 1986 and 2nd disbandment The band reformed with most of the original members (Milan Durdevic replacing Laza Ritovski on keyboards) and recorded the album Smak 86. which the critics found even weaker than the"Rok cirkus" album. After a short tour the band disbanded again at the end of 1986. Reunion and odLIVEno Smak came back together 1992 to play at their live concert odLIVEno were they played Blues covers like "Crossroads" by Robert Johnson and "Tobacco road" and the traditional serbian song "Ukor" in addition to their hits. Even though the live concert was a success Smak disbanded soonly after. Final Reunion in 1994 and "Bioskop Fox" Mihailovic and Drummer Stojanovic hired a completely new line up with young members such as Vocalist Dejan Najdanovic, bassist Sale Markovic and Stojanovic's son Dejan. A great difference between the new Smak line up is that instead of hiring a new Keyboardist the band hired a second guitarist which did not bode well with fans. "Bioskop Fox" had mixed reviews, but was refreshing album after unsatisfying "Smak 86". The album has returned to the roots of the self-titled album"Smak". It focused on blues rather than on mainstream-rock, and with Najdanovic deeper voice, has become a highly enjoyable album even though no traces of prog can be found. Organizam Blues- Egregor and Smak today Egregor is the latest release of Smak with all songs written by Mihailovic. No line up changes and almost a instrumental album (if you disregard Najdanovic's moaning and wailing). Not a very successful album but full of enjoyable riffs which Radomir Mihailovic provides. Smak is currently on hiatus with most members of the band focusing on their on own projects. Hope you enjoyed the first post on my Blog and hopefully there will be plenty more for you to enjoy. Feedback is appreciated as urgently as needing to go to the toilet after writing 3 hours non-stop on a post  . |
Posted By: Weirdamigo
Date Posted: August 06 2010 at 10:48
I'm suprised that you know about the movie! The movie is called "Lepa sela lepo gore" ("Pretty villages burn nicely" english film title "Pretty village,pretty flame") Although I must correct you, serbs were at war with Bosnian muslims and Tito's death started the whole mess. It was a funny scene in a serious movie with the elektricni orgazam reference and even the song i used above could be heard in the movie. I'm glad that you found my post interesting and I hope you will enjoy the future posts on my blog 
Thank goodness for that  I've had all my life to get use to Ceca, Lepa Brena and all those musical absurdities and it still bothers me to be in the same room when someone starts playing Turbo-folk. |
Posted By: Rune2000
Date Posted: August 06 2010 at 12:27
Every respectable movie snob should have seen at least one Srdjan Dragojevic movie!  PS I've seen two. |
Posted By: Weirdamigo
Date Posted: August 06 2010 at 13:06
Haha looks like serbia isn't only remembered for sounding a bit like siberia Let me take a guess what the other movie was. "Mi nismo andeli" (We are not angels) perhaps?
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Posted By: zappadaddy
Date Posted: August 06 2010 at 16:15
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In late 70's I have heard one song from some yugoslavian band which I liked a lot at that time but I don't remember name,they were singing something like shoshona.Can someone tell me what it was?
------------- My heroes are Frank Zappa,Ozzy Osbourne,The Plastic People of the Universe,Sun Ra and Mirek Wanek from Uz jsme doma |
Posted By: Weirdamigo
Date Posted: August 06 2010 at 17:09
I can't help you with that,sorry. You can try the band "Bijelo Dugme" but I am not sure if they produced the song you are looking for.
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Posted By: barberie
Date Posted: August 06 2010 at 20:37
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The band's name is :Dah and the song is :Sosana.
I hope that's what you're looking for.
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Posted By: Weirdamigo
Date Posted: August 07 2010 at 00:51
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-------------------------------------------Time---------------------------------------------- Name: Time Founded: 1971 Country: Croatia Genre: Progressive rock, Rock, Jazz Years active: 1971-1977 Former members: Dado Topic Tihomir Pop Asanovic Vedran Bozic Mario Mavrin Ratko Divjak Brane Lambert Zivkovic Pečo Petej /wiki/Ivan_Stan%C4%8Di%C4%87 - Karel Novak Čarli Mladen Baraković Nenad Zubak Christopher Nicholls Discography:
NOTE: There are fantastic reviews about these albums by a dozen members. (Thanks go to In the flesh?,FruMp, clarke2001,bsurmano, Seyo, erik neuteboom and ljubaspriest!) Foundation: Time can be considered as one of the most progressive rock bands in ex-yugoslavia. Time was founded in 1971 by Dado Topic, who left the band "Korni grupa" at the time, and by manager Vladimira Mihaljeka. "Time" the first album: With experienced musicians such as Dado Topic(Korni grupa), Tihomir Pop Asanovic(Generals), Vedran Bozic (Gresnici,Roboti,Wheels of fire,),Mario Mavrin(BP,Convention),Ratko Divjak,(Dinamiti,BP,Convention) and Brane Lambert Zivkovic (Grupa 220) how could the first album "Time" not be a success? The first self-titled album was a great success with positive reviews by critics. With an elegant progressive sound, one could really relax listening to this masterpiece of yugoslavian prog. Pjesma No.3 (Song No.3) "Time II" With the pressure of a successful album and the pressure of demanding fans, Time had to release a new album to please the masses. Though some problems occurred, like Dado Topic refusing to serve military duty in the JNA (Jugoslav People's Army), the album was recorded without further complications (Divjak and Asanovic were serving military duty but were lucky stationed in Ljubljana were the band had often recorded) and was released in 1975. The album "Time II" cannot be compared to the debut album "Time". As Topic later did in "Smak" , he moved on from progressive rock onto mainstream rock as can be clearly heard on the album. The album received mixed reviews from critics who were hoping for a progressive rock album. Alfa romeo GTA: High Heels and Disbandment: For the next album Topic had constructed an almost completely new line up, suprisingly replacing Asanovic with Nicholls on the keyboards to which the fans negatively responded. Zivot u cismama sa visokom petom (Life in boots with high heels) revolves around Rockstar life and is regarded by fans and critics alike to be the bands most unsuccessful album. Not one bit of prog, only mainstream rock. Rock'n roll u beogradu (Rock'n roll in belgrade): In 1976 Topic tried to create a supergroup called "K2" (which never came to be) and it was clear that he had no plans for Time after he hired two student musicians to replace Divjak and Nicholls. A couple of months later in 1977, The band ceased to exist I hope you enjoyed the second post of my blog and I will continue the journey of prog in yugoslavia with the hard rock band Kerber (Cerberus). |
Posted By: ko
Date Posted: August 07 2010 at 03:57
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@Weirdamigo Smak's "Crna Dama album was recorded (succesfuly) in Belgrade PGP's "Studio 5", not somewhere in New York 1976 as you mentioned. You can read that on the album jacket. Also, Crna Dama was recorded later on. Yes, they get a free tickets ("Smak are gonna to play in a plane"
 - well, it was communism  ) for that promo JAT fly, but they were just tourists that time.Regards, bro!
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Posted By: ljubaspriest
Date Posted: August 07 2010 at 11:00
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Finally,someone with enough time and passion on their hands to make post about Yugoslavian prog-rock music of the past.Not too many names who fit the specific definition of the genre,but some of them an absolute delights to anyone ready to breach language barrier in search for musical catharsis.Indexi's "Modra rijeka",Time's self titled debut,Korni grupa's debut,Tako's both albums,Smak's "Stranice naseg vremena",Buldozer's first couple albums,Leb i sol's seventies albums and many more are well worth investigating and I hope Weirgamigo is going to continue with this interesting journey.Way to go & svaka cast,Dusane! ------------- ljubaspriest |
Posted By: ljubaspriest
Date Posted: August 07 2010 at 11:15
------------- ljubaspriest |
Posted By: Weirdamigo
Date Posted: August 07 2010 at 13:56
I fail obviously .That was my fault for my lack of knowledge and the fault of that one friend whose always giving wrong information (such as saying that Mihailovic was in Bulldozer.... yeah right!) and the fault of my poor CD collection ( Smak, Bioskop Fox and Stranice naseg vremena). Thanks for pointing that out ko!
Thank you for the compliment ljubaspriest! sadly, yes I do have a lot of TIME on my hands (I'm no good at puns).With all my friends gone on holidays the only things I can do is listening to music,playing the guitar, and making this blog which I of course will continue until all bands are covered. Little Spoiler: After the Kerber entry I will post Indexi next. Don't worry about getting my name wrong, desava se (it happens). I hope you enjoy my upcoming posts. |
Posted By: ko
Date Posted: August 07 2010 at 14:55
| Heres alot of progressive but not Prog bands, as for example Darkwood Dub> |
Posted By: Weirdamigo
Date Posted: August 07 2010 at 16:47
I have heard of Darkwood Dub before but only by name. Now I have another band to post about, thanks ko! P.S: If you, the people on the other side of the screen, have any other prog bands from ex-yugoslavia I haven't reviewed yet about (not the obvious ones like Bulldozer and Korni grupa) please post it here so I can get my work cut out for me . |
Posted By: Finnforest
Date Posted: August 07 2010 at 18:02
Tako and Leb i Sol are two wonderful bands!
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Posted By: Marty McFly
Date Posted: August 07 2010 at 20:40
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You really should wait for this guy: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/member_profile.asp?PF=8868 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/member_profile.asp?PF=8868 to come back from his forced holidays. He's from Croatia, he's in Eclectic team and he's really supporting bands from ex-Yugoslavia a lot. He'll be back in few weeks I suppose. By the way, you're welcome to jump into my thread as well. Link is in my signature for example. ------------- There's a point where "avant-garde" and "experimental" becomes "terrible" and "pointless," -Andyman1125 on Lulu  Even my |
Posted By: Weirdamigo
Date Posted: August 08 2010 at 09:12
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It would be nice if he could check my blog out, he definitely knows more about yugoslav prog than I do . I'll also post on your thread after I'm done posting Kerber :) (Great thread by the way!). |
Posted By: Weirdamigo
Date Posted: August 08 2010 at 09:36
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------------------------------------------Kerber--------------------------------------------- Kerber (Cerberus) Founded: 1981 Country: Serbia Genre: Hard Rock, Heavy Metal (with elements of prog) Years active: 1981-present Current Members: Goran Sepa "Gale" (Vocals) Tomislav Nikolic (Guitar) Branislav "Bane" Bozinovic (Keyboard) Former Members: Zoran Madić Zoran Zikic Zoran Stamenković Boban Đorđević Dragoljub Đuričić Milorad Džmerković /wiki/Branko_Isakovi%C4%87 - Josip Hartl Saša Vasković Vladan Stanojević Goran Đorđević Nemanja Gušić Vlada Karadžov Discography (Studio albums):
Forword: Kerber cannot be seen as progressive rock yet you can compare them with the hard rock band Deep purple, not quite prog yet it does have a prog-like sound to it. Even though they are fairly unknown internationally, they have opened for Uriah Heep and for the legendary Ronnie James Dio (RIP) and have worked with Malcolm Davies who recorded Abbey Road with the Beatles. A shocking fact: Kerber had more line-up changes than Deep purple. Foundation: Kerber was founded in Nis (Mountainous area in southern serbia) 1981 by vocalist Goran Sepa , who is known for his unique voice and curly hair, by Tomislav Nikolic (Guitar),Branislav Bozinovic (Keyboards), Zoran Madic (Bass) and Stamenkovic (Drums) and were first known as Top (Cannon). The name was changed late 1981. Before their first album in 1983 they were playing at local clubs in serbia, particulary in Kerbers hometown Nis while working on new material for the before mentioned album. Zoran Madic left the band in 1982 because of the military duty in JNA and was replaced by "Mama Rock" bassist Zoran Zigic, who turned Kerbers little performances into spectacles by wielding axe-like guitars and breathing fire on stage ( On a misfortunate night he burned himself while performing the "Dragons Breath". Luckily he was not severly injured but the band forbade him to use the stunt on stage). Early 1983 Kerber had won first place at "Omladinski festival" in Subotica (serbia) with their song "Mezimac" (Minion) which was an honor for the young members of Kerber who had yet to release their first album. Mezimac: The three headed dog on it's way to fame: In 1983 Kerber released their first album "Nebo je malo za sve" (recorded with Malcolm Davies) which was a huge commercial success selling over 10000 copies in the first week of it's release. It features their first hit "Mezimac" as well as many other fantastic song: The song "Kao tvoj kerber" (Like your cerberus) is one of my personal favorites: Kao tvoj kerber: and the (slightly) prog influenced song nebo je malo za sve: Nebo je malo za sve: Kerber opened for the bands "Nightwing" and "Ten years after" late 1983 and performed at Opatija (Croatia) at a music festival, despite a good performance the bands hard rock sound did not feel welcome on the pop stage In 1984, during a concert in Novi Sad, bassist Zoran Zigic attempted the "Dragons breath" but failed and suffered minor burns, luckily no greater injuries have been made. Ratne Igre and new drummer: The second album "Ratne igre" was recorded late 1984 in Saughall a village near Chester while they were performing minor gigs in Liverpool and Chester. For these concerts they played an english version of their hit "Mezimac" entited "Get me out of here". The song "ratne igre" has become one of there signature as the second album shared the commercial success of the first album and the positive reviews from the critics. Ratne Igre: The album has a very interesting album cover showing a tanks armor as a phone and it's cannon as lipstick. The song compares a war-like situation with a failing relationship and has some very nice lyrics in the refrain: Nek sada ratne igre prestanu jer vise niceg nemu u tebi, u meni u mome srcu kise padaju u dusi veju crni snegovi translated: Let now the war games end for there is nothing left in it for you, in it for me in my heart rains are falling in my soul black snow(*) are blowing *In slavic languages there is a plural for snow. Some major line-up changes have been made. Stamenkovic was replaced by Boban Dordjevic who was,couple of months later, replaced by "Leb i sol" member Dragoljub Duricic. In November 1985 Kerber was awarded the "Smeli Svet" by the League of Communist Youth of Serbia for outstanding contribution to rock music. Peak of success with Seobe: Seobe (Migration) is seen by critics and fans alike to be Kerbers greatest work. Ballads like "Seobe"(Which I believe is Kerbers most progressive track) and "bolje sam druge ljubio" (I kissed others better) have thrown the emotional songwriting of Kerber into high gear while providing great rock songs like "Covek od meda" (Man of honey) and "Hajde da se volimo" (Come lets love each other). It is also the first time Kerbers official logo of three dog heads is shown Seobe: Beli tragovi (white trails): Seobe album cover:  Preserving quality with "Ljudi i bogovi": "Ljudi i bogovi" (Humans and gods) was published in 1988 which was another successful album. It features "Manifest" the first song by Kerber to feature lyrics about politics. Although no clear stance, it's talks about how it would be if communism dissolved in yugoslavia (which it did in 1992) and says how we will all become our own presidents and our own judges (in a positive as well as in a negative way) Manifest: First commercial failure and Hiatus: In 1989 the first live album "121288" of Kerber was disliked by critics and fans at best and the band took a hiatus until 1990. "Peta strana sveta" fans were not let down: After catastrophic "121288" Kerber released "peta strana sveta" (Fifth side of the world). While not a loved as the first albums of the band the album was awarded good reviews. Some songs have become essential in Kerbers arsenal like "Igraj sad" (Play now) Igraj sad*: *Sorry about the pic but this video has the best quality. After the more-or-less successful album they recorded the song "April u beogradu" (April in belgrade), originally by famous musician Zdravko Colic, for the belgrade spring festival. They went on a six year hiatus after the festival. Zapis, new line-up and Hiatus (again) Before the new album was recorded Goran Sepa had recruited a entirely new 6 man line-up. The hiatus ended with the release of the album "Zapis" (Inscription) in 1996 which features mostly unrecorded songs the band wrote for the album "Nebo je malo za sve". Zapis got mixed reviews but is held in high regard by fans. My personal favorite is "Cudna stvar" (Odd thing) mostly because of the dinamic guitar intro. Cudna stvar: In 1999 Kerber was asked to perform as the opening act for Ronnie James Dio in Sofia (Bulgaria). Kerber today: Goran Sepa has been rejoined with founding members Tomislav Nikolic and Branislav Bozinovic, making Kerber a 3-man band for the first time. Kerber fans can rejoice, a new album is planned to be released late 2010, 14 years after the release "Zapis". Hope you enjoyed the post and keep your eyes peeled for the next one folks cause the famous band Indexi are up next. |
Posted By: Weirdamigo
Date Posted: August 08 2010 at 13:31
Sorry Finnforest I totally overlooked your post! Tako and Leb i Sol are indeed fantastic bands which I will review soon .By the way to anyone who is reading this, please suggest bands you would like to see on my thread.
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Posted By: toroddfuglesteg
Date Posted: August 08 2010 at 14:47
http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=67093 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=67093 Ashes You Leave is an excellent band from Yugoslavia which you should check out. Their debut album, where I did all artwork, is brilliant. Castrum too is brilliant. I have their first album somewhere here in my castle. I also believe I still have the interview I did with them 10 years ago for the News From The Infested Graveyard newspaper. I also think they released another album a couple of years ago. |
Posted By: Weirdamigo
Date Posted: August 08 2010 at 16:34
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Wow that's amazing! Thanks for adding another band to the list (actually 3)! Your artwork is excellent by the way
. |
Posted By: ko
Date Posted: August 09 2010 at 00:20
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Demoniac were progressive metal band from Belgrade, Serbia, former Yugoslavia. Their debut LP Touch The Wind, from 90s, is the only their stuff ever recorded and never re-realesed as CD. Anyway, pretty nice debut, imho.
(English version>)
Dead Joker, also from Serbia, in 90s issued interresting Venture album, with a number of very short, but nice progressive metal tracks, as those instrumental tracks aswell >>>
Bloodbath ... from Serbia. They made cool tracks in first half 90s >>>
Alister ( from Serbia, feat. Irina Kapetanovic, female singer from Bosnia, 2006)>
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Posted By: ko
Date Posted: August 09 2010 at 01:56
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Posted By: Marty McFly
Date Posted: August 09 2010 at 05:15
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And guys ? How is it with availability of these bands ? Their releases, is situation good (as with Czech Republic 69-89 - those who were allowed to record/release album), or bad and they're not so available ?
------------- There's a point where "avant-garde" and "experimental" becomes "terrible" and "pointless," -Andyman1125 on Lulu Even my |
Posted By: ko
Date Posted: August 09 2010 at 07:36
Many good bands are already disbanded, of course, but this is a bad time for good (and new) rock'n' roll anywhere. There are alot of reasons for that, a long story, imo.
Alogia (Serbia)
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Posted By: ko
Date Posted: August 09 2010 at 08:50
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Posted By: alanterrill
Date Posted: August 09 2010 at 17:07
| The only Yugoslavian band I know is the amazing Begnagrad. Their only album is out of print, but there is some good footage of them on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCVOhg60sNQ - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCVOhg60sNQ |
Posted By: omardiyejon
Date Posted: August 10 2010 at 05:59
i really dig in movie bussiness and some friend told me that it was a must..i am glad u recalled the name of the movie. as you told it was a sad one, but a funny sad one thanks for sharing it anyway ------------- http://www.normalisr.com/?username=omardiyejon" rel="nofollow - http://www.normalisr.com/?username=omardiyejon |
Posted By: Weirdamigo
Date Posted: August 10 2010 at 09:38
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----------------------------------Darkwood
Dub------------------------------- Apologies
everyone; the Indexi post has been postponed. I need a little more time
gathering all the required information Thank you ko
for introducing me, and incidentally making me addicted, to Darkwood Dub. Darkwood Dub Founded: 1988 Country: Serbia Genre: Alternative rock, Reggea, Dub, Elecro rock, Drum and bass, Experimental music Years active:
1988-present Current
members: Dejan
"Vuča" Vučetić - vocal Former
members: Miladin Radivojević Discography:
Note: While
not very progressive, Darkwood Dub has some prog in its experimental acts. Foundation: Darkwood Dub
has been formed in 1988 mostly to play reggae music with a line-up of 2
drummers, 2 bassists a rhythm guitarist and a vocalist. Luckily this line-up has
been changed, taking out a bassist and a drummer and replacing them with a
keyboarder. Before the
first debut-album “Paramparcad” the band had become one of the greatest underground
groups in Yugoslavia with attendants in the thousands. The name was inspired by
the Italian comic “Zagor” (Italian comics were very popular in Yugoslavia and
still are today, most popular one being “Alan Ford”) whose protagonist “Zagor”
lived in a magical forest called “Darkwood”. Rise to fame: “Paramparcad”
(Splinters) was recorded 1992 but was first released in 1995 with great
commercial success and soon the band received a “Cult status”. This was the
only album the band used punk rock as an influence. Spori Vavilon: The song
Lunogled starts with an amusing “All right. Wait! Stop stop stop!” Lunogled: U nedogled "Into the infinite": The album "U nedogled" received greater attention from fans and critics alike and they were not disappointed. "U nedogled" is seen as a "far" better album than the debut and was the first album that got a promotional tour by the band. Antena: Elektropionir (Electropioneer): The album "Elektropionir" was recorded in february 1999 but was first released in september because of the NATO bombings in the "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" (Serbia and Montenegro and notice the word"socialist" missing) (The reason of this was because of the inhumane "ethnic cleansing" performed by president and war criminal Slobodan Milosevic, whose presidency was a dark chapter in the history of Serbia) The band said that they wanted a more rhythmic sound with the use of keyboards. The album was a success and the more charismatic side of Darkwood Dub was shown Supernova: Fun fact: Supernova can also mean "super new (feminine)" in slavic languages Zivot pocinje u 30-oj: "Zivot pocinje u 30-oj" (Life starts in the 30's) is seen as the most successful album by Darkwood Dub and was awarded the title of best selling album in 2002 (In Serbia of course!). The members were always a bit .... weird. The promotional video of "Srebrna Kap" (Silver drop) confirms this Srebrna kap: "O danima", "Jedinstvo" and Darkwood Dub today: As the "horizon of expectation" for Darkwood Dub was expanding, they have not failed to give the fans what they want, and they definitely didn't fail with that goal with the album "O danima" (About days) which was released in 2004. The following video confirms the weirdness of the group (again) *The guy who uploaded the song "prostor izmedu nas" (Area between us) falsely uploaded the video as "Kosmos" prostor izmedu nas:
|
Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: August 10 2010 at 09:57
|
Vasil Hadžimanov from 1997 plays in his own VH band: their music is Balkan jazz fusion
|
Posted By: Weirdamigo
Date Posted: August 10 2010 at 11:11
Seeing that you are specialized on the Jazz fusion field i'm not suprised that you knew this .Vasil Hadzimanov joined the band in 2008 though, I will mention it in the post above.
They sound quite interesting. I will post about them if I find enough information
Your friend sounds like a wise man Thanks for visiting the blog from time to time, hope you aren't bored with the posts. |
Posted By: Blackmore
Date Posted: August 10 2010 at 14:03
|
A fantastic thing is to read about Yugoslav prog-related bands. Thank you, Weirdamigo for starting this one. Now, we can discuss about this very interesting topic in the best place for it. I will post a video of a 1973 song Etida from the band Korni Grupa, just as an addition to this post. I would like to hear people's oppinion about this one..:D |
Posted By: Weirdamigo
Date Posted: August 10 2010 at 14:31
Thank you Blackmore, I really hope you are the real Ritchie Blackmore , for the compliment and I hope you will enjoy reading future posts on my blog.Ask anyone in the ex-Yugoslav countries and they will tell you "Korni grupa" is a fantastic band, and this song in particular is mesmerizing. I will make a post about them soon (although you never know, I promised the same thing for "Indexi") |
Posted By: ko
Date Posted: August 10 2010 at 23:44
|
This track "Kosovski Božuri" by Yu Grupa (engl. "You Group", from Belgrade, Serbia) is from the first live (rock) album recorded in former Yugoslavia, 1971. Yu Grupa "Mali Medved", 1972
Yu grupa "Sta će meni vatra" 1973
Yu grupa "Trka" 1973
Yu grupa "More No. 2" 1974
"Ballad of Yu Group" (instrumental) 1974
|
Posted By: ko
Date Posted: August 11 2010 at 01:57
|
Live Smak's version of Crossroads (a nice footage)> |
Posted By: Weirdamigo
Date Posted: August 12 2010 at 04:23
|
-----------------------------------Special
Post------------------------------- This post has been made to introduce you to the works of , in
my humble opinion, the greatest guitarist in former Yugoslavia: Radomir
Mihaijlovic “Tocak”! (Yes I know I wrote his name without a “j”, you can
clearly see how stupid I am) Name: Radomir Mihaijlovic “Tocak” (The wheel) Date of Birth: 13th June 1950 Genres: Blues, blues-rock, jazz, jazz/fusion,
experimental rock, progressive rock Instruments: Various string instruments Current member of: “Smak” Former member of: “Deca sa Morave” “TEK” Discography: R.M. Tocak
(1976) Radomir Mihaijlovic was, and still is, one of the most
influential guitarists in ex- Yugoslavia. His nickname “Tocak” (The wheel) can be associated with his
tattoo of a wheel on his left hand, which was insired by his father who was a
wheelmaker. “Tocak” is best known for his emotional playing and unique picking
style, which has some similarities with the classical picking style, usually
performing without a pic. He is also the leader and main composer of Smak (go
to first post to see some of their work). Radomir Mihaijlovic doing what he does best:
In his solo career he has released 2 albums “R.M Tocan” and
“Vizantijsko plavo” which have received positive reviews (with reviews also on
progarchives thanks go to Seyo and clarke2001!) R.M Tocak: With a great diversity of style, this album provides a bluesy
version of progressive rock with a little jazz sprinkled on top. This album was a creativity outlet, as many musicians do,
outside their bands respectively (Steve Hackett and Ian Anderson to name just a
few). A highly enjoyable instrumental album that features the first version of
“Organizam blues”, which was later released in Smaks album “Bioskop fox” (with
lyrics) in 1995. Oro: Svrabez: Vizantijsko
plavo: A fantastic
blues album written for the movie “Byzantine blue” in 1993 Ukor
(Blame): TEK: Radomir Mihaijlovic founded the band “TEK”
with fellow Smak members Milan "Miki" Milosavljevic
and Slobodan "Kepa" Stojanovic Hit the
road Jack (cover): The wheel today: Tocak has
opened his own guitar school, focusing primarily on Blues, Jazz and classical
music. Luckily I
happen to know a person who was his student, and says even though he looks cold
on the exterior, he is a very friendly and open person with an amazing teaching
skill. His daughter
Sofija Mihaijlovic specialized in classical guitar and is seen as somewhat of a
virtuoso in the modern classical scene of Serbia. Here is a
video one of his students made in 2008; you can clearly see Mihaijlovics unique
picking style (as well as a frightened Rottweiler) In the
following interview famous Croatian musician Dado Topic (who worked with R.M
Tocak on some occasions) tells us his thoughts about Tocak. More or less
precisely translated: “He is Magic
and the nightmare of guitarists. In the logic of an imperative, to show
they are skilled with the guitar they tried to prove themselves by interpreting
songs by Eric Clapton and Hendrix and other great guitarists but it’s is also a
must to play songs by Smak. It is possible to cover his songs yet no one can play like Tocak” Hope you
enjoyed this special post and I promise that I will get back to work on the
prog bands. |
Posted By: ko
Date Posted: August 14 2010 at 12:10
|
My fav Točak's instrumental (solo LP) - "MODIFANS" (1976), a really great hard fusion track (listen it loud!)
...followed by>
|
Posted By: Weirdamigo
Date Posted: August 15 2010 at 04:50
|
Hehe Tocak can really be seen as Yugoslavias Jimi Hendrix . Sorry I haven't posted much lately but I promise I will get something up by Monday. Steve Hackett is coming today to Serbia for a free concert and that is just an event one cannot afford to miss.
|
Posted By: ko
Date Posted: August 16 2010 at 11:21
| AWESOME! |
Posted By: Andrea Cortese
Date Posted: August 16 2010 at 12:07
|
Smak are great, indeed.
There are so many bands and artists. Great prog-rock scene that from former Yugoslavia.
|
Posted By: Weirdamigo
Date Posted: August 16 2010 at 13:50
|
---------------------------------------Korni
Grupa----------------------------------- Korni Grupa
(Korni Group) Founded: 1968 Country:
Serbia* Genre:
Progressive Rock, Folk Rock, Rock, Symphonic Rock Years Active:
1968 – 1974 Former
Members: file://localhost/wiki/Kornelije_Kova%C4%8D - · *Don’t worry, next time it will be a band not from Serbia Discography: § Korni Grupa (1972) § Not An Ordinary Life (1974) Formation: Korni Grupa
was formed in 1968 by keyboarder Kornelije Kovac (Who the band is named after),
Guitarist Borko Kacl, bass guitarist Bojan Hreljac, drummer Vladimir “Furda”
Furduj and singstress Miroslava Kojadinovic. The bands first live appearance
was at the famous Belgrade Dom Sindikata during the Spotsman of the year
ceremony. They performed with female dancers who “pleasantly” surprised the
audience (You know what I mean). Soon afterwards the show “Studio VI vam pruza
sansu “ (Studio VI is giving you a chance) invited the band to perform.
Miroslava Kojadinovic did not like the songs chosen for the show and refused to
sing and Kornelije Kovac acted as vocalists in her stead. She was excluded from
the band shortly after, quite obviously. New Vocalist and recognition: The band hired
soul singer Dusan “Prele” Prelovic who will be remembered not for his singing
but more for his actions, more on that later. At the time
Kornelije Kovac focused primarily on progressive rock but the fans requested a
more commercial song, which Kornelije wrote called “Cigu-ligu” (No Video, sorry
everyone) for the 1986 “Jugovizija” festival in Zagreb (Croatia). Singer
Prelovic arrived quite drunk to the festival and got into an argument with
founder Kovac and was fired at the spot. Korni Grupa had now changed their
vocalists twice in the same year (Not even Journey managed that) but has found
a suitable replacement: Dalibor Brun from Rijeka (Croatia). With Brun they have
recorded some of their greatest hits. Magicna Ruka (Magic
Hand): Sonata: Korni Grupa also appeared on the Singing Europe festival in Netherlands where they performed the song “Pastir i cvet” and won the “most original band” award. They might have used questionable substances but this nice psychedelic song is very enjoyable. Pastir i cvet: Their first concert as a band was held 1969 in Belgrade which they called "Uz malu pomoc mojih frendova" (With a little help from my friends) (The first one who guesses which band wrote this song gets a cookie). Brun and Kacl left the band and were replaced by famous musician Dado Topic (Who was mentioned at least 3 times on my blog before) and guitarist Josip Bocek. The 70's and well deserved fame: With the new members Korni Grupa decided to primarily concentrate on progressive rock Etida (Thanks to Blackmore): Prvo svetlo u kuci broj 4 "First light in house No. 4":
For those wondering what Kovac is saying: "The next composition is one of our songs, quite long but very good, written by Dado Topic. The composition "Prvo svetlo u kuci"" broj 4". In 1971 Dado Topic left the band to form his own band "Time" (Go to page 1) and was replaced by famous singer Zdravko Colic. Zdravko Colic left the band after only 6 months and was replaced by Zlatko Pejakovic with whom the band recorded their first studio album "Korni Grupa" which is considered as one of the greatest albums in ex-Yugoslavia. Moj bol (My pain) : "Not an ordinary life": "Not an ordinary life" is the first english album by Korni grupa and can only be voted as mediocre at best. Its failure is one of the reasons why the band disbanded. Eurovision for Korni Grupa: In 1974 the band participated on Eurovision ( For our american friends: Eurovision is a song contest in which european countries compete against each other for honor and glory!.... I may be overstating things but if your fueled by energy drinks you just stop caring after a while) with the song "Moja Generacija" (My generation, which is not a cover of the who song with the same name) and placed 12th (loosing to ABBAs "Waterloo") Moja generacija: Note: I could translate the german but I am far too tired to do it but there is a important part at the end The german moderator said: "They have on purpose declined a commercial song but therefore performed a very interesting musical piece on the stage in Brighton" The end of Korni Grupa: With the poor success of "Not an ordinary life" and the poor placing on the Eurovision song contest Kovac decided to close the chapter of Korni Grupa, one of the first and greatest bands of ex-Yugoslavia. Future plans: Dado Topic stated that there might be a reunion in 2012 on the occasion of Kovac 70th birthday. I hope you enjoyed another blog entry and prepare for many more to come |
Posted By: Weirdamigo
Date Posted: August 16 2010 at 15:20
Smak is the greatest band in Yugoslavia in my opinion, good to see some support from our friends across the adriatic see.
You really have a talent for finding rare songs
. Thanks for sharing. |
Posted By: Andrea Cortese
Date Posted: August 17 2010 at 02:53
|
I do own Smak's debut packed with their 1976' Satelit EP; I also bought the miliar stone Crna Dama. I have to say the latter is impressive and deserves more wide recognition on thi site.
But the band I listen to most is Bijelo Dugme, especially albums as Sta Bi Dao... and Etň...
|
Posted By: Weirdamigo
Date Posted: August 18 2010 at 13:52
It would be nice to see Ex-Yugoslav bands get recognition on the site but I fear this will not happen, many are not willing to break the language barrier. Bijelo Dugme is probably the most popular Rock. Pop Rock band in Yugoslavia at the time along with a band called Riblja Corba. I will eventually post about them but that will be towards the end, not much prog you see. I am surprised that you are so knowledgeable about the Yugoslav rock scene, I still have to start listening to Italian prog
. |
Posted By: Andrea Cortese
Date Posted: August 19 2010 at 03:04
|
eh ehe he
By the way, I think Bijelo Dugme's albums until 1979 are worthy of investigation for any progger. For such albums as Sta Bi Dao, Etň and Bitanga, I'd put them with other bands as Deep Purple or Uriah Heep. I know also some english band have covered them during the seventies.
On about guitarists, I prefer Vlatko Stefanovski over Tocak but both are at the top.
|
Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: August 19 2010 at 03:30
| Leb I Sol could be interesting for many as well :) |
Posted By: Seyo
Date Posted: August 19 2010 at 07:14
|
Weirdamigo, thanks for opening this post-blog! Mind you, there are already more than a few bands from exYU included on the PA, look here: http://www.progarchives.com/Bands-country.asp?country=203 - http://www.progarchives.com/Bands-country.asp?country=203 I personally take care of updating all info and reviewing many of the albums which are not yet evaluated. I hope you will contribute too. Cheers! |
Posted By: Todd
Date Posted: August 19 2010 at 11:46
Ahh, Seyo! 
Your reviews have helped me sort through these difficult compilations and albums, most recently Korni Grupa and Indexi. Many many many thanks! (And your posting the yurock blogspot link has been most helpful as well!)
Weirdamigo, this blog is wonderful! The band entries you've posted so far have been especially good. Keep up the great work! Long live Yugo Prog! (And Eastern European prog in general!) ------------- "I have seen the broken sky turn blue." http://gnosis2000.net/ratertodd.shtml" rel="nofollow - My Gnosis Ratings |
Posted By: ljubaspriest
Date Posted: August 19 2010 at 12:47
|
Great job so far, Weirdamigo.Let the proggers all over the world hear some of the goods produced in our beloved Yugoslavia during golden times.I was visiting Bosnia&Serbia this past may and was deeply disappointed by state of musical affairs over there.Amount of "neo-turbo-folk" content on radio and TV stations is morbidly inadequate.I had hard time finding any quality(not pirate)cd's in Bosnia.Belgrade(Serbia)offered little more,so I scored "Kongres rock majstora"(finally on cd),a great compilation of 16 songs from 4 best guitarists in YU rock of mid 70's,RM Tocak's first album,Suncokret's "Moje bube" and several used lp's(Smak,Boomerang,Time).Best new(at least to my ears)artist I found interesting was Biljana Krstic(formerly of Suncokret&Rani Mraz)with her band Bistrik Orchestra,playing kind of folk w/mild prog influences mostly in instrumentation.It's probably a strech,but I will call it Balkan version of Dead Can Dance.Maybe somebody would consider adding them to the YU-prog list roster.Seyo,what do you think?Anyway,keep on proggin' Weirdamigo and good luck.Regards from Canada. ------------- ljubaspriest |
Posted By: Seyo
Date Posted: August 19 2010 at 14:58
Thanks Todd! I am glad to hear that my work was not in vain... Still, there are lots of obscure but good music from exYU to discover... Cheers! |
Posted By: Weirdamigo
Date Posted: August 19 2010 at 15:02
Leb I Sol is the next band on the blog so you I will definitely mention Stefanovski. Another great guitarist to be introduced, so much to do so much to do
It's quite an honor for me to see you post here, I've always read your reviews with great delight even before I joined PA, keep up the fantastic work . With the list you provided me has saved me a great deal of work and I will get to reviewing Ex-YU albums as soon as I can.
I will do my best . I just hope the quality won't deteriorate .
Wow. Thats quite a praise you gave me , thanks you .It is truly sad what became of music in the Ex-YU countries, most people don't even regard the rock scene as worthy of their time, truly a depressing sight to behold but as we all know, rock will never die. I am surprised that you found a Suncokret album, I've been looking for one for a couple of years now. A fantastic band that I will have to review sooner or later. If you are still on the lookout for albums of the 70's and 80's I would suggest that you try "Croatia Records" the next time you come to visit, they are what's left of the great Yugoslav record label "Yugoton". Regards from Serbia |
Posted By: Seyo
Date Posted: August 19 2010 at 15:07
Ljubas, I have not heard Bilja Krstić yet. My interest generally stops at 1990 (and it is practical to define some boundaries for the research purposes) and I only occassionally follow what is happening in the successor Yugoslav states. There are some good things to be sure (Darkwood Dub is alredy mentioned) but I don't find anything as challenging for my ears as some oldies. It is not only "turbo-folk" but the general trend is awful everywhere I am afraid. |
Posted By: ljubaspriest
Date Posted: August 19 2010 at 16:09
------------- ljubaspriest |
Posted By: ljubaspriest
Date Posted: August 19 2010 at 16:36
------------- ljubaspriest |
Posted By: ljubaspriest
Date Posted: August 19 2010 at 16:58
|
One more thing,before I forget(I'm 53,getting senile).Found a used cd from a band called FIRE "Could you understand?" on a South-African(?)label Skyf Zol.I heard of them before,album of theirs is one of the rarest lp's around collectors circles.Apparently they hailed from Croatia(ex YU) and members are:Jura Havidic,Miljenko Balic and Emil Vugrinec,and they played psychedelic hard rock with some killer fuzzed-out guitar leads,stuff everybody call "stoner-rock" nowadays.Well worth investigating. ------------- ljubaspriest |
Posted By: Seyo
Date Posted: August 20 2010 at 06:53
In that case, I can hardly refuse your generous recommendation. I will certainly look for Bilja & Bistrik... |
Posted By: Seyo
Date Posted: August 20 2010 at 06:57
Your post is the best proof for me that all this work of mine makes sense. I appriciate that much.  |
Posted By: Seyo
Date Posted: August 20 2010 at 07:04
That was an incredible discovery for me too! It was recommended here for inclusion into PA some time ago but was rejected. Nonetheless, "prog" or not, it is an amazingly rocking album, I would say some early precursors to latecomers Partibrejkers or Majke... |
Posted By: Andrea Cortese
Date Posted: August 24 2010 at 02:31
|
This thread is also a good source of information and the summuary of what we talked about on this site until now.
http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=7440&PN=1 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=7440&PN=1 http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=7440&PN=18&SID=95d7d979z3e11af7f788292f3zz31eea -
|
Posted By: AtomicCrimsonRush
Date Posted: August 24 2010 at 07:40
|
Thanks for sharing this often overlooked music! ------------- 
|
Posted By: Weirdamigo
Date Posted: August 25 2010 at 15:06
Thanks for the compliment, i'm just a bit disappointed at myself for not updating as often as I would like to.... still don't know when the next post will be up
|
Posted By: Weirdamigo
Date Posted: August 27 2010 at 13:56
|
Leb i Sol
(Bread and salt) Founded: 1976 Country:
Macedonia Genre: Rock,
Jazz Rock, Ethno-Jazz, Progressive Rock Years active:
1976 – 1995, 2006 – Present Current
members: Mico Bozikov Bodan Arsovski
Nikola Kokan
Dimusevski Mihail Parusev Former
Members: Vlatko
Stefanovski Kiril
Dzajkovski Dragoljub
Duricic Dimitrie
Cucurovski Garabet
Tavitjan Srdan Dunkic Discography
(Studio Albums): Leb i sol (1978) Leb i sol 2 (1978) Ručni rad (1979) Beskonačno (1981) Sledovanje (1982) Kalabalak (1983) Tangenta (1984) Zvučni zid (1986) Kao kakao (1987) Putujemo (1989) Note: There
are many fine reviews about this jewel of Yugoslavian prog more so than usual.
Thanks go to the usual suspects Seyo and clarke2001, to my helpful visitors
Finnforest, snobb and Andrea Cortese, and to those who I did not mention here. Silly little
fact: there are some differences how the band is pronounced in countries of
ex-Yugoslavia. In Serbia you would say “Hleb” instead of Leb and in Croatia
they use the word “Kruh” for bread. The languages might be similar but never
quite the same. Foundation: Leb i Sol was
founded 1976 by legendary guitarist (and vocalist) Vlatko Stefanovski, bass
guitarist Bodan Arsovski, Keyboardist Nikola Kokan Dimusevski and drummer
Garabet Tavitjan The Impact of
Leb i sol 1 and 2: The first
album of the band, released in 1978, was well received by critics and with its
unusual musical structure and unusual scales it is a magnificent album, truly a
must for any collector of Yugoslav prog With the song
Devetka you can clearly hear the jazz influence in the work of Leb i Sol. Devetka: Here we have a
more folk-like song Pod vodom: In the same
year the band released Leb i Sol 2 which was more successful than the debut
album commercially as well as musically. Here we have
the simply stunning Akupunktura Akupunktura: And another
stunning song, this album just keeps on giving and giving Marija: Rucni Rad: Wow 2
fantastic albums, how can Leb i Sol top that? Simple, they made Rucni Rad!
Rucni Rad is my personal favorite of the band; at some moments its melody
seemed to bring me to tears. Who knows? Maybe you will also start weeping with
joy. Hogar: Fun fact: The
song was named after “Hagar” a comic strip by Dik Browne which was (and still is)
translated in Yugoslavia as “Hogar strasni” trans: Hagar the
terrible/terrifying. Rucni rad: A slightly different Leb i Sol: Founding
Keyboarder Dimusevski left the band and was replaced by ex-Smak keyboarder Miki
Petrovski, who left the band as well after a couple months. The band decided to
go on as a trio and recorded the album “Infinity”. With the new wave craze
coming to Yugoslavia other bands had to adapt or perish, and Leb i Sol wanted
to stay at the top. The new album has some New wave influence mixed with a good
fusion-like sound. If given a chance, “Infinity” can be a highly enjoyable
album. A clear
example of this change can be heard in the song beli mrak (which is really
enjoyable if you are a fan of New wave such as myself) Beli mrak: Sledovanje and
Kalabalak Sledovanje is
seen as a very poor album with the same influences as Infinity. Unlike
Infinity, Sledovanjes mix of new wave and jazz-fusion failed. Kalabalak is
refreshing after Sledovanje with mostly instrumental track and showed the poppy
sound of Leb i Sol. Bistra voda: Tangenta and
Zvucni Zid: Two mediocre
pop albums at best, two sad displays by a great band at its worst. Tangenta and
Zvucni Zid have little or nothing to offer to the explorer of Yugoslav Prog.
Zvucni Zid still features some smooth guitar licks and riffs by Stefanovski but
pale in comparison to the first three albums. Kao Kakao: Kao Kakao is
one of the most commercially successful albums of Yugoslavia during the 80’s.
Mostly consisting of pop driven sounds you can still recognize the prog/roots
of the band Cekam kisu: Putujemo: Another
successful pop album, not something for the prog lover but there is a gem within every album and that gem is Cukni vo Drvo. Cukni vo Drvo:
Culture fact: Cukni
vo drvo is Macedonian for “knock on wood” which is a saying in Yugoslav
countries. Example: “Let’s knock on the wood that we are all alright” it can
replace “thank goodness” if it’s more comprehensible that way. Disbandment
and reunion: After a long
hiatus(and some more or less successful live albums) the band decided to disband in 1995. 2006 a reunion tour was planned for
the 30th anniversary of the band. After the tour Vladko Stefanovski
decided to leave the band for good, which came as a shock to many Leb i Sol
fans. I TAKA NATAKA: With Dimitar
Bozikov replacing Stefanovski and with Dado Topic (Who we all know quite well
by now) the band recorded their latest album I TAKA NATAKA in 2008. Though the
elements of prog have faded away jazz is strongly featured in the new album. Not essential,
nonetheless enjoyable. Si zaljubiv
edno mome: Hope you all
enjoyed this post and I sincerely apologize for the great delay. From now on I
can only manage a post in a week or 2 with school starting. Priorities have to
be set (sadly) and exams won’t be a stroll in the park this year (I’m getting sick of just
thinking of them). Anyway next post might be a special post or a regular post
so keep your eyes open. |
Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: August 27 2010 at 14:21
|
^ Hvala!
|
Posted By: Weirdamigo
Date Posted: August 27 2010 at 15:51
|
nema na cemu
|
Posted By: Andrea Cortese
Date Posted: August 27 2010 at 16:49
|
I thought bread was "peka" in croatian language...
by the way Marija, from their second record is simply superb!!
|
Posted By: Paravion
Date Posted: August 27 2010 at 17:34
|
North Korean prog played by children |
Posted By: Weirdamigo
Date Posted: August 28 2010 at 07:45
Not that I know of.... although very possible, "Pekara" means bakery in most slavic languages so it probably derived from it
Definitely interesting ... but Korea is somewhat far away from former Yugoslavia isn't it? |
Posted By: Paravion
Date Posted: August 28 2010 at 08:08
| But I really wanted to post that video. The first part of the thread-name is 'proggin in communism' - and I figured that it would somehow be an appropriate addition. Great thread btw. |
Posted By: Weirdamigo
Date Posted: August 28 2010 at 09:21
Thank you for the compliment. You know that wouldn't be a bad idea to post about prog in other communistic countries but we'll stay in Yugoslavia on this thread. Thanks for giving me an idea for a new blog
|
Posted By: Luna
Date Posted: September 06 2010 at 20:50
|
I don't know why, but every time I see this thread's title, I start laughing... |
Posted By: Weirdamigo
Date Posted: September 07 2010 at 08:57
Then I have achieved what I wanted
|
Posted By: ljubaspriest
Date Posted: September 07 2010 at 11:23
Not as funny as Progessive conservative(rulling political party in Canada).Now,try to make sense out of that!!! ------------- ljubaspriest |
Posted By: Seyo
Date Posted: September 14 2010 at 08:13
Now, I will start laughing... |
Posted By: Svetonio
Date Posted: September 20 2010 at 12:28
What a nice thread! Splendid!
p.s. FOXY LADY cover by Smak, live in Kragujevac 1996
|
Posted By: Seyo
Date Posted: September 30 2010 at 05:56
|
Please check my last few reviews of POP MASINA: http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=2907 - http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=2907 |
Posted By: Weirdamigo
Date Posted: October 03 2010 at 06:19
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Hello everyone First off, I want to sincerely apologize for my long absence, which probably caused most of you to say: “Where is this lazy bum and why doesn’t he update his blog!”... Well hopefully not. I hope you can all find it in your hearts to forgive a lazy guy like me. Secondly, as an apology present for my dear readers, the band I will post next is “The band” of the Yugoslav rock scene. I hope you will enjoy that post. Sadly, I cannot promise a regular update but when I find the time (or when I’m not drowning in history homework, there’s a lot to do about “Bleeding” Kansas and John Buchanan) I will post further bands. P.S. Your reviews Seyo are nothing else than perfection, it would be an honor for me if you could post more of them on my blog. Back to work Stevan ------------- A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything. - Friedrich Nietzsche |
Posted By: Seyo
Date Posted: October 03 2010 at 06:52
Dear Stevan, I would not like to mess up with your own blog. You are more than welcome to copy any of my reviews here at PA and paste them here on your blog if you wish. ;) Cheers. Seyo |
Posted By: clarke2001
Date Posted: October 05 2010 at 12:23
Actually, 'peka' is a place where you bake bread. It might refer to bread, but only if it is non-artificial, traditionally baked, not in the oven, rather on the genuine fire. Croatian word for bread is 'kruh' while in Bosnian, Serbian, Macedonian it's hljeb, hleb, leb (as in leb i sol). 'Hljeb' in Croatian refers to a unit of bread (loaf).  Language(s) (one language or more of them? We don't know even that!) of this region is/are a mess..but that's also a powerful tool for art..drama, movies,theatre, and yes, music... Oh, we're talking about prog rock? Well, let's see... ------------- |
Posted By: Seyo
Date Posted: October 30 2010 at 13:14
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http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=307463 - http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=307463 Davor & Indexi - "Svaka je ljubav ista (Osim one prave)", 1976 |
Posted By: Svetonio
Date Posted: October 31 2010 at 01:26
What a fantastic vocal by Zlatko Manojlović at this one! TBH, I never heard this before 
Nice epic song, IMHO.
RIP Prele
Well, this is a special band for this thread! The band is "Mladi Levi", transl. "YOUNG LEFTISTS"
, live recorded at Ljubljana Pop Festival 1972 |
Posted By: Seyo
Date Posted: October 31 2010 at 03:49
| MLADI LEVI means "The Young Lions" and was taken from the famous novel of the same name! ;) Otherwise, an excellent soul/brass rock band in the vein of early CHICAGO and BST.... This live track from BOOM 72 is one of their most progressive. Unfortunately they released only a few singles.... |
Posted By: Svetonio
Date Posted: October 31 2010 at 04:03
. Nevermind. Here's an amazing little piece of fusion 
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Posted By: clarke2001
Date Posted: November 01 2010 at 10:08
They have a full length unit actually...a compilation CD was released a few years ago ------------- |
Posted By: Svetonio
Date Posted: November 01 2010 at 13:03
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Something current - Zerkman Big Bang, a band from Belgrade, Serbia |
Posted By: Svetonio
Date Posted: November 06 2010 at 06:05
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Another current serbian band which could be interesting for members of PA - Tripcycle
Tripcycle live - don't miss this footage!
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Posted By: Weirdamigo
Date Posted: November 15 2010 at 15:46
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file://localhost/Users/alexanderohlsen/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0clip_editdata.mso - - - - - - -----------------------------------------Azra------------------------------------------ - - - 1977 - - - Croatia - - - New wave, Alternative
rock, rock - - - 1977 - 1988 - - - Former members: file://localhost/Users/alexanderohlsen/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0clip_editdata.mso - -
Discography: § Azra - (Jugoton, 1980) § Sunčana strana ulice (The Sunny side of the street) - (1981) § Filigranski pločnici (The Filigree Sidewalks) - (1982) § Kad fazani lete (When
pheasants fly) - (1983) § Krivo srastanje (The
Mistaken Sublimation) - (1984) § It Ain't Like the Movies At All - (1986) § Između krajnosti (In
Between Extremes) - (1987) We cannot say that Azra is a prog band, but I believe it
is a historic band in the Yugoslavian rock scene. Azra, unlike most new wave bands, did not become a relic
of the past. One can still hear an occasional song on the radios. Formation: The band was formed by Branimir "Johnny"
Stulic (Macodonian nationality) with Stublić, Pelajić, Novoselić and Juričić. This
line-up was short lived however, as the members left Stulic and created their
own band named "film". Stulic than becomes a member of the famous
band "Parni Valjak" which he left in a matter of months. He returned
to his old band Azra (with him being the only member). He later hired bassist
Miso Hrnjak and drummer Boris Leiner, this trio was seen as the first actual
formation of Azra.
Left to right : Hrnjak, Stulic, Leiner. Azra debut album: The first Album debuted 1980 (after some singles) and was a greatly accepted by critics and new wave fans. One can clearly hear Stulic's unique vocals which have become the trademark of the band. A highly enjoyable track of the album is "obrati paznju na poslednju stvar" (pay attention on the last thing) Possibly the most famous song of the debut "Krvava Meri" (Bloody Mary) Magnus opus in "Suncana strana ulice" (Sunny side of the street: Azra now made a name for itself and quickly evolved as one of the greatest new wave bands on the balkans. With "Suncana strane ulice" they have truly released a double-cd masterpiece. All songs were written by Johnny Stulic as in the album before. In my humble opinion, this album is most enjoyable when you are feeling lazy, I suppose I did too much listening. "Kurvini Sinovi" (Sons of whores) is a successful , yet odd, mixture of blues and new wave. A highly enjoyable track: The title song is most probably the most mellow song on the album, simply relaxing guitar riffs: Another really relaxing song is "Karta za srecu" (Ticket for happiness) here one can clearly hear the high influence the Beatles had on Stulic: Another song before we move on, we can't stay on this album forever. "Ne reci mi dvaput" (Don't tell me twice) is another relaxing song: "Filigranski plocnici" and "Kad fazani lete" Not much to say on these to successful albums. "Filigranski plocnici" is another Double album put musically "Kad fazani lete" is far more interesting. The album is quite different from all the earlier works. It included numerous love songs as well as having heavy riffs, reminding us on Hard rock. Before the album were recorded,however, Miso Hrnjak left the band due to artistic differences. A fantastic song from Kad fazani lete is "Kao i jucer" (Like yesterday). One could say Azra is slowly maturing itself out of new wave: Plavi Golub (Blue Pidgeon) is another unusual song to perform of a (lets say ex) new wave band "Krivo srastanje" and "Izmedu Krajnosti" Two moderately successful albums with Stephen Kipp as the new bassist. "Krivo srastanje" deals with depression which is reflected in the music while "Izmedu Krajnosti" is a more energy filled rock album "Kada stvari krenu lose"(When things turn bad) from "Izmedu Krajnosti" is quite uplifting and energetic, perfect for a rock lover: "Flash" is a very innovative song from "Krivo srastanje" although a bit depressive: During this time the band also recorded the album "It Ain't like the movies at all" which is the first fully english album the band recorded but was not met with much success. The End of Azra and Stulic solo career. Azra officially announced the end of the band after a concert on the croatian island Hvar in 1988. Band leader Branimir "Johnny" Stulic remains on of Croatias most famous rock musicians known for his unique voice and lyrical abilities. He has continued with a moderately successful solo career till 1997. He has written five books and currently resides in a town call Houten out of the public eye with his wife. An Azra reunion is very unlikely as members show no interest towards it. I hope you all enjoyed this little post, I hope I will be more enthusiastic (and less lazy) when it comes to posting new bands. ------------- A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything. - Friedrich Nietzsche |
Posted By: grosssover
Date Posted: November 21 2010 at 14:30
| batice gde si se ti zajebo'? svrstavas elektricni orgazam u prog rock? i to pustas spot igra rnr cela jugoslavija? hahahahhah odusevio si me!!! |
Posted By: grosssover
Date Posted: November 21 2010 at 14:31
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odusevio si me.... tebi je elektricni orgazam prog rock? do jaja eeee/////
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Posted By: Weirdamigo
Date Posted: November 21 2010 at 15:13
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Nije prog rock ali je YU-rock a to je najbitnije . Lets stick to english though. ------------- A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything. - Friedrich Nietzsche |
Posted By: Petar
Date Posted: December 03 2010 at 17:22
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My personal favorites are Smak, Indexi, Korni Grupa, Time, early Bijelo Dugme, S Vremena na Vreme... Here are some good ex-Yu songs: S vremena na vreme - Kao vreme ispred nas Indexi - Plima Time - Za koji zivot treba da se rodim |
Posted By: clarke2001
Date Posted: March 18 2011 at 06:36
Why everybody seems to be ignoring progressive electronic? Here are two most successful ones:------------- |
Posted By: Seyo
Date Posted: July 17 2011 at 05:58
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Thanks all for contribution! But please, let's stick with the title of this thread: PROG IN EX-YUGOSLAVIA! Meaning, Azra is excellent rock band (one of the best ever) but it does not belong to Prog, whatever wide interpretation you may apply to the term PROG. Second, EX-YU existed until 1991, so all later stuff should be put somewhere else, not in this topic. Cheers all |
Posted By: Seyo
Date Posted: July 17 2011 at 06:02
Moris, thanks for bringing up this relatively unknown electronic musician. He should be included here at PA. I have a trouble with logging in as Collab many months already so I cannot contribute much in adding new names or even posting reviews... |
Posted By: N-sz
Date Posted: August 01 2011 at 19:44
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I quite like this one album Yugoslavian band http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=2249" rel="nofollow - http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=2249 Pretty interesting stuff, but nearly impossible to find a copy. I doubt it was ever re-released.
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Posted By: Weirdamigo
Date Posted: March 18 2012 at 08:27
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After a long break and realizing that I have too much time on my hands, I decided to revive My Olde Blog about this seemingly forgotten Genre. To those who actually gave a toss about my little blog I
apologize for keeping you waiting for so long, please do not blame me but my
general laziness. Nonetheless, let’s start off with an iconic Serbian band: YU
grupa YU grupa Founded: 1970 Country: Serbia Genre: Progressive Rock, Blues Rock, Hard Rock, Folk Rock Years Active: 1970- 1981, 1987- present
Current Members: Dragi Jelić Žika Jelić Petar Jelić Slobodan Jurišić Former Members: Miodrag Okrugić Discography: Yu Grupa (1793) Kako to da svaki dan? (1974) YU Grupa (1975) Medu zvezdama (1977) Samo napred… (1979) Od zlata jabuka (1987) Ima nade (1988) Tragovi (1990) Rim 1994 (1995) Dugo znamo se (2005)
There is much to be said about YU Grupa, which, along with bands such as Bjelo dugme and Riblja Corba , is an icon for YU rock and still maintains much of its popularity today. I shall try and make this post focused on the music rather then the bands conflicts and personnel changes to keep it from dragging on too long. Formation: YU grupa was formed in 1970 by the brothers Dragi (lead guitar and vocals),Zika Jelic (bass and rarely vocals) and by Miodrag Kostic (keyboards) and Velibor Jodanovic (drums) and performed under the name of Idejni Posed (Notional Property) which later changed to YU Grupa by a suggestion of an audience member. They recorded their first song “Nona” in 1971, combining Folk music from Kosovo with hard rock. This song was met with great success and enjoyed repeated plays on the radios throughout Jugoslavia. This mix of Folk and Rock would become a trademark in the music of Yu Grupa and greatly expanded their fanbase. “Nona” :
YU grupa received a number of invitations to play at festivals and clubs, but tensions within the band left the two bothers without a drummer and keyboardist. Replacements were quickly found and spent much of 1972 touring Yugoslavian countries. 1973 YU grupa booked a flight to London to get a hold on better equipment, which otherwise would have been hard to come by. CBS producers were able hear some of their material and were impressed enough to offer them a gig at the famous Marquee club in London. YU grupa and CBS cooperated and the band went back to Belgrade to record their self-titled debut album.
Rise to success:
The bands first album was met with critical acclaim. It was praised for its combination, of Folk, Rock and Blues elements. A diverse album, it slowly cemented YU grupa as an essential band of the YU rock movement. One of the most famous ballads of Yu grupa was “Crni Leptir” (Black butterfly), which was sung by bassist Zika Jelic , and is still a popular ballad about how a first love can leave its scars and burn away your wings:
“More” (The sea) is the most blues influenced song by YU grupa and is considered as one of the greatest blues songs that originated in Yugoslavia:
“This is what I’m talking about!” is what many hard rock fans proclaimed as “cudna suma” (weird forest) hit the airwaves and showed a rougher side of the band:
Shortly after the debut album hit the store shelves, YU grupa finished the recording on their second album “Kako to da svaki dan?” (How come that every day…? The album was musically more complex then their debut and had a more melancholic feel. It did not enjoyed the great success of its predecessor but is regarded as one of their finest albums. The sequel to “More”, “More NO.2” clearly shows the darker and slower bluesy side of the new record:
“Ballada o YU grupi” is an instrumental track, possibly showing the bands desire for more complex songs rather then the 4 chords variation pop songs:
Maintaining success: The following albums the second self titled album, medu zvezdama, (Among the stars) which was not very commercially successful, and “samo napred” (Go for it) followed a simpler song writing process then the previous album and generated a number of hits, yet did not meet the same acclaim which the debut album received. “Novi Zvuk” (New Sound) from the second self titled album follows a typical hard rock receipt with rough riffs and strong vocals:
“Autobus za raj” (Bus to heaven) features a more funky style:
Decline of popularity and break up: With the arrival of New wave in Yugoslavia in the late 70’s, rock and blues bands were on the decline. YU grupa popularity suffered and, due to an incident of their tour Van blowing up and the destruction of their equipment, decided to put an end to their music.
Reunion and Reestablishing the image: As the new-wave craze died down and Rock bands reemerged with Folk driven rock songs, “Bijelo Dugme” guitarist and infamous lyricist Goran Bregovic suggested to the former members of YU grupa to reunite as their music became popular once again. The band reunited in 1987 and produced their comeback album “Od zlata Jabuka” (Golden apple) which is considered by many fans one of their finest, and not to mention heaviest, albums. “Od zlata jabuka” (Golden apple) features one of the most iconic riffs in YU rock and became one of the greatest hit the band released:
The hard rock influence to the album is very dominant and rocky songs like “ti si otrov moj” (You are my poison) are common on the album:
The following album “Ima nade” in 1988 (There is hope) continues to prove that YU grupa are still one of the most thriving bands in Yugoslavia and features some of the bands greatest hits. In the warmer days of Belgrade, you can still stumbled upon tipsy teenagers and adults singing the song “Mornar” (Sailor) awfully out of tune outside the local bars:
“Dunavom jos sibaju vetrovi” (The winds still blow on the Danube) Is the most popular ballad by the band alongside “crni leptir”, perhaps the voice of bassist Zika Jelic is a good luck charm for their ballads:
Later years: The band recorded its next album “Tragovi” (Tracks) in 1990 with their former drummer Radislav Delmas, who left the band after the debut album Even though the album did not receive the same acclaim as the previous two albums, it maintains a solid Hard rock sound Sviram “I’m playing” :
After five years they recorded “Rim 1994” another solid hard rock album but was met with limited success.
Where are they now?: Still active! In 2005 they recorded “dugo se znamo” (we know each other for a long time) and play on various festivals in all ex-YU states, such as the famous Beer fest where they played in 2007.
I hope you enjoyed my post after more then a year of waiting. If you have any suggestions what band I should post next on
my blog please let me know, it’s easier for me that way to find new music and
it keeps me guessing what the next post will be about. ------------- A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything. - Friedrich Nietzsche |