| Pop Mašina | |
|---|---|
Robert Nemeček, Zoran Božinović and Mihajlo Popović |
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Belgrade, Serbia, Yugoslavia |
| Genres | Progressive rock, hard rock, psychedelic rock, acid rock, jazz rock (late period) |
| Years active | 1972 – 1978 |
| Labels | PGP-RTB, ZKP RTLJ, ITMM, MCF Records, Internut Music, Multimedia Records |
| Associated acts | Džentlmeni, Tako, YU grupa, Siluete, Generacija 5, Dah, Opus, Rok Mašina, Riblja Čorba, Bajaga i Instruktori, Zona B |
| Website | www.popmasina.com |
| Past members | |
| Robert Nemeček Svetozar Božinović Ratislav Đelmaš Sava Bojić Mihajlo Popović Oliver Mandić Dušan Petrović Dušan Đukić Vidoja Božinović Miroslav Cvetković |
|
Pop Mašina (Serbian Cyrillic: Поп Машина; trans. Pop Machine) was a former Yugoslav progressive rock band from Belgrade. Pop Mašina was formed in 1972, and released two studio albums and one live album before disbanding in 1978. After Pop Mašina disbanded, the band's former members formed a short-lasting hard rock band Rok Mašina, often considered a continuation of Pop Mašina.
Contents |
The band was formed in Belgrade in 1972 by Robert Nemeček (a former Dogovor Iz 1804, Džentlmeni, and Intro member, bass guitar, vocals), Zoran Božinović (a former Exelent, Rokeri, Džentlmeni, and Intro member, guitar, vocals), Ratislav Đelmaš (drums), and Sava Bojić (guitar, vocals). Bojić soon left the band (he would later join the band Tako), and during the same year Đelmaš left Pop Mašina and joined YU grupa. He was replaced by a former Intro and Siluete member Mihajlo "Bata" Popović.
Pop Mašina was one of the first bands on the former Yugoslav rock scene that moved from the 1960s rhythm and blues towards harder sound. They often organized free concerts, and in 1972 they organized a big free, open air concert at Hajdučka česma. The concert also featured bands S Vremena Na Vreme, Porodična Manufaktura Crnog Hleba, and others. In May 1973 they organized another free concert at Hajdučka česma, which featured bands Jutro, Grupa 220, Med, Vlada i Bajka, and others. In 1973 the band released their debut album Kiselina (Acid).[1] The album featured hard rock sound, but also featured psychedelic and acid rock elements. The album also featured several acoustic songs composed by Nemeček. Kiselina featured Sloba Marković on keyboards, and three songs featured Miša Aleksić (at the time member of SOS). The album also featured S Vremena Na Vreme members Ljuba Ninković and Vojislav Đukić, Drago Mlinarec, and DAG members on backing vocals.[2] Pop Mašina and S Vremena Na Vreme continued to cooperate in studio and on live appearances, and in 1975 Nemeček would appeare as a guest on S Vremena Na Vreme debut self-titled album.[3] After Kiselina was released Pop Mašina held a large number of concerts. They often performed in Belgrade Sports' Hall. These concerts were organized with the help of (at the time) journalism student Aleksandar Tijanić, and other Yugoslav progressive rock bands were often invited to perform. Pop Mašina had an attractive live appearance: Božinović was one of the first former Yugoslav guitarists that played long guitar solos, played guitar with a bow and behind his back.
At the beginning of 1975, in Akademik Studio in Ljubljana, the band recorded their second studio album Na izvoru svetlosti (At the Spring of Light).[4] The album was produced by Ivo Umek and Nemeček. It featured Ljuba Ninković and Sloba Marković as guest musicians.[5] The album featured live blues track "Negde daleko" recorded on a concert in Belgrade Sports Hall on January 2, 1974,[6] and the song "Rekvijem za prijatelja" (Requiem for a Friend), with lyrics written by Ninković, dedicated to Predrag Jovičić, the former singer of the band San, who died from an electric shock on a concert in Čair Sports Center in Niš. The album also featured a new version of the song "Zemlja svetlosti", previously released on a 7" single. After the album release the band was joined by the keyboardist Oliver Mandić. However, he left the band after only several performances. In 1976 the band released the live album Put ka Suncu (Road to Sun), becoming the first former Yugoslav band to release a live album.
At the end of 1976 Nemeček left the band due to his army obligations, and the bass guitarist Dušan Petrović, the drummer Dušan Đukić (a former Innamorata member), and the guitarist Vidoja "Džindžer" Božinović (Zoran Božinović's brother, a former Dim Bez Vatre member) joined the band. After Nemeček returned from the army, he moved to London, where he started working in the music instruments company Toma & Co. From London he also wrote for Yugoslav magazines RTV revija and YU video. The new Pop Mašina lineup moved towards jazz rock. The band recorded the single with the songs "Moja pesma" and "Uspomena".[7] In 1977, Petrović left the band and joined Generacija 5, and was replaced by Miroslav "Cvele" Cvetković (a former Tilt member). This lineup announced the recording of the new album. However, in 1978, Pop Mašina disbanded.
Vidoja Božinović and Đukić joined the band Dah. After Dah disbanded, Božinović joined the band Opus in which he spent only six months. After he returned from London, Nemeček worked in Dadov Theatre as an editor of rock program.
In 1981 Nemeček, Božinović brothers and drummer Vladan Dokić formed the hard rock/heavy metal band Rok Mašina, often considered a continuation of Pop Mašina, which released only an album before disbanding in 1982.
After Rok Mašina disbanded Zoran Božinović retired from music, but in the 1990s he started performing with the blues-rock band Zona B. He died in 2004.[8] Vidoja Božinovič performed in blues clubs and with the jazz band Interactive before joining Riblja Čorba in 1984. Nemeček became a film program editor at RTV Politika.
In 1994 ITMM rereleased Kiselina in a limited number of copies. The rerelease featured songs "Put ka Suncu" and "Sjaj u očima", from the band's first 7" single, as bonus tracks. In 2007 Kiselina was re-released by MCF Records as Originalna kiselina: 35 godina kasnije (Original Acid: 35 Years Later) in a limited number of 999 copies.[9] In 2008 Internut Music and Multimedia Records released luxurious box set Antologija 1972 - 1976 (Anthology 1972 - 1976), which featured all the recordings released by Pop Mašina, 9 unreleased tracks, a recording of a concert in Belgrade Sports Hall, and a book about the band.[10]
The song "Zemlja svetlosti" was covered by the Serbian alternative rock band Disciplina Kičme on their 1991 album Nova iznenađenja za nova pokolenja.[11]
The album Kiselina was polled in 1998 as 60th on the list of 100 greatest Yugoslav popular music albums in the book YU 100: najbolji albumi jugoslovenske rok i pop muzike (YU 100: The Best albums of Yugoslav pop and rock music).[12]
On October 5, 2005, in Belgrade's Bard Club, a concert dedicated to Zoran Božinović was held. The musicians performing on the concert included his brother Vidoja, Miroslav Cvetković (of Bajaga i Instruktori, formerly of Pop Mašina), Nebojša Antonijević (of Partibrejkers), Dejan Cukić, Petar Radmilović (of Đorđe Balašević's backing band), Dušan Kojić (of Disciplina Kičme), Branislav Petrović (of Električni Orgazam), Dušan Đukić (formerly of Pop Mašina), Nikola Čuturilo, Manja Đorđević (of Disciplina Kičme), Vladimir Đorđević (of Lira Vega and Neočekivana Sila Koja Se Iznenada Pojavljuje i Rešava Stvar), Vlada Negovanović, the bands Van Gogh and Zona B, and oters.[13] The recording of the concert was released on the DVD Put ka Suncu - Noć posvećena Zoranu Božinoviću (Road to Sun - A Night Dedicated to Zoran Božinović).[14]
|
||||||||
|
||||||||