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Croatia Records Release Information

The luxury anniversary reissue “Indexi” (The Indexes) is on sale

The iconic Indexi from Sarajevo are for sure one of the best and most influential groups which emerged in Yugoslavia.

Their songs became timeless hits that live on even today, both with listeners and in numerous cover versions that are now being paid tribute by generations of musicians – from Bijelo Dugme and Crvena Jabuka to Massimo and Natali Dizdar.

In the period between 1971 and 1973, Indexi released a total of five single records for Jugoton, which included some of their most successful songs: “Plima” (Tide), “Sve ove godine” (All these Years), “Balada” (Ballad), “Da sam ja netko” (If I Were Someone), “Svijet u kojem živim” (The World in which I Live) and “Sanjam” (I Dream). A year later, the group took a break due to military service, and Jugoton released a compilation LP simply titled “Indexi”, the first long-playing release of the group, which included eight of the total eleven songs from this period. The anniversary reissue of this record, published on the fiftieth anniversary of the original release, brings two more songs that were not included on the original LP: the big hit “Predaj se srce” (Surrender Your Heart) and the slightly neglected “Povratak Jacka Trbosjeka i ostalog zla” (The Return of Jack the Ripper and Other Evil).

Another special feature of this edition is the lacquer cut, which was done by Sean Magee, the winner of the Grammy award for the Beatles’ “Mono Box Set”, in London’s Abbey Road Studios. Sean Magee also worked on the box-set edition of Bijelo Dugme in 2014, and now, thanks to him, Indexi will sound better than ever.

In an interview on the occasion of this release, published in the booklet accompanying the release, Fadil Redžic, bassist and another symbol of Indexi, says: “Jugoton has done us a great “service” by releasing this compilation and also our first LP. But also Croatia Records today, with this reissue, as well as with the reissue of “Modra rijeka” (Blue River) a few years ago. One feels good when he sees that the songs, in the creation of which he participated, are still alive today and have their listeners. In our age, it really gives good energy. Indexi are a phenomenon that is not completely clear to me even today. At the beginning of the seventies, there were exceptional groups in Yugoslavia like Pro Arte or Korni Grupa... Much more commercial and successful than we were. However, it seems to me that Indexi and our songs have become the main feature of that period over time. I had the impression that, at the moment when we were all actively playing, they “overtook” us, but today it seems to me that Indexi’s songs won the race “in the long run”. I am glad it is so, but I cannot say that I understand it. We played and created surrounded by really talented musicians, groups and friends. After everything, the songs remained – they always bring me back to those times and with them I relive everything – and the moments of creating songs, going to the studio, recording, hanging out... Indexi were like an incoming tide. Which has stayed.”

The album “Indexi” also comes with a download card for downloading mp3 versions of the songs remastered by Goran Martinac in the Croatia Records Studio. Darko Kujundžic is responsible for the artistic design of the reissue, while the booklet accompanying the edition contains texts by Siniša Škarica, Josip Dujmovic and Sead S. Fetahagic, as well as the aforementioned interview with Fadil Redžic. The booklet is also richly equipped with photos from the private archives of Marko Colic and Fadil Redžic, as well as with documentation on Indexi from the Jugoton / Croatia Records archive.

Founded long ago in 1962, Indexi was active until 2001, and in that period they released only two real studio albums – the conceptual “Modra rijeka” (Blue River) in 1978 and “Kameni cvjetovi” (Stone Flowers) from 1999. On the other side, the Indexi catalogue includes as many as 27 singles & EP records as well as several compilations that included both the most famous songs as well as more unknown songs from the rich and mostly unpublished archive of recordings left behind by the group. Due to the premature death of Davorin Popovic, one of the most recognizable vocalists in Yugoslavia , Indexi ceased to exist in 2001. Then, in 2004, the legendary guitarist of the group, Slobodan “Bodo” Kovacevic, died, and in the years after that, some other members of the group, but their songs continued their life, being passed down from generation to generation and became part of the indelible cultural heritage of the Yugoslavian areas.

Full album: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_ns7A8Z5xVRoCOCVFFaqZ-jvV0sN7iFfXw

Tracklist

Side A

1. Svijet u kojem živim – Recorded 1971 4:32
2. Krivac si t – Recorded 1972 4:34
3. Budi kao more – Recorded 1971 4:50
4. Bonus: Predaj se srce – Recorded 1973 3:53
5. Da sam ja netko – Recorded 1971 3:55

Side B

1. Sve ove godine – Recorded 1972 3:51
2. Sanjam – Recorded 1972 4:12
3. Plima – Recorded 1969 5:10
4. Bonus: Povratak Jacka Trbosjeka i ostalog zla – Recorded 1972 3:38
5. Balada – Recorded 1972 4:18