Kalemegdan Disk - ROCK FROM EASTERN EUROPE

Kalemegdan Disk Release Information

The Vojvodanski Blues Band (Vojvodina Blues Band, VBB) is one of those bands that has been followed by fame since the beginning of its career, guided by an unusual history. Founded as early as 1968 in Novi Sad, during the coming period, either for justified and understandable reasons, or due to the evil fate of the instability of the members of the lineup, or for numerous other reasons, their activity never had the form of continuity, the so-called hibernation, but still some kind of myth in Novi Sad itself about the group has existed practically forever.

Led by guitarist and main author Atila Šoti, VBB started from scratch, with a status that was practically identical to that of previous years. And that’s the huge popularity on home soil, that is, in Novi Sad, and the almost omnipresent ignorance of their career in other parts of Serbia, and even Vojvodina, and earlier the former Yugoslavia. However, behind the group that was forced to change the members of the line-up, there remained some songs that are remembered, which are also performed by some other bands, and the degree of originality that this band displayed within the “boundaries” and the wide field of blues, remains theirs even today.

VBB are a band that interprets songs in their native language, they bring a lot of emotion and passion into the songs themselves, and they don’t look like many other bands of the mentioned direction. Their music is combined with the Vojvodina mentality, urban Novi Sad pastiche, Vojvodina psychology, but in their version it is colorful, interesting, and universally acceptable. And of course it should stay that way. It is worth pointing out that few people, who had the opportunity to watch them once on the concert stage, did not repeat it several times.

Finally, they have recorded a “real” album, released by Jugoton-Croatia Records, which includes 13 original songs. Atila Šoti was responsible for the music, and the lyrics were written by D. Jurišic and Branislav “Pekar” Bašic. Blues, and blues with additions of logical rock elements performed by the band on the album, is mostly “engraved” through medium-tempo songs, where textual clarity, naturalness, mentioned emotionality, in some places also local-verbal specificity, along with pronounced melodiousness in their performance is such that even those who are not so inclined to the stylistic expression of the group can easily accept their message.

VBB offers uniform material, there are frequent dialogues of the guitar of Atila Šoti and the keyboard of Dejan “Jode” Starcevic, which build the structure of the songs, and the songs are accompanied by a very cleverly arranged production, which is due to a large group of creators, such as Atila Toth, Ivan Firchie, Lee Man, Duci Tanasijin, Vladimir Kranjcevic. By the way, the album also features the established musicians Tihomir “Pop” Asanovic, the previously mentioned Firchie, Lee Man, and Aleksandar Miloševic as guests.

The album also includes the song “Ðole Trip”, dedicated to a legendary Belgrade face with a not-so-happy fate story, whose appearance, behavior, and communication were at home in the capital, and all those who frequented the Student Cultural Centar “SKC” over the years, but also other places, where interesting cultural, not only musical, events took place knew about it. The song about Vojislav “Ðole” Rakic, the former guitarist of Igra Staklenih Perli (The Glass Beads Game), who died in Belgrade at 21 July 2019, is accompanied by a very emotional text by Branislav “Pekar” Bašic.

With the “Pokaži da moješ” (Show that You Can) album, Vojvodanski Blues Band confirmed that they are still autochthonous, special, specific, why not say a different composition in many segments. They have a good album and the will to prove it. And they are young, after all, the future is calling...

Branimir Lokner

Full album: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lGJmeSBUEZ0y35n7MmfHEGPnbHLFsAB_s

Ðole trip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TInde6iyhgg&t=77s

Tracklist

1. Blues snaga 3:00
2. Remetimo mir 4:28
3. Tragovi 5:25
4. Te ’67. 3:26
5. Roden na limanu 4:24
6. Potrepština 4:28
7. Laki blues 3:22
8. Ðole trip 5:40
9. Ide voz 3:49
10. Noc je dan 4:12
11. Od nule opet krecem ja 4:05
12. Na oblaku plovim draga 4:52
13. Kao Džon i Joko 4:20