EKATARINA VELIKA "Post punk years - ´82 - ´86"

Prvé tri albumy post-punk/rockovej kapely z Belehradu. Info: http://muzika-komunika.blogspot.sk/2011/03/ekatarina-velika-katarina-ii-1984.html









http://www.multiload.cz/stahnout/781469/ekv-zip/


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Three albums in one link.
Serbian post-punk/rock legend EKATARINA VELIKA.


Ekatarina Velika (Serbian Cyrillic: Екатарина Велика, English: Catherine the Great), sometimes referred to as EKV for short, was a Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band from Belgrade, being one of the most successful and influential music acts coming out of former Yugoslavia.

Post-punk years (1982–1986)

Following the disbandment of Šarlo Akrobata, in February 1982, Milan Mladenović (guitar, vocals) with Gagi Mihajlović (guitar), Dušan Dejanović (drums), and Zoran "Švaba" Radomirović (bass) formed the band Katarina II, named after Mihailović's unrequited love, a girl named Katarina. During the late 1982, after the performance at the cinema Topčiderska zvezda, the band was joined by the classically trained pianist Margita Stefanović. At the time, the rhythm section had changed, with Radomirović leaving to join Du Du A and Dejanović joining the heated rivals Disciplina Kičme.

The vacant drummer position was taken over by the former Grupa I member Branko Kuštrin "Mango", but after not more than a month's period he left the band, being replaced by Milan's former bandmate from Šarlo Akrobata Ivan Vdović "VD". At the same time, on early 1983, Bojan Pečar, a former VIA Talas bassist became the new band member. In the spring of 1983 the band took part in Zagreb Bienalle and received positive reviews. Their material for the debut album material was recorded soon after, featuring guest appearance by the actor Svetislav Goncić on tin whistles. The recording sessions for the material were completed in the Druga Maca studio owned by Enco Lesić however, due to a variety of reasons, most of them having to do with the poor technical equipment, the material was unusable.

The following year in RTV Ljubljana studios, the band took the offer of fellow musician Srđan Marjanović, who was the label's musical director at the time, to rerecord the material for the debut album. Katarina II eponymous debut album was eventually released in 1984, mostly featuring the lyrics written by Mladenović, except for the songs "Vrt" ("The Garden") and "Platforme" ("The Platforms") written by Mihajlović, while the music was a collaboration between the two. The tracks like "Aut" ("Out"), "Jesen" ("Autumn"), "Radostan dan" ("A Joyful Day"), "Treba da se čisti" ("It Ought To Be Cleaned"), "Ja znam" ("I Know") the band successfully linked Milan's descriptive lyrical sensibility with the energetic New Wave sound. The material was produced by Đorđe Petrović and featured guest appearances by Mario Čelik on congas Film member Jurij Novoselić "Kuzma Videosex" on saxophone.

Soon after the album release, the band went through more lineup changes. Mihajlović ran afoul of the law and went to jail and after serving the punishment he was informed by the rest of the band that he was no longer a Katarina II member. However, since Mihajlović claimed rights to the usage of the Katarina II band name, he forced the band into using another one. Later he collaborated with Vlada Divljan before moving to the United States where he currently resides. Additionally, drummer Vdović left due to drug abuse problems, later joining Du Du A and the band Heroji, being replaced by the former Luna drummer Ivan Fece "Firchie". The remaining members continued working as Ekatarina Velika, after Catherine II of Russia, or EKV for short. Due to constant SFR Yugoslavia-wide touring, with frequent stops in Belgrade, Zagreb and Ljubljana, and occasional TV spots, the band's popularity had gradually grown.

At the beginning of the following year, the band recorded their second studio album, recorded at the Zagreb SIM studio and produced by Vladimir Smolec and the band members themselves. Ekatarina Velika, featuring Massimo Savić and Karlowy Wary member Tomo in der Mühlen as guests, provided the band with its first hits, "Oči boje meda" ("Honey Colored Eyes"), "Modro i zeleno" ("Indigo and Green") and "Tattoo". In accordance with the latter song, the album cover arranged by Dušan Gerzić feature the band members painted in Native American ritual body art. After the album release, on March 22, 1985, they played outside of Yugoslavia for the first time, making a positive impression at Culture Days in Turin, Italy. Another memorable concert took place in Zagreb as part of Bolje vas našli Belgrade-Zagreb band exchange.

Towards the end of 1985, Fece left the band to serve the mandatory Yugoslav People's Army service, later joining Laboratorija Zvuka, and was replaced by the Ivan Ranković "Raka" from the band Tvrdo Srce i Velike Uši. The following year, the new lineup released the third studio album S vetrom uz lice (Faced Against the Wind), proving to be the breakthrough album that turned them into bona fide stars. The album was produced by Milan Mladenović, Margita Stefanović and Dragan Čačinović, extensively using the E-mu Emulator II 8-bit sampler. With the hits "Budi sam na ulici" ("Be Alone on the Street"), "Ti si sav moj bol" ("You Are All My Anguish"), "Novac u rukama" ("Money in the Hands"), and "Kao da je bilo nekad" ("As If It Had Once Been") came some lukewarm reviews from the critics complaining about the similarities to the works of the Simple Minds...



(Wikipedia)



Mišo