Laboratorija Zvuka

Laboratorija Zvuka
Laboratorija Zvuka
Background information
Also known as	Laboratorija
Origin	Novi Sad, Serbia, Yugoslavia
Genres	Rock, pop rock, new wave, alternative rock
Years active	1977 – 1996
Labels	PGP-RTB, Jugoton, Komuna
Associated acts	Luna, Pekinška Patka, Ekatarina Velika, Zemlja, Točak i Nebo
Website	www.laboratorijazvuka.com
Past members	Predrag Vranešević; Mladen Vranešević; Aleksandar Pejak; Stevan Lukić; Laslo Pihler; Vera Lajko; Dina Kurbatfinsky Vranešević; Aleksandar Kravić; Olah Vince; Renata Vigi; Ivan Kašik; Deže Molnar; Miroslav Cvetković; Zoran Bulatović; Ivan Fece; Stojan Jovanović; Senad Jašarević

Laboratorija Zvuka (Serbian Cyrillic: Лабораторија Звука; trans. Sound Laboratory), sometimes credited as Laboratorija (Laboratory) only, was a Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band. Noted for their eccentric style, erotic lyrics, unusual line ups and bizarre circus-inspired stage performances, Laboratorija Zvuka were one of the pioneers of the Serbian and former Yugoslav alternative rock scenes.

History

1970s and 1980s

The band's history begins in 1977, when brothers Predrag (an architect and former film critic, formerly a member of The Best of Nothing and Med) and Mladen Vranešević (a former Falkoni and Neoplanti member) decided to form a band. The brothers previously worked together on music for films, theatre plays, radio and TV shows. They started working together in 1971, when they wrote music for Karpo Godina's short film Zdravi ljudi za razonodu (Healthy People for Recreation), on the lyrics of poet and musician Branko Andrić. For the music they were awarded on the Festival of Short and Documentary Film, which motivated them to continue composing, often receiving awards for their music in Yugoslavia and abroad. They wrote music for numerous films, including The Medusa Raft, Veštački raj (Artificial Paradise), Još ovaj put (One Last Time), Kraj rata (End of the War), Oktoberfest, The Original of the Forgery, Full Moon Over Belgrade, and numerous TV shows, including Poletarac, Priče iz Nepričave, Fore i fazoni, Čik pogodi ko sam, Lutkomedija.

The band, named Laboratorija Zvuka, featured musicians with whom the Vranešević brothers previously worked in studio: Aleksandar Pejak (guitar), Stevan Lukić (guitar), Laslo Pihler (drums), Vera Lajko (vocals, keyboards), Dina Kurbatfinsky Vranešević (Mladen Vranešević's wife, vocals), Aleksandar "Caki" Kravić (bass guitar), and Olah Vince (violin). With the song "Dok vam je još vreme" ("While You Still Can") they appeared on the Opatija Festival. After the success of the single, they recorded their debut album. Telo (The Body), released through Jugoton in 1980,[1] was a concept album, with the A-side entitled Vrline (Virtues),[2] featuring the songs which celebrated asceticism and healthy lifestyle, and the B-side, entitled Poroci (Vices),[3] featuring songs about bodily pleasures. The album opens with an acted transmission from the bodybuilding competition in Bački Jarak, and is followed by new wave-oriented (but also featuring elements of other genres) songs "Suvarak" ("Spall"), "Lepo telo" ("Pretty Body", featuring a quotation from Oliver Dragojević's song "Oprosti mi, pape"), "Alkohol, žene i..." ("Alcohol, Women and...", featuring a quotation from the Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"), "Bajna mašina" ("Fabulous Machine"), and other songs.[4]

On the concerts the band performed in a thirteen-piece lineup, which, beside the band members, featured the female singer Renata Vigi, drummer Ivan Kašik, but also the world bodybuilding champion Petar Čelik and his wife Irena. While the band was playing, Čelik was practicing his bodybuilding using various training devices. In 1980 the band released the 7" single featuring their biggest hit, the ska song "Ska-kavac joj zaš'o u rukavac" ("Grasshopper Got in Her Sleeve"), which featured quotes from Crven ban, a collection of erotic folk poetry compiled by Vuk Karadžić. The song also featured the debut appearance of the band's mascot, Vilmoš Kauboj (Vilmoš the Cowboy), real name Vilmoš Lakatoš, a marginal character from the streets of Novi Sad, who toured with the band as an announcer.

The band's following album, Duboko u tebi (Deep inside You), released through Jugoton in 1982,[5] featured elements of rockabilly. The song "Zaboravljena draga" ("The Forgotten Beloved") was recorded for Zoran Amar's film Piknik u Topoli (Picnic in Topola), featuring lyrics written by Predrag Vranešević and Slobodan Tišma, the member of Luna, and a former member of La Strada. However, as Tišma did not want to be known that he worked on the song lyrics, he was signed on the album as Bobo Misteriozo. The album also featured a cover of Larry Williams' "Bony Moronie", and "Odlazim dolazim" ("I'm Leaving I'm Coming"), recorded live in 1978, on the band's performance on the Subotica Festival Omladina.[6] At the time, the band's new members became Deže Molnar (saxophone), and Miroslav Cvetković "Pis" (guitar). In 1982, the band performed in Germany, on the concerts organized by KPZ of Vojvodina for the children of Yugoslav guest workers. During this staying in Germany, the band recorded the electronic music-oriented single with the songs "Devica 69" ("Virgin 69") i "Šetnja" ("A Walk").

In 1982, Predrag Vranešević, in the name of the band, was charged because the band "insulted socialist moral and hurt patriotic feelings" of the citizens of Novo Mesto, SR Slovenia. Some citizens of Novo Mesto saw a poster announcing Laboratorija Zvuka concert and thought that the image of Vilmoš Kauboj insults the image of president Josip Broz Tito. Predrag Vranešević was sentenced to 40 days in prison, but the whole case was soon hushed up as absurd and all charges were dropped.

In 1983 the band performed in Germany once again, and after a performance at the Zagreb Bienale Festival, which that year featured the bands Gang of Four and Classix Nouveaux, established contacts with English managers, and in August 1984 went to London, and during five evenings they performed in the Institute of Contemporary Arts, under the name La Boratoria. The happening, entitled Jašući konje Svetog Marka (Riding Saint Mark's Horses), featured an art exhibition and a theatre play about a hero named PVC, an illegitimate son of Sergei Yesenin and Isadora Duncan. On the scene appeared the members of the band, ballet dancers, and bodybuilder Slobodan Blagojević. The performance was well received in the British press. During their staying in London, the band recorded a short documentary, entitled Kuda ide naše malo društvo (Where Is Our Small Society Heading To), with a screenplay written by Predrag, and directed by Mladen Vranešević. At this time, Predrag Vranešević started working with young bands, and helped Plavi Orkestar and Ruž in their first steps.

Laboratorija Zvuka, with Dušica Ilić (first one from the left) and Vilmoš Kauboj (sitting)

In 1986 the band released the album Nevinost (Innocence),[7] in the new lineup, which, beside Predrag Vranešević on keyboards, guitar and vocals, Deže Molnar on saxophone, and Mladen Vranešević, Renata Vigy, and Dina Kurbatfinsky Vranešević on vocals, featured a former Luna and Pekinška Patka member Zoran "Bale" Bulatović on guitar, a former Luna and Ekatarina Velika member Ivan Fece "Firchie" on drums, Stojan Jovanović on bass guitar, and Senad Jašarević on keyboards. The band's new mascot, beside Vilmoš Kauboj, became a trans woman named Dušica Ilić (born as Duško Ilić), who later became known as the clairvoyant under the name Kleopatra in the 1990s. The album featured rereleased songs from 7" singles, "Ska-kavac joj zašo u rukavac", "Devica", "Šetnja", but also the notable tracks "Daj mi bugi, dam ti vugi" ("Give Me Boogie, I Give You Woogie"), "Mala moja, al' je paranoja" ("My Baby Is Paranoid"), "Vili, Vili" ("Willie, Willie").[8]

1990s

After a longer break in their work, the band, in 1996, released the album entitled in Serbian ijekavian, Nema niđe te ljepote (There's No Such a Beauty), through Komuna.[9] The title track was recorded for the Tourism Association of Montenegro, and the others were written during the band's career, but never appeared on any of the band's releases. The album featured ten songs, recorded in a minimalist manner and resembling demo recordings. The songs were written by Vranešević brothers. The songs "Do I Dare" and "Vinyl Mirrors" were written on the poems of Johnatan Loyd, and the lyrics for the song "Mimi" were written after the motifs from Ivo Tijardović's works.[10] The album was recorded by Vranešević brothers, Molnar, Bulatović, and the backing vocals were sung by Milana Vranešević, daughter of Mladen and Dina Vranešević's. After the album release, the band officially ended their activity.

Post-breakup

In 1991, Predrag Vranešević became the TV Novi Sad musical editor. He retired in 2005. In 2011, in cooperation with film director Želimir Žilnik, he created the opera Nema zemlja (Silent Land). The opera was based on Vranešević's 1971 rock opera Fabrike radnicima (Factories to the Workers).[11]

Mladen Vranešević dedicated himself to marketing. He died on July 16, 2006.[12]

In 2007, the band was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 54th Belgrade Festival of Short and Documentary Film.[13]

Legacy

In 2006, the song "Ska-kavac joj zaš'o u rukavac" was ranked No. 84 on the B92 Top 100 Domestic Songs list.[14]

In 2007, the band was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 54th Belgrade Festival of Short and Documentary Film.[15]

Discography

Studio albums

Telo (1980)
Duboko u tebi (1982)
Nevinost (1986)
Nema niđe te ljepote (1996)

Singles

"Dok vam je još vreme" / "Sve je to bilo u proleće" (1978)
"Ko ne zna da se smeši" / "Brek boks" (1978)
"Kad postanem slab i star" / "Kas" (1979)
"Mod-deran" / "Ska-kavac joj zaš'o u rukavac" (1980)
"Poletarac"/ "Stočiću postavi se" / "Oproštaj od magneta" (1981)
"Devica 69" / "Šetnja" (1982)
"Još ovaj put" / "Još ovaj put - instrumental" (1983)

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References

EX YU ROCK enciklopedija 1960-2006, Janjatović Petar; ISBN 978-86-905317-1-4
NS rockopedija, novosadska rock scena 1963-2003, Mijatović Bogomir; Publisher: SWITCH, 2005