Igra Staklenih Perli

Infobox musical artist
Name = Igra Staklenih Perli

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Origin = Belgrade, Serbia, Yugoslavia
Genre = Progressive rock
Psychedelic rock
Space rock

Years_active = 1976 – 1985

Label = PGP RTB
Kalemegdan Disk
PGP RTS
Second Harvest

Associated_acts = White Rabit Band
Collateral Damage

URL = [http://www.myspace.com/igrastaklenihperli Official myspace]
Past_members = Zoran Lakić
Vojkan Rakić
Predrag Vuković
Draško Nikodijević
Dragan Šoć
Slobodan Trbojević
Ivan Pajević

Igra Staklenih Perli (Serbian Cyrillic: Игра Стаклених Перли; trans. "The Glass Bead Game") were a former Yugoslav Progressive / Psychedelic rock band from Belgrade.

History

The band was formed in 1976 by Zoran Lakić (keyboards) with his old school friends Vojkan Rakić (guitar) and Predrag Vuković (percussion). After visiting Germany and getting interested in the Secrets of the Oriental Pillgrims (from Hesse's book The Glass Bead Game), Lakić decided to form a band with musical influences by Can, early Pink Floyd, Hawkwind, Tangerine Dream and Holgar Czukay. Until the arrival of the bassist Draško Nikodijević (also known as Dracula), the band did not appear live.

Their first live appearances were at the Amateur Theatre Tokovi festival in Voždovac and in the Dadov theatre. In 1977, drummer Dragan Šoć was included into the lineup. Having played numerous free gigs at Belgrade's SKC and the New Belgrade's Block 45, the band established cult status and was offered to record an album. In 1978 they entered the studio and recorded their debut album which featured "Gusterov trg" ("Lizzard's Square"), "Solarni modus" ("Solar Modus"), "Putovanje u plavo" ("A Trip To The Blue"), "Pecurka" ("Pecurka") and "Majestetski kraj" ("Majestic End"). They descrbed their style as "The music of the sub-concsious". The cover was designed by Vuković who wanted to adopt the cover to the music. By then, the group was appearing with Goran Cvetić, adisk jockey and a journalist, who was un charge of the light show, slide shows and film projections during the performance. Their appearance at the Belgrade's College of Dentistry was bootlegged by Cvetić on a simple tape recorder for his personal archive.

Following the release of the album, Draško Nikodijević left the band and was replaced by Slobodan Trbojević who was a "Džuboks" magazine journalist. The second album was recorded form August, 1979 until January, 1980. "Vrt svetlosti" ("The Garden Of Light") was produced by Aleksandar Pilipenka, designed by Vuković and designer Dejan Popov, but the first version of the cover was refused by PGP RTB. The album featured five tracks: "Igrač" ("Dancer"), "Čarobnjaci" ("Wizzards"), "Vrt svetlosti" ("The Garden Of Light"), "Lunarni Modus" ("Lunar Modus") and "Sanjaš" ("You Are Dreaming"). After the release, Vojkan Rakić was replaced by Ivan Pajević. This lineup did not las long and the band stopped performing. Their last public appearance was in 1985, in the well-known Sava Center Concert Hall in Belgrade, on the occasion of the group concert dedicated to the anniversary of the music magazine "ITD". Recordings for the third album with the work title ISP III were never released, but can be heard on the band's official myspace (tracks "Amsterdam" and "Serbian Reageae"). Nikodijević formed The White Rabbit Band and in the late eighties moved to America where was renamed to White Rabit Cult. Dracula, with EKV drummer Ivan Fece Firchie, former Luna and Pekinška Patka guitarist Zoran "Bale" Bulatović, Elektricni Orgazam keyboard player Ljubomir Ðukić formed the super group Collateral Damage.

During the summer 1991, the remaining members with Thomas Werner, the owner of Kalemegdan Disk record label, released three Igra Stalkenih Perli LPs. The first one, "Soft Explosion Live", was Cvetić's recording of the Belgrade's College of Dentistry bootleg which features tracks form the first album. 1993, the album was re-released, reproduced and the some of the tracks were shortened and the track "Majestic End" was replaced by "Soft Explosion".The next release was "Inner Flow" which featured unreleased material from 1976 until 1979. The third and final German release was "Drives", which featured recordings form a four hours session recorded in April, 1977, backed with rerecordings made by Rakić, Vuković and keyboard player Zoran Zagorčić (from the band Du Du A), most of the covers were designed by Vuković.In 2007 remastered editions of both LPs appeared in Serbia and Germany. PGP RTS label Rerologija (Retrology), under which remastered LPs were released, published both studio albums on one CD entitled "Igra Svetlosti" ("The Game Of Light"). German label Second Harvest remastered and expanded both albums on separate CDs. The first LP was expanded with live tracks from "Soft Explosion Live", while "Vrt svetlosti" was expanded with the recordings from "Inner Flow".

Many Belgrade musicians of that time played with the band as guests, which proves the influence and legacy of this band. Out of the regular team, the following took part: guitar players such as Goran Vejvoda, Ivan Pajević, Aleksandar Žikić (well-known Yugoslav rock critic), guitar player and poet Boyan Kveder, keyboard player Zoran Zagorčić (from Električni Orgazam), and drummer Ivica Vdovic Vd (from Šarlo Akrobata) (both of them tragically past away during the 90s). One should certainly highlight the only female vocal as guest on the second ISP album "Vrt svetlosti" ("The Garden of Light"), vocal artist Dragana Šarić, later known as Bebi Dol (this was her debut studio recording). There were also many others who directly supported the band like photographers Goran Grbić (later well known TV lighting designer) and Gordan Skondrić. Support came also from Belgrade music magazine "Džuboks" ("Jukebox") and journalists such as Radovan Vujović, Momčilo Rajin, Branko Vukojević and many others.

Discography

Sudio albums

* "Igra staklenih perli" ("The Glass Bead Game") (PGP RTB, 1979)
* "Vrt svetlosti" ("Garden Of Light") (PGP RTB, 1980)
* "ISP III" (unreleased album)

Live albums

* "Soft Explosion Live" (Kalemegdan Disk, 1991)
* "Drives" (Kalemegdan Disk, 1993)

Compilation albums

* "Inner Flow" (Kalemegdan Disk, 1991)
* "Igra svetlosti" ("The Game Of Light") (PGP RTS, 2007)

References

* EX YU ROCK enciklopedija 1960-2006, Janjatović Petar; ISBN 978-86-905317-1-4

External links

* [http://www.myspace.com/igrastaklenihperli Official myspace]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrcqPQBdhZQ Igra Staklenih Perli at Youtube]
* [http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=1614 Igra Staklenih Perli at Progarchives]
* [http://www.psychedelic-music.net/band657.html Igra Staklenih Perli at Psychedelic-Music]
* [http://www.last.fm/music/Igra+Staklenih+Perli Igra Staklenih Perli at Last.fm]

See also

* Serbian rock
* SFR Yugoslav Pop and Rock scene