INDEXI - "INDEKSI" (cassette, 1972)

This rare, never-reissued cassette was Indexi's first full-lenght release. It wasn't a proper album, but more of an anthology of unreleased songs recorded from 1969 to 1972. 

This garagey proto-progressive style was already surpassed by the time of its release, but the songs were still powerful, dynamic, and perfectly crafted. 
In fact, some of them are so amazing that I prefer this record to the symphonic prog classic "Modra rijeka" (1978), which is usually considered Indexi's masterpiece.

The delay between some of the recording sessions and the cassette release must be taken in account too. The epic suite "Negdje na kraju, u zatišju" may have sounded dated in 1972, but it surely wasn't in 1969, when progressive rock was at the beginning.

Sadly, the cassette didn't sell well, and these songs remained an underground affair, despite Indexi being the most popular band from Bosnia at the time.

Tracklist:
1. "Dan kao ovaj" (1970)
(Fadil Redžić/Boriša Falatar)
2. "Hej ti" (1972)
(Ljupčo Konstantinov/Maja Perfiljeva)

3. "Da li postoji ljubav" (1971)

(Milan Đajić/Nikola Borota) 
4. "Najljepše stvari" (1969)
(Slobodan Kovačević/Nikola Borota)
5. "Ja odlazim sutra" (1971)
(Slobodan Kovačević/Nikola Borota)
6. "Negdje na kraju, u zatišju" (1969)
(Slobodan Kovačević/Želimir Altarac)
7. "Galijom sna" (1969)
(Fadil Redžić)

Indexi were:
Davorin Popović - vocals (all tracks)
Slobodan Kovačević - guitar (all tracks)
Fadil Redžić - bass (all tracks)
Miroslav Šaranović - drums (all tracks)
Ismet "Nuno" Arnautalić - guitar (tracks 4, 6, 7)
Ranko Rihtman - keyboards (tracks 1, 3, 6, 7)
Enco Lesić - keyboards (track 2)
Đorđe Novković - keyboards (track 4)
(Keyboard player on track 5 is uncertain. Probably Rihtman or Lesić)

Please note - I uploaded some tracks in two versions: one straight from the old cassette and one from the digital remasters. Unfortunately, tracks 3, 4, and 7 have never been remastered.

DOWNLOAD (kbps: 320)

DAMIR IMAMOVIĆ'S SEVDAH TAKHT - "DVOJKA" (2016)

Damir Imamović - vocals, tambur
Ivana Đurić - violin
Nenad Kovačić - percussion
Ivan Mihajlović - electric bass 

Damir Imamović is a Bosnian folk singer and part of the sevdalinka current. Sevdalinka is considered by some the Balkan equivalent of blues, which is obviously a simplification, given the complexity and diversity of this musical phenomenon.

Produced by Chris Eckman, from American slowcore band Walkabouts, this is the new album of Imamović's project Sevdah Takht. 
Imamović is changing the face of sevdalinka, by removing its most important instrument (the accordion) and adding alien elements (a jazzy electric bass, Africa-influenced percussion, dark sounding violin melodies, and Western indie music atmospheres).
It is indeed one of the most beautiful, important, and better played folk albums of the last few years.

P.S. Damir's grandfather, Zaim, was already one of the biggest names in the history of sevdalinka (he contributed to its popularisation in the postwar period).

DOWNLOAD (kbps: 320)

INDEXI - "THE BEST OF" (1971-1980) [Released by Muzički Magazin in 2011]

Indexi was a Bosnian rock band active since the early Sixties. From 1967 to the mid Seventies they were the country's most important band. The huge popularity earned them the nickname "the Yugoslavian Beatles". 

On this anthology you will find all the anthems they released during the Seventies (the only big hit missing, "Predaj se srce", is one of their rare weak songs in my humble opinion, so it's not a big deal). Most of these songs, which were released only as singles at the time, are really catchy and well crafted.

Among my favourites are the tragic ballads "Bacila je sve niz rijeku" and "Ugasila je plamen", the dreamlike gem "Balada", the electronic "Njene oči, usne, ruke", and the beautiful cavalcade "Svijet u kojem živim". 
Styles range from progressive rock to soul, from folk to baroque pop, from garage rock to soft pop.

Indexi changed many members over the years, but three of them have been a constant for decades: Davorin Popović (vocals), Slobodan Kovačević (guitars), and Fadil Redžić (bass guitar).

DOWNLOAD (kbps: 320)

ZABRANJENO PUŠENJE - "DOK ČEKAŠ SABAH SA ŠEJTANOM" (1985)

Zabranjeno pušenje's second album is one of the many two-LP sets that characterized Yugoslav rock in the first half of the 80s. 
It lasts nearly an hour and contains eighteen songs, ranging from punk to blues, from new wave to country, from pub rock to power pop. 
Most of the tracks are graced by catchy tunes and creative arrangements, incorporating crazy background vocals and powerful bass lines, but also touches of sax and keyboards. 

Unfortunately, "Dok čekaš..." sold less than 30.000 copies at the time, as the authority decided to boycott the band for a pun about Marshal Tito expressed during a concert. 

DOWNLOAD (kbps: 320)

ZABRANJENO PUŠENJE - "DAS IST WALTER" (1984)

Led by singer Nele Karajlić and guitar player Sejo Sexon, Zabranjeno pušenje (transl. No Smoking) was one of the most important bands for the Yugoslav new wave. They are considered to be the band that brought this kind of music to Sarajevo, which up to that moment was limited to mainly classic rock and folk music.

"Das ist Walter" is a brilliant debut album, it contains both raw and polished sounds, and a singalong pop feel shines throughout the tracklist.
"Zenica Blues" was a hit, pushing the album to the 100.000 copies mark. I consider it a new wave equivalent to Johnny Cash's "San Quentin", as their melodies are kinda similar, and they are both about prison.

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PLAVI ORKESTAR - "SOLDATSKI BAL" (1985)

Guided by Saša Lošić (vocals, songwriting), Plavi Orkestar is one of the most famous Bosnian bands. This debut album was the first blockbuster of a long career, selling around half a million copies.

Despite being enormously popular, Plavi Orkestar is not the most acclaimed band among music critics and alternative rock listeners in Yugoslavia: they were not included in the YU 100 albums chart, and they only reached no. 97 in the B92 Radio songs chart, just to name the two biggest polls about Yugoslavian rock music. 

I think their bad reputation is due to the big amount of awful, plastic-sounding music they have been producing since the Nineties. Nonetheless, their first two albums are brilliant, and I keep them in high consideration. It is a quite simple formula: a metallic, loud drum sound; sharp electric guitars which mixed post-punk style and oriental impressions; a couple of melodramatic acoustic ballads; powerful vocal tunes strongly influenced by Balcan folk music. 

This album contains some of the catchiest melodies I've ever heard. Listen to it just once, and you wouldn't be able to get most of these tracks off your head. The first side in particular is impressive, with "Suada", "Medena curice", "Odlazi nam raja", "Gujo vrati se", "Šta će nama šoferima kuća", and "Bolje biti pijan nego star". It sounds like a greatest hits of Yugoslavian folk-rock.

DOWNLOAD (kbps: 320)