R.I.P. Vlada Divljan (IDOLI)

According to B92.net, "Vlada Divljan died in Vienna on 5 March 2015 after a long illness".

This is a sad day for this blog, IDOLI were one of the first non-English speaking bands I discovered and I will always love their music.

Here's some links to download their first EP, their debut album, and the compilation album "Paket aranžman".

VIS IDOLI - "VIS IDOLI" (1st EP + 2nd single, 1981)

I presented Idoli on my blog nearly one year ago, when I posted their 1982 full-lenght album, "Odbrana i poslednji dani".
"VIS Idoli" is the first EP from the band led by Vlada Divljan. Released in 1981, it was a blockbuster for Yugoslavian new wave, selling over 200.000 copies at the time.

It contains six songs, three of which have become classics: the art-rock love song "Malena", the punk anthem "Zašto su danas devojke ljute", and "Devojko mala", cover of a wonderful Serbian pop hit, originally sung by Vlastimir "Đuza" Stojiljković in 1960.

P.S. I added two bonus tracks, released in the same year as a single: "Maljčiki", a crazy ska song which probably remains the symbol of the band, and the melancholic post-punk "Retko te viđam sa devojkama" (transl. "I rarely see you with girls"). This was the second Yugoslavian song about homosexuality, preceded only by Prljavo kazalište's "Neki dječaci".

DOWNLOAD (kbps: 320)

"PAKET ARANŽMAN" (1981)

Oh well, I had to post this album sooner or later. 
This is THE yugoslavian new wave album: not the most successful, not the most beautiful, but surely the most idolized and influent record of its era. 
It contains eleven songs, performed by three legendary bands: Šarlo Akrobata, Električni Orgazam, and Idoli.  
They were all brand new tracks, except Idoli's "Maljčiki", a re-recording of their second single.
"Vi" and "Krokodili dolaze" by Električni Orgazam would have been re-recorded to appear on their debut album.

DOWNLOAD (kbps: 320)

IDOLI - "ODBRANA I POSLEDNJI DANI" (1982)

Idoli released just two albums, an EP and some singles, but those are enough to make them one of the greatest bands from the ex Yugoslavia music scene.

Guitar player and singer Vlada Divljan was their leader, but keyboardist Srđan Šaper and percussionist Nebojša Krstić were also important, both writing and singing some songs.

"Odbrana i poslednji dani" is their first full-lenght album, and their second studio work after the "VIS Idoli" EP. Due to his experimental nature and his provocative lyrics, inspired by a Borislav Pekić's novel about the life of a soldier, the record was not as succesful as expected (it sold 90.000 copies, while the previous EP exceeded the 200.000 mark). The band had also problems with the censors because one of the songs openly referred to marshal Tito, and Divljan was forced to change its title from "Maršal" to "Poslednji dani".

Musically, the album offers a wide spectrum of sounds: an energetic post-punk with big basslines, loud drums patterns (with a martial feeling on some tracks), electronic noises, plastic rhythm guitars, but also atmospheric breaks and occasional acoustic ornaments. 
It's really hard, if not impossible, to find an English-speaking new wave band to compare them with.

DOWNLOAD (kpbs: 320)