Elektroni (trans. ''The

Electron The electron (, or in nuclear reactions) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary charge, elementary electric charge. It is a fundamental particle that comprises the ordinary matter that makes up the universe, along with up qua ...

s'') were a Yugoslav

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band formed in

Karlovac Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. In the 2021 census, its population was 49,377. Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located southwest of Zagreb and northeast of Rijeka, and is connected to them via the ...

in 1961. The band is notable as one of the pioneers of the

Yugoslav rock scene Popular music in Yugoslavia includes the pop and rock music of the former SFR Yugoslavia, including all their genres and subgenres. The scene included the constituent republics: SR Slovenia, SR Croatia, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SR Montenegr ...

History

1963–1969

Elektroni were formed at the end of 1961 in Karlovac by teenagers Jurica Grosinger (guitar), Ivica Bičanić (bass guitar), Branko Spudić (drums), Miro Stern (rhythm guitar), Marijan Klobučar (keyboards) and Božidar Božek (tenor saxophone). The band had their first public performance in 1964 in their hometown, on the ''Mikrofon je vaš'' (''The Microphone Is Yours'') competition. Initially they performed

The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters between 1958 and 1959) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the pre-Beatles era from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. They served as the bac ...

-influenced instrumentals, and later started performing covers of foreign rock hits, but also covers of traditional songs and their own material. The band held numerous performances on the island of Rab. In 1966 the band performed on the Zagreb Music Festival, winning the Zagreb City Silver Plaque. In May 1966 they opened the First Festival of Vocal-Instrumental Ensembles in Zagreb with an instrumental cover of the

March on the Drina The "March on (or to) the Drina" (, ) is a Serbian patriotic march which was composed to commemorate the Serbian victory in Battle of Cer during World War I and came to be seen as a symbol of Serbian resistance and victory in the World War I. Alo ...

. In 1967 the band performed on the Second Festival of Vocal-Instrumental Ensembles. By then the band's drummer was Ivica Čadež. For a certain period of time, keyboardist Marijan Banić, vocalist Mirko Novosel and vocalist Silvio Vedrina performed with the band, all of them leaving Elektroni after a short period of time. In 1967, Čadež, Bićanić and Stern left the group, and were replaced by Marjan Janjac (drums), Vatroslav Slavnić (bass guitar) and Boris Borošić (rhythm guitar). The new lineup of the band turned towards

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

sound and performing their own songs. In 1968 the band released their only EP, ''Jedne noći'' (''On One Night''), through

Jugoton Jugoton was the largest record label and chain record store in the former Yugoslavia based in Zagreb, SR Croatia. History Jugoton was formed in 1947. It replaced Elektroton, which had been founded in 1937, nationalized in 1945, and liquidated ...

record label. Beside the title track, the EP featured the songs "Drugog voliš" ("You Love Someone Else"), "Srna" ("Roe Deer") and "Sjećanje" ("Memory"). All the songs were composed by Slavnić, and the lyrics were written by young poet Velimir Franić. The band's last lineup featured Jurica Grosinger (guitar), Vatroslav Slavnić (bass guitar), Darko Domijan (vocals, bass guitar, trombone), Velimir Cvijanović (drums), Boris Licitar (organ) and Ratko Pogačić (saxophone). The band ended their activity in 1970.

Post breakup

After Elektroni disbanded, Domijan started a successful career of a

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

singer. For a period of time, his backing band Peta Rijeka (''Fifth River'') featured Licitar on keyboards. In 2005 the song "Srna" and previously unreleased recordings "Moovin' and Groovin'" and "Začarano more" (a cover of The Islanders song "The Enchanted Sea") were published on the

box set A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists ...

''Kad je rock bio mlad - Priče sa istočne strane (1956-1970)'' (''When Rock Was Young - East Side Stories (1956-1970)''), released by

Croatia Records Croatia Records is a record label in Croatia owned by AUTOR d.o.o., based in Zagreb. Summary Croatia Records d.d. is a joint-stock company currently led by the chief executive officer Želimir Babogredac, a sound engineer. It releases mostly (but ...

in 2005 and featuring songs by the pioneering Yugoslav rock acts.

Discography

EPs

*''Jedne noći'' (1968)

Other appearances

*"Srna" / "Moovin' and Groovin'" / "Začarano more" (''Kad je rock bio mlad - Priče sa istočne strane (1956-1970)'', 2005)

References

{{Reflist

External links

Elektroni
at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

Croatian rock music groups Yugoslav rock music groups Yugoslav rhythm and blues musical groups Croatian instrumental rock musical groups Beat groups Musical groups established in 1961 Musical groups disestablished in 1970