Laboratorija Zvuka ( sr-Cyrl, Лабораторија Звука; trans. ''Sound Laboratory''), credited as Laboratorija (''Laboratory'') only on some of their releases, was a
Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
n and
Yugoslav rock band formed in
Novi Sad
Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...
in 1977. Laboratorija Zvuka were a prominent act of the
Yugoslav rock scene, noted for their eccentric style,
erotic
Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, sculp ...
lyrics, unusual line ups and bizarre
circus
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...
-inspired stage performances.
The band was formed by brothers Predrag and Mladen Vranešević, who had previously been composing music for theatre, film, radio and television. The first lineup of the band consisted of the musicians with whom the Vranešević brothers had previously worked in studio. The group released their debut,
concept album
A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
''Telo'' in 1980, joining in on the
Yugoslav new wave scene and gaining notable mainstream popularity. Their following releases, ''Duboko u tebi'' and ''Nevinost'', were stylistically diverse, with the band maintaining their provocative lyrical style. In the late 1980s, the band, although never officially disbanding, retired from scene, as Vranešević brothers dedicated themselves to music for film, theatre and radio and TV shows. The group returned to the scene in the mid-1990s, only to release their last album, ''Nema niđe te ljepote''.
History
1960s and early 1970s: Vranešević brothers' beginnings
Predrag "Peđa" Vranešević started his musical career in 1962, in a
Novi Sad
Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...
local band.
In 1964, he was one of the forming members of the
Belgrade
Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
band The Best of Nothing.
The members of the band chose their name after a poem by
Dylan Thomas
Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer, whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Un ...
.
The band consisted of Zlatko Lozić (vocals), Dejan Ilić (guitar), Predrag Vranešević (bass guitar), Drago Juričević (rhythm guitar) and Nikola Ranđelović (drums).
Initially, they performed
beat music
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a British popular music Music genre, genre that developed around Liverpool in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The genre melded influences from British rock and roll, British and Music of the United St ...
, but later turned towards
The Byrds
The Byrds () were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) being the so ...
-inspired
folk rock
Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...
and gained local popularity.
Their songs had unusual titles—for instance, "Intelektualno sakupljanje jabuka u dolini senki" ("Intellectual Apple Gathering in the Valley of Shadows")—and were influenced by
mysticism
Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute (philosophy), Absolute, but may refer to any kind of Religious ecstasy, ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or Spirituality, spiritual meani ...
.
The band ended their activity in 1968, after Lozić was shot in both legs by the police during the
1968 student demonstrations in Belgrade.
After the group ended their activity, Predrag Vranešević moved back to Novi Sad, where he formed the band Med (''Honey'').
With Med he made his first recording, the song "Gajba" ("Crate").
Simultaneously with his work in Med, he worked as the editor of the Novi Sad Youth Grandsand film program and wrote film reviews for the ''Index'' magazine.
In 1971 he started the
art group with a group of
conceptual artists from Novi Sad.
In 1972, he graduated from the
University of Belgrade Faculty of Architecture and got an employment in Urbis architectural and planning company, where he worked until 1981.
["Preminuo Predrag Vranešević, osnivač Laboratorije zvuka", RTS.rs](_blank)
/ref>
Mladen "Bata" Vranešević started his career as the vocalist for the bands Falkoni (''The Falcons'') and Neoplanti (''The Neoplanters''), and later joined Med. In 1971, the brothers started composing music for theatre plays, films, radio and TV shows. They debuted with music for Karpo Godina's 1971 short film ''Zdravi ljudi za razonodu'' (''Healthy People for Recreation''), composed on the lyrics of poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
and musician Branko Andrić. For the music they were awarded on the Belgrade Festival of Short and Documentary Film, which motivated them to continue composing. During the years, they wrote music for over 150 films, most prominently for Karpo Godina's ''The Medusa Raft'' and '' Artificial Paradise'', Dragan Kresoja's ''One Last Time'', '' The End of the War'', ''Oktoberfest
Oktoberfest (; ) is the world's largest , featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival, and is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, from mid- or late-September to the first Sunday in October. The annual event attracts more than seven milli ...
'', '' The Original of the Forgery'', ''Full Moon Over Belgrade'', and numerous TV shows, including popular children's shows ''Poletarac'' (''Nestling''), ''Priče iz Nepričave'' (''Stories from Nepričava''), ''Fore i fazoni'' (''Jokes and Gags'') and ''Čik pogodi ko sam'' (''Guess Who I Am''). They wrote music for plays by Belgrade National Theatre, Sarajevo National Theatre, Belgrade Drama Theatre, Duško Radović Theatre and other Yugoslav theatres. For their work they received several awards in Yugoslavia and abroad. In 1975, they started their own recording studio.
In 1976, Vranešević brothers created the theatre play ''Gastarbajter opera'' ('' Gastarbeiter Opera'') with film director Želimir Žilnik
Želimir Žilnik ( sr-Cyrl, Желимир Жилник; ; born 8 September 1942) is a Serbian film director best known as one of the major figures of the Yugoslav Black Wave film movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
Early life
Žilnik was born in 19 ...
. Five years earlier, the brothers and Žilnik tried to produce their rock opera
A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...
''Fabrike radnicima'' (''Factories to the Workers'') in Atelje 212
Atelje 212 ( sr-Cyrl, Атеље 212) is a theatre located in Belgrade, Serbia.
Established in 1956 on the premises of the '' Borba'' building in front of 212 chairs, its opening play was the staging of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's '' Faust'' dir ...
theatre, but were—despite positive reactions by prominent figures involved in the theatre's work, like writers Jovan Ćirilov and Borislav Mihajlović Mihiz, director Borka Pavićević and actor Zoran Radmilović—refused by managing director
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization.
CEOs find roles in variou ...
Mira Trailović due to the play being overly politically provocative.["Intervju – Peđa Vranešević, muzičar, ex-Laboratorija zvuka: Čemu umetnost", Vreme.com](_blank)
/ref> ''Gastarbajter opera'' was initially offered to Kammerspiel theatre from Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
, which refused it, so eventually it premiered in the Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad, causing a minor diplomatic incident.["Intervju – Želimir Žilnik, filmski reditelj i scenarista: Danas su pod reflektore postavljeni oni najgori", Vreme.com](_blank)
/ref> The play dealt with life of Yugoslav migrant worker
A migrant worker is a person who Human migration, migrates within a home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have an intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work.
Migrant workers ...
s in West Germany
West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
and Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
. After the play's premiere, the cultural attaché
Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, attitudes, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...
of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany tried to put across the ban of the play, claiming that it portrayed German employers as fascists
Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social h ...
. After a TV crew from Cologne
Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
did a report about the play, containing shots of the play and interviews with the authors, the scandal quieted down.
Late 1970s and 1980s: Band formation, rise to prominence and mainstream popularity
In 1977, Vranešević brothers formed the band Laboratorija Zvuka. They chose the name Laboratorija Zvuka as they often experimented with sound in their studio. The band featured musicians with whom the brothers had 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). During the following years, Vince would simultaneously perform with Romani music
Romani music (often referred to as Gypsy or Gipsy music, which is often considered a derogatory term) is the music of the Romani people, an ethnic-minority group concentrated in parts of Europe.
Historically nomadic, though now largely settled, ...
band Zemlja, Točak i Nebo (''Earth, Wheel and Sky'').
With the song "Dok vam je još vreme" ("While You Still Can") Laboratorija Zvuka appeared on the 1978 Opatija
Opatija (; ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Croatia, town and a municipality in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in northwestern Croatia. The traditional seaside resort on the Kvarner Gulf is known for its Mediterranean climate and its historic bu ...
Festival. After Opatija Festival, they performed on the 1978 Subotica
Subotica (, ; , , ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city in Central Europe and the administrative center of the North Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Formerly the largest city of Vojvodina region, contemporary Sub ...
Youth Festival. After the success of the 7-inch single
In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standa ...
with the songs "Dok vam je još vreme" and "Sve je to bilo u proleće" ("It All Happened in the Spring"), the band released two more 7-inch singles, recorded the songs "Mirišem" ("I Smell") for Goran Marković's 1979 film '' National Class Category Up to 785 ccm'', and started working on their debut album. The album, entitled ''Telo'' (''The Body''), was released through Jugoton in 1980. It featured new bass guitarist, Đorđe Urban, new drummer, Ivan Kašik, and new female vocalist, Renata Viegy. ''Telo'' was a concept album
A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
, with the A-side entitled ''Vrline'' (''Virtues''), featuring the songs which celebrated asceticism
Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing Spirituality, spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world ...
and healthy lifestyle, while the B-side, entitled ''Poroci'' (''Vices''), featured songs about bodily pleasures. The album opens with an acted transmission from the bodybuilding
Bodybuilding is the practice of Resistance training, progressive resistance exercise to build, control, and develop one's skeletal muscle, muscles via muscle hypertrophy, hypertrophy. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to a ...
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
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' songwriting partnership, it features a guitar riff by Richards that opens and drives the song. The riff is w ...
"), "Bajna mašina" ("Fabulous Machine"). The album cover was designed by Predrag Vranešević. ''Telo'' was sold in 60,000 copies in Yugoslavia, becoming a silver record.
On the concerts which followed the album release, the band performed in a thirteen-piece lineup, which, beside the band members, featured bodybuilding champion Petar Čelik and his wife Irena. While the band was playing, Čelik was practicing his bodybuilding using various training devices. The unusual performances brought them large attention of the media. Later during the year, the band released a 7-inch single which brought their biggest hit, the ska song "Ska-kavac joj zaš'o u rukavac" ("Grasshopper
Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are amongst what are possibly the most ancient living groups of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago.
Grassh ...
Got in Her Sleeve"), which featured quotes from ''Crven ban'', a collection of erotic folk poetry
Folk poetry (sometimes referred to as ''poetry in action'') is poetry that is part of a society's folklore, usually part of their oral tradition. When sung, folk poetry becomes a folk song.
Description
Folk poetry in general has several characteri ...
compiled by Vuk Stefanović Karadžić. The song also featured the debut appearance of the band's mascot
A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...
, Vilmoš Kauboj (''Vilmoš the Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...
'', real name Vilmoš Lakatoš), a marginal character from the streets of Novi Sad, who toured with the band as the announcer.
The band's following album, ''Duboko u tebi'' (''Deep inside You''), was released through Jugoton in 1982 and featured the cover designed by renowned comic book
A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
artist Igor Kordej. The album was stylistically more diverse than the band's debut, with some of the songs featuring elements of rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...
. The song "Zaboravljena draga" ("The Forgotten Beloved"), released on the album, was originally recorded for Zoran Amar's film ''Piknik u Topoli'' (''Picnic in Topola''), and featured lyrics written by Predrag Vranešević and Slobodan Tišma, the leader of Luna
Luna commonly refers to:
* Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin, Spanish and other languages
* Luna (goddess)
In Sabine and ancient Roman religion and myth, Luna is the divine embodiment of the Moon (Latin ''Lūna'' ). She is often presented as t ...
and former leader of La Strada
''La Strada'', also translated into English as ''The Road'', is a 1954 Italian Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Federico Fellini and co-written by Fellini, Tullio Pinelli and Ennio Flaiano. The film tells the story of Gelsomin ...
. 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"), the latter recorded live in 1978 on the band's performance at the Subotica Youth Festival. At the time of the album recording, the band's new members became Deže Molnar (saxophone) and Miroslav Cvetković "Pis" (guitar). In 1982, the band performed in West Germany, on the concerts organized by Cultural and Educational Trust of Vojvodina
Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...
for the children of Yugoslav guest workers. During this stay in Germany, the band recorded the synth-pop
Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...
-oriented 7-inch single with the songs "Devica 69" ("Virgin 69") i "Šetnja" ("A Walk").
After their return from West Germany, the band continued to perform in Yugoslavia, and in late 1982 Predrag Vranešević was charged because the band "insulted socialist
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
moral and hurt patriotic
Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to one's country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one's homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, politic ...
feelings" of the citizens of Novo Mesto
Novo Mesto (; ; also known by #Name, alternative names) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, seventh-largest city of Slovenia. It is the economic and cultural centre of the traditional region of Lower Carniola (southeastern Slovenia) and ...
, SR Slovenia. Some citizens of Novo Mesto saw a poster announcing Laboratorija Zvuka concert in the city, depicting naked Vilmoš Kauboj with a hat similar to the ones often worn by late President of Yugoslavia
The president of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the head of state of that country from 14 January 1953 to 4 May 1980. Josip Broz Tito was the only person to occupy the office. Tito was also concurrently President of the League ...
Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...
. Believing the image of Vilmoš Kauboj insults the memory of Tito, some citizens of Novo Mesto took the posters to the police. The consequent trial resulted in Predrag Vranešević initially being sentenced to 40 days in prison, but the whole case was soon hushed up as absurd and the charges were dropped.
In 1983, the band performed in West Germany once again, and after performing at the Zagreb Music Biennale alongside Gang of Four
The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes due to th ...
and Classix Nouveaux, they established contacts with British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
managers, and in August 1984 went to London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. During five evenings they performed in London's Institute of Contemporary Arts
The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an modernism, artistic and cultural centre on The Mall (London), The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps a ...
, under the name La Boratoria. The happening
A happening is a performance, event, or situation art, usually as performance art. The term was first used by Allan Kaprow in 1959 to describe a range of art-related events.
History
Origins
Allan Kaprow first coined the term "happening" i ...
, entitled ''Jašući konje Svetog Marka'' (''Riding the Horses of Saint Mark
The Horses of Saint Mark (), also known as the Triumphal Quadriga or Horses of the Hippodrome of Constantinople, is a set of bronze statues of four horses, originally part of a monument depicting a quadriga (a four-horse carriage used for chari ...
''), featured an art exhibition
An art exhibition is traditionally the space in which art objects (in the most general sense) meet an audience. The exhibit is universally understood to be for some temporary period unless, as is occasionally true, it is stated to be a "permanen ...
and a theatre play about a hero named PVC, "the illegitimate son of Sergei Yesenin and Isadora Duncan". On the scene appeared the members of the band, ballet dancer
A ballet dancer is a person who practices the Art (skill), art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. B ...
s, and bodybuilder Slobodan Blagojević. The performance was met with positive reactions by 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 the screenplay
A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...
written by Predrag, and directed by Mladen Vranešević. At this time, Mladen Vranešević started working with younger band, and helped Plavi Orkestar and Ruž in their first steps.
In 1986, the band released the album ''Nevinost'' (''Virginity''), in the new lineup, which featured Predrag Vranešević on keyboards, guitar and vocals, Deže Molnar on saxophone, Mladen Vranešević, Renata Viegy and Dina Kurbatfinsky Vranešević on vocals, 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 mascot, beside Vilmoš Kauboj, became a trans woman
A trans woman or transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity and may experience gender dysphoria (distress brought upon by the discrepancy between a person's gender identity and their ...
named Dušica Ilić, who would in the 1990s become known as the clairvoyant
Clairvoyance (; ) is the claimed ability to acquire information that would be considered impossible to get through scientifically proven sensations, thus classified as extrasensory perception, or "sixth sense". Any person who is claimed to ...
under the name Kleopatra. In accordance with the album title, the center label on the vinyl record did not have a hole in the middle, and buyers of the album had to tear it by putting the record on a record player spindle. Beside new material, the album featured new versions of songs "Ska-kavac joj zašo u rukavac", "Devica" and "Šetnja", originally released on the band's 7-inch singles. The tracks "Daj mi bugi, dam ti vugi" ("Give Me Boogie, I'll Give You Woogie"), "Mala moja, al' je paranoja" ("My Baby Is Paranoid") and "Vili, Vili" ("Willie, Willie") saw large airplay. After the album release, Vranešević brothers dedicated themselves to composing for film, theatre and television, and the band, although officially still active, appeared in media sporadically only.
1990s: Final works and disbandment
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. The album featured ten songs, recorded in a minimalist manner and resembling demo recordings. The title track was originally recorded for the Tourism Association of Montenegro
, image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg
, coa_size = 80
, national_motto =
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map = Europe-Mont ...
, and the others were written during different phases of the band's career, but were previously unrecorded. The album featured the song "Čudnan susret u tmurno popodne" ("A Strange Encounter during the Gloomy Afternoon"), originally performed by Vranešević brother's old band Med. The songs "Do I Dare" and "Vinyl Mirrors" were written on the poem
Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
s of Johnatan Loyd, and the lyrics for the song "Mimi" were written after the motifs from Ivo Tijardović's works. The album was recorded in the lineup featuring Vranešević brothers, Molnar, Bulatović, and the backing vocals were sung by Milana Vranešević, daughter of Mladen and Dina Vranešević. ''Nema niđe te ljepote'' was met with mostly negative reactions by the music critics. 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, dedicating himself to composing. In 2011, in cooperation with Želimir Žilnik, he created the opera
Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
''Nema zemlja'' (''Silent Land''), partially based on their 1971 rock opera ''Fabrike radnicima''. The music from the play was released on the album ''Nema zemlja''. In 2014, Ira Prodanov Krajišnik and Živko Popović published the monograph ''Ulaz slobodan'' (''Free Entrance'') about Predrag Vranešević's work on theatre music. The monograph was accompanied by a DVD featuring 50 recordings from 18 different plays featuring Predrag Vranešević's music. For his 70th birthday, he released the solo album ''Argyle Street''. His last work was his music composed for a documentary about Želimir Žilnik directed by Janko Baljak. He died on 6 February 2022.
Mladen Vranešević dedicated himself to marketing
Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce.
Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...
. He died on 15 July 2006.
Dina Kurbatfinsky Vranešević also turned to marketing, becoming the assistant of Radio Television of Serbia
The Serbian Broadcasting Corporation, more commonly referred to as Radio Television of Serbia (), or RTS (), is the state-owned public radio and television broadcaster of Serbia. RTS has four organizational units – radio, television, music pro ...
marketing manager, and later became the general manager of Radio Television of Vojvodina
Radio Television of Vojvodina, sr-Lat, Radio-televizija Vojvodine, , , , Rusyn: Радіо Телебачення Воєводини; abbr. РТВ/RTV (RTV) is the regional public broadcaster in the Serbian province of Vojvodina, headquartered ...
.["MOŽDA SAM PREBRZA ZA VOJVOĐANSKI MENTALITET, Dina Kurbatvinski-Vranešević, generalni direktor RT Vojvodine", tv.novosti.rs](_blank)
/ref> Renata Viegy turned to acting, becoming an actress in the Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad. Deže Molnar, after Laboratorija Zvuka ended its activity, performed with numerous artists, including Tony Scott
Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was a British film director and producer.
He made his theatrical film debut with ''The Hunger (1983 film), The Hunger'' (1983) and went on to direct highly successful action and t ...
, Milan Mladenović, Mitar Subotić, Aleksandar Dujin, and others. He died in Novi Sad on 18 November 2013.
Legacy
Serbian rock band Minstrel
A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe. The term originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist enter ...
recorded a cover of the song "Zaboravljena draga" for their 2008 album ''Iskra'' (''The Spark''). Serbian pub rock band Optimal Problem recorded a cover of the theme song for the TV show ''Poletarac'' for their 2017 album ''Ispred svih'' (''Better than All'').
In 2006, the song "Ska-kavac joj zaš'o u rukavac" was ranked No. 84 on the B92 Top 100 Domestic Songs 100 najboljih domaćih pesama (''Top 100 Domestic Songs'') was a list compiled by Serbian Radio B92. In 2006, Radio B92 organized the poll for the selection of top 100 Yugoslav songs. The whole list was presented on radio B92 on 5 November 2006. T ...
list.The B92 Top 100 Domestic Songs list at B92 official site
In 2007, the band was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 54th Belgrade Festival of Short and Documentary Film.
Discography
Studio albums
* ''Telo'' (1980)
* ''Duboko u tebi'' (1982)
* ''Nevinost'' (1986)
* ''Nema niđe te ljepote'' (1996)
Compilation albums
* ''Laboratorija Zvuka'' (2005)
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)
See also
* New wave music in Yugoslavia
References
External links
Official website
Official YouTube channel
Laboratorija Zvuka at Discogs
{{Authority control
Serbian rock music groups
Serbian pop rock music groups
Serbian new wave musical groups
Serbian art rock groups
Serbian synth-pop groups
Yugoslav rock music groups
Yugoslav art rock groups
Yugoslav synth-pop groups
Musical groups from Novi Sad
Musical groups established in 1977
Musical groups disestablished in 1996
Sibling musical groups