Darko Rundek
Encyclopedia
Darko Rundek is a Croatia
n rock
singer, songwriter
, poet
, and actor
. His music career started in the early '80s, as the frontman of the world music
influenced rock band Haustor
. Living in France
since 1991, he recorded five albums with various musicians from different parts of the world: Apokalipso, U širokom svijetu, Ruke, MHM A-HA OH YEAH DA-DA and Plavi avion.
was formed in 1979 by Srđan Sacher (Bass), and Darko Rundek (Guitar and Vocals), with Zoran Perišić (Drums) and Ozren Štiglić (Guitar). Damir Prica (Saxophone), Nikola Santro (Trombone), and Zoran Vuletić (Keyboards) completed the original Haustor line-up. They were open to reggae
, Latin American music
and African music influences and were one of the top bands of the rock
scene in Yugoslavia
, performing numerous concerts to thousands of spectators.
The band released four studio-recorded albums during the 80’s: Haustor in 1981, Treći Svijet (Third world) in 1984, Bolero in 1985 and Tajni Grad (Secret Town) in 1988; three singles: 'Moja prva ljubav' (My first love) in 1980, 'Zima' (Winter) in 1981 and 'Radio' in 1982. The live album Ulje je na vodi (Oil on the water) was recorded in 1982 and released in 1995, and 81-'88 (The best of) was released in 1995.
With strong support from the record company Jabukaton, the album Apokalipso (apocalypse+calypso) was recorded in 1997 with a multitude of instruments and musicians. The album was stylistically very diverse, viewing the post-communist era with irony and poetry. Apokalipso was the music event of 1997 in Croatia. It won 5 Porins (song of the year, hit of the year, best male singer, best video clip, best vocal collaboration), and 4 Black Cats (song of the year for Apokalipso, best rock singer, best rock collaboration, best video clip).
The album U širokom svijetu turns more towards folkloric influences. Mandolin, bag pipes and tin whistle enhance the eclectic style of the songs. The global sound is more acoustic. The atmosphere is intimate and more introspective. The band which recorded it became more stable, and toured in Croatia and other ex-Yugoslavian countries.
The Ruke album grew out of the need to develop ideas in collaboration with other musicians through improvisation and exchange. Isabel, Đani Pervan, Dušan Vranić and Vedran Peternel started working on Darko Rundek's new songs; Isabel's mill in Burgundy in France, with her collection of exotic instruments, providing the perfect working environment. One year later, the album was recorded and simultaneously released by Menart in Croatia and Metropolis in Serbia. Some songs are co-signed by different members of the group. On the promotion tour the band was completed with three more musicians and gradually developed into Darko Rundek & Cargo Orkestar.
Isabel (Swiss violinist), Đani Pervan (percussionist), Dušan Vranić (pianist), Vedran Peternel (sound-designer) and Darko, undertook a ten-day improvisation session in Isabel’s converted watermill on the outskirts of a small Burgundian village. When they finally laid down their instruments, they had the basis of the album Ruke (documented by the camera of Biljana Tutorov, whose video projections have become a feature of Cargo Orkestar’s concerts). Trumpetist Igor Pavlica (Darko’s old collaborator from the Haustor and solo periods), Emmanuel Ferraz (trombone player), and the bass player Bruno Arnal, joined Cargo Orkestar for the promotional tour in 2002.
In 2004 Ruke was published by Piranha Musik – Berlin, and distributed in 25 countries. The live album Zagrebacka magla came out in 2004 under the Menart-Zagreb label, and Mhm A-Ha Oh Yeah Da-Da was published in 2006 by Piranha. For the concerts, Cargo mixes new and old from the rich repertoire of Rundek songs, always retaining a challenging and unpredictable atmosphere. The informal and open feel is as remarkable in small concert halls as it is in large stadiums.
Darko Rundek has written and produced much film music, and has occasionally appeared as an actor (Doctor Kljaić in View from the Eiffel Tower, by N. Vukčević; Karlo in 100 minuta Slave
, by D. Matanić; Youngster in The Eagle (Orao), by Z. Tadić, Marjan film). He played Herman in J. Burgerfor’s film Ruins (Ruševine), for which he was awarded best male film actor in Slovenia.
Between 1982 and 1991, Darko Rundek directed around 50 radio-plays and documentaries for the drama department of radio Zagreb, for which he also wrote the music. Some of these represented radio Zagreb at various international festivals: Prix Italia, Premios Ondas and Prix Futura.
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
singer, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. His music career started in the early '80s, as the frontman of the world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
influenced rock band Haustor
Haustor
Haustor was a rock band from Zagreb, SR Croatia, a member of the Novi val movement, and an important act of the former Yugoslav Rock scene.- Biography :...
. Living in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
since 1991, he recorded five albums with various musicians from different parts of the world: Apokalipso, U širokom svijetu, Ruke, MHM A-HA OH YEAH DA-DA and Plavi avion.
Haustor
HaustorHaustor
Haustor was a rock band from Zagreb, SR Croatia, a member of the Novi val movement, and an important act of the former Yugoslav Rock scene.- Biography :...
was formed in 1979 by Srđan Sacher (Bass), and Darko Rundek (Guitar and Vocals), with Zoran Perišić (Drums) and Ozren Štiglić (Guitar). Damir Prica (Saxophone), Nikola Santro (Trombone), and Zoran Vuletić (Keyboards) completed the original Haustor line-up. They were open to reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, Latin American music
Latin American music
Latin American music, found within Central and South America, is a series of musical styles and genres that mixes influences from Spanish, African and indigenous sources, that has recently become very famous in the US.-Argentina:...
and African music influences and were one of the top bands of the rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
scene in Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, performing numerous concerts to thousands of spectators.
The band released four studio-recorded albums during the 80’s: Haustor in 1981, Treći Svijet (Third world) in 1984, Bolero in 1985 and Tajni Grad (Secret Town) in 1988; three singles: 'Moja prva ljubav' (My first love) in 1980, 'Zima' (Winter) in 1981 and 'Radio' in 1982. The live album Ulje je na vodi (Oil on the water) was recorded in 1982 and released in 1995, and 81-'88 (The best of) was released in 1995.
Solo career
Darko Rundek started his solo career in 1995 at the Croatian music festival Fiju Briju before an audience of 10 000 people, where he presented new musical material which was to be developed during the following series of concerts throughout Croatia.With strong support from the record company Jabukaton, the album Apokalipso (apocalypse+calypso) was recorded in 1997 with a multitude of instruments and musicians. The album was stylistically very diverse, viewing the post-communist era with irony and poetry. Apokalipso was the music event of 1997 in Croatia. It won 5 Porins (song of the year, hit of the year, best male singer, best video clip, best vocal collaboration), and 4 Black Cats (song of the year for Apokalipso, best rock singer, best rock collaboration, best video clip).
The album U širokom svijetu turns more towards folkloric influences. Mandolin, bag pipes and tin whistle enhance the eclectic style of the songs. The global sound is more acoustic. The atmosphere is intimate and more introspective. The band which recorded it became more stable, and toured in Croatia and other ex-Yugoslavian countries.
The Ruke album grew out of the need to develop ideas in collaboration with other musicians through improvisation and exchange. Isabel, Đani Pervan, Dušan Vranić and Vedran Peternel started working on Darko Rundek's new songs; Isabel's mill in Burgundy in France, with her collection of exotic instruments, providing the perfect working environment. One year later, the album was recorded and simultaneously released by Menart in Croatia and Metropolis in Serbia. Some songs are co-signed by different members of the group. On the promotion tour the band was completed with three more musicians and gradually developed into Darko Rundek & Cargo Orkestar.
Darko Rundek & Cargo Orkestar
The project initially stemmed from Darko Rundek's songs which are intrinsically poetic and rich in images. They also incorporate a musical tradition with a potential for accepting diverse influences, firstly Balkan music, Central European music and Mediterranean, then reggae, Latin American, eastern and African music.Isabel (Swiss violinist), Đani Pervan (percussionist), Dušan Vranić (pianist), Vedran Peternel (sound-designer) and Darko, undertook a ten-day improvisation session in Isabel’s converted watermill on the outskirts of a small Burgundian village. When they finally laid down their instruments, they had the basis of the album Ruke (documented by the camera of Biljana Tutorov, whose video projections have become a feature of Cargo Orkestar’s concerts). Trumpetist Igor Pavlica (Darko’s old collaborator from the Haustor and solo periods), Emmanuel Ferraz (trombone player), and the bass player Bruno Arnal, joined Cargo Orkestar for the promotional tour in 2002.
In 2004 Ruke was published by Piranha Musik – Berlin, and distributed in 25 countries. The live album Zagrebacka magla came out in 2004 under the Menart-Zagreb label, and Mhm A-Ha Oh Yeah Da-Da was published in 2006 by Piranha. For the concerts, Cargo mixes new and old from the rich repertoire of Rundek songs, always retaining a challenging and unpredictable atmosphere. The informal and open feel is as remarkable in small concert halls as it is in large stadiums.
Theatre, film and radio
In 1982 Darko Rundek gained his diploma in theatre Directing from the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Zagreb with his graduation performance of America Hurray! by J.C. Van Italie. He went on to direct a number of plays (They say the Owl Once Was the Baker’s Daughter; Three Slaps, Satires from Hekuba, No, Ballads of Petrica Kerempuh...), and also appeared occasionally as an actor. Darko’s principal role in the theatre remains that of composer, with more than 30 productions to his credit, ranging from intimate children’s theatre to international touring performances.Darko Rundek has written and produced much film music, and has occasionally appeared as an actor (Doctor Kljaić in View from the Eiffel Tower, by N. Vukčević; Karlo in 100 minuta Slave
100 Minutes of Glory
100 Minutes of Glory is a Croatian drama film directed by Dalibor Matanic. It was released in 2004.-Cast:* Sanja Vejnović - Slava Raškaj* Miki Manojlović - Bela Čikoš Sesija* Vili Matula - Rapacki* Nataša Lušetić - Justina...
, by D. Matanić; Youngster in The Eagle (Orao), by Z. Tadić, Marjan film). He played Herman in J. Burgerfor’s film Ruins (Ruševine), for which he was awarded best male film actor in Slovenia.
Between 1982 and 1991, Darko Rundek directed around 50 radio-plays and documentaries for the drama department of radio Zagreb, for which he also wrote the music. Some of these represented radio Zagreb at various international festivals: Prix Italia, Premios Ondas and Prix Futura.