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Zana (band)
Encyclopedia
Zana is a popular music group from Belgrade
, Serbia
, which was especially successful during the 1980s in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
.
by Zoran "Kikamac" Živanović (keyboards
) and Radovan Jovićević
(guitar
). The band was named after its first and most popular lead vocalist, Zana Nimani
.
The band released several singles before their first album Loše vesti uz rege za pivsku flašu ("Bad News Accompanied by Reggae
for a Beer Bottle") was released for the Yugoslav major label Jugoton
in 1981. During this short and less known initial period, Zana was a New Wave
band and part of the Yugoslav New Wave
music scene. They were featured on the compilations Svi marš na ples!
and Vrući dani i vrele noći
.
herself gained nationwide popularity across the former SFR Yugoslavia
with their very successful second album Dodirni mi kolena released for Jugoton
in 1982. With this album, the band shifted towards a more power pop
sound, thus fusing New Wave music
with more radio-friendly pop. However, certain elements of the then-popular New Romantic
and synthpop
sound are also evident on this record. The album was recorded in Torsby
, Sweden
between May 20 and June 25, 1982, with the line-up: Zana Nimani (vocalist
); Kikamac (ARP
omnisynthesizer and piano
); Radovan Jovićević and Igor "Mali" Jovanović (guitar); Bogdan "Bogi" Dragović (bass guitar
and backing vocals
); Pavle "Paja Banana" Nikolić (drums
)instead of Aleksandar Ivanov while he was attending compulsory military service ; Bylla Gunnar Byllin (percussion
); Goran Nillson (saxophone
) and Tini (Roland guitar synthesizer
).
In 1983 they release their album "Natrag na voz" including the pop-ballad hit "Jabuke i vino", a duet of Zana Nimani and Željko Bebek
(the ex-frontman of Bijelo Dugme
).
's departure, the band continued to work under the same name with a new vocalist: Nataša "Naca" Gajović (1985–1988 period) who sang on the albums Crvene lale (PGP RTB 1985), Otkinimo noćas zajedno (PGP RTB 1987) and Vojna pošta (Diskoton
1988) with guests such as Mladen Vojičić Tifa and Laza Ristovski
of Bijelo Dugme
. Beside the arrival of the new vocalist the sound of the band also underwent severe changes to commercial pop music with frequent use of pop-folk
(for example the songs: "Vejte snegovi", "Oženićes se ti" and others). After Nataša Gajović left she was replaced by Nataša Živković (1989 - 1990 period), who sang on the 1989 album Miš (Diskoton 1989) which includes the pop-folk hit "Rukuju se, rukuju". A guest on this album was the Serbian pop-folk and later turbo-folk
star Dragana Mirković
.
The current singer Jelena Galonić joined the band in 1990. With her the group released albums Nisam, nisam (1991), Tražim (PGP RTS 1993), Zanomanija (PGP RTS 1997), Prijatelji (PGP RTS 1999) and Zana 21 (PGP RTS 2001) and Kao nekad (City Records
2006), mostly pop-folk oriented records without any connection to the band's earlier period when Zana Nimani was its vocalist.
In 1999, Radovan Jovićević, one of the founders of the band, left the group and moved to the United States
.
In 2006 the group released the album Kao nekad which includes remixes of the older hits "Dodirni mi kolena" and "Vejte snegovi".
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, which was especially successful during the 1980s in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
.
Early years
The band was formed in 1980 in BelgradeBelgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
by Zoran "Kikamac" Živanović (keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
) and Radovan Jovićević
Radovan Jovicevic
Radovan Jovićević is a Serbian pop-rock/folk music composer, producer and band leader. He was born in Belgrade on January 31, 1956. He has lived in New York City since 1999.-Balkan Years:...
(guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
). The band was named after its first and most popular lead vocalist, Zana Nimani
Zana Nimani
Zana Nimani is a former singer from Serbia. She is an ethnic Albanian born in Belgrade. Throughout her carrier she sang in Serbian language and resided in Belgrade, and she was the first frontress of the prominent Yugoslav band Zana from 1980 to 1985 as well as a successful solo artist...
.
The band released several singles before their first album Loše vesti uz rege za pivsku flašu ("Bad News Accompanied by 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...
for a Beer Bottle") was released for the Yugoslav major label Jugoton
Jugoton
Jugoton was the largest record label and chain record store in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia based in Zagreb, Socialist Republic of Croatia. After the breakup of Yugoslavia the company continued to work in independent Republic of Croatia under the name Croatia...
in 1981. During this short and less known initial period, Zana was a New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
band and part of the Yugoslav New Wave
Yugoslav New Wave
New Wave in Yugoslavia was the New Wave music scene of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
music scene. They were featured on the compilations Svi marš na ples!
Svi marš na ples!
Svi marš na ples! is a compilation album released by Jugoton in 1981 in SFR Yugoslavia.The compilation features various pop and rock artists, mostly from the local new wave scene...
and Vrući dani i vrele noći
Vruci dani i vrele noci
Vrući dani i vrele noći was a compilation album released by Jugoton in 1982 in the former SFR Yugoslavia....
.
Mainstream commercial success
The band and especially Zana NimaniZana Nimani
Zana Nimani is a former singer from Serbia. She is an ethnic Albanian born in Belgrade. Throughout her carrier she sang in Serbian language and resided in Belgrade, and she was the first frontress of the prominent Yugoslav band Zana from 1980 to 1985 as well as a successful solo artist...
herself gained nationwide popularity across the former SFR Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
with their very successful second album Dodirni mi kolena released for Jugoton
Jugoton
Jugoton was the largest record label and chain record store in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia based in Zagreb, Socialist Republic of Croatia. After the breakup of Yugoslavia the company continued to work in independent Republic of Croatia under the name Croatia...
in 1982. With this album, the band shifted towards a more power pop
Power pop
Power pop is a popular musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and rock music. It typically incorporates a combination of musical devices such as strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements, and prominent guitar riffs. Instrumental solos are...
sound, thus fusing New Wave music
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
with more radio-friendly pop. However, certain elements of the then-popular New Romantic
New Romantic
New Romanticism , was a pop culture movement in the United Kingdom that began around 1979 and peaked around 1981. Developing in London nightclubs such as Billy's and The Blitz and spreading to other major cities in the UK, it was based around flamboyant, eccentric fashion and new wave music...
and synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
sound are also evident on this record. The album was recorded in Torsby
Torsby
Torsby is a locality and the seat of Torsby Municipality in Värmland County, Sweden with 4,012 inhabitants in 2005.Fortum Ski Tunnel Torsby, the world's longest ski tunnel, is located in Torsby. Sebra Film is located in Torsby. Football manager Sven-Göran Eriksson and footballer Marcus Berg are...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
between May 20 and June 25, 1982, with the line-up: Zana Nimani (vocalist
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
); Kikamac (ARP
ARP Instruments, Inc.
ARP Instruments, Inc. was an American manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, founded by Alan Robert Pearlman in 1969. Best known for its line of synthesizers that emerged in the early 1970s, ARP closed its doors in 1981 due to financial difficulties...
omnisynthesizer and piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
); Radovan Jovićević and Igor "Mali" Jovanović (guitar); Bogdan "Bogi" Dragović (bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and backing vocals
Backing vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
); Pavle "Paja Banana" Nikolić (drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
)instead of Aleksandar Ivanov while he was attending compulsory military service ; Bylla Gunnar Byllin (percussion
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
); Goran Nillson (saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
) and Tini (Roland guitar synthesizer
Keytar
A keytar is a relatively lightweight keyboard that is supported by a strap around the neck and shoulders, similar to the way a guitar is supported by a strap. Keytars allow players a greater range of movement compared to conventional keyboards, which are placed on stands...
).
In 1983 they release their album "Natrag na voz" including the pop-ballad hit "Jabuke i vino", a duet of Zana Nimani and Željko Bebek
Željko Bebek
Želimir "Željko" Bebek is a popular Bosnian Croat singer most notable for being the lead vocalist of Bijelo dugme from 1974 to 1984....
(the ex-frontman of Bijelo Dugme
Bijelo dugme
Bijelo dugme was a highly influential former Yugoslav rock band, based in Sarajevo. Active between 1974 and 1989, it is widely considered to have been the most popular band ever to exist in former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and one of the most important acts of the Yugoslav rock...
).
Zana Nimani solo
In 1985 Zana Nimani left the band and started a successful solo career as a pop singer. She released her solo album Noćas pevam samo tebi in 1986.Zana without Zana
Despite Zana NimaniZana Nimani
Zana Nimani is a former singer from Serbia. She is an ethnic Albanian born in Belgrade. Throughout her carrier she sang in Serbian language and resided in Belgrade, and she was the first frontress of the prominent Yugoslav band Zana from 1980 to 1985 as well as a successful solo artist...
's departure, the band continued to work under the same name with a new vocalist: Nataša "Naca" Gajović (1985–1988 period) who sang on the albums Crvene lale (PGP RTB 1985), Otkinimo noćas zajedno (PGP RTB 1987) and Vojna pošta (Diskoton
Diskoton
Diskoton was a major record label based in Sarajevo, Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the former Yugoslavia. It should not be confused with another former Yugoslav record company with a similar name called Diskos....
1988) with guests such as Mladen Vojičić Tifa and Laza Ristovski
Laza Ristovski
Laza Ristovski was a Serbian and former Yugoslav keyboardist, best known for his involvement with Smak and Bijelo Dugme rock bands, as well as for his eclectic solo work that spawned many different musical genres.-Biography:Laza Ristovski was born in Novi Pazar as his father, a JNA officer, was...
of Bijelo Dugme
Bijelo dugme
Bijelo dugme was a highly influential former Yugoslav rock band, based in Sarajevo. Active between 1974 and 1989, it is widely considered to have been the most popular band ever to exist in former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and one of the most important acts of the Yugoslav rock...
. Beside the arrival of the new vocalist the sound of the band also underwent severe changes to commercial pop music with frequent use of pop-folk
Pop-folk
Pop-folk is the umbrella term for the popular musical genres originating in the Balkans and Eastern Europe that are characteristic by the fusion of commercial folk music and "nightclub" music. The term is used alternatively for Turbo-folk and Chalga and is mostly used in Bulgaria...
(for example the songs: "Vejte snegovi", "Oženićes se ti" and others). After Nataša Gajović left she was replaced by Nataša Živković (1989 - 1990 period), who sang on the 1989 album Miš (Diskoton 1989) which includes the pop-folk hit "Rukuju se, rukuju". A guest on this album was the Serbian pop-folk and later turbo-folk
Turbo-folk
Turbo-folk is a popular musical sub-genre that originated in Serbia, the Balkans. Having mainstream popularity in Serbia, although closely associated with Serbian performers, its sound is as popular in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro...
star Dragana Mirković
Dragana Mirkovic
Dragana Mirković is a Serbian pop-folk singer.She is very popular in Ex-Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Turkey...
.
The current singer Jelena Galonić joined the band in 1990. With her the group released albums Nisam, nisam (1991), Tražim (PGP RTS 1993), Zanomanija (PGP RTS 1997), Prijatelji (PGP RTS 1999) and Zana 21 (PGP RTS 2001) and Kao nekad (City Records
City Records
City Records is a Serbian record label....
2006), mostly pop-folk oriented records without any connection to the band's earlier period when Zana Nimani was its vocalist.
In 1999, Radovan Jovićević, one of the founders of the band, left the group and moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
In 2006 the group released the album Kao nekad which includes remixes of the older hits "Dodirni mi kolena" and "Vejte snegovi".
Studio albums
- Loše vesti uz rege za pivsku flašu (1981)
- Dodirni mi kolena (1982)
- Natrag na voz (1983)
- Zana (a.k.a Crvene lale) (1985)
- Otkinimo noćas zajedno (1987)
- Grupa Zana (a.k.a Vojna pošta) (1988)
- Grupa Zana (a.k.a Miš and Rukuju se, rukuju) (1989)
- Zana a.k.a Nisam, nisam... (1991)
- Tražim (1993)
- Zanomanija (1997)
- Prijatelji (1999)
- Zana 21 (a.k.a Kvaka) (2001)
- Kao nekad (2006)
Singles
- Nastavnice / Sveta (1980)
- Leto / Snovi od slame (1981)
- Moj deda / Pepito pantalone (1981)
- On / Ti si neko staro lice (1981)
- Jabuke i vino (1983)
External links
- Official site
- Zana Bio at Balkanmedia
- Short info at Discogs
- Zana at Last fm
- Dejan Djokić: Ex-Yugoslav Rock at openDemocracy Ltd. (incl. Zana)
- CD "Prijatelji" promotion at Glas javnosti magazine, Serbia
- City Records, Serbia - Catalogue of 1980s Retro compilations incl. Zana
- 25th Anniversary of Zana - Večernje novosti newspaper, Belgrade, Serbia