Laufer was a rock band from

Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...

, Croatia that was active between 1986 and 1996. They were briefly active again after 2003. They released two albums in 1994, ''The Best Off...'' under the minor label Corona, and ''Pustinje'' ("Deserts") under Croatia Records. In 2004, the former label released a compilation album ''Epitaf'' ("Epitaph"). The album ''The Best Off...'' was released again in 2010 by Dallas Records.

Pustinje

''Pustinje'' was Laufer's second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

and was released in 1994 by Croatia Records. The album's material was prepared and recorded at the Krk island, Croatia, and remixed at the "RSL Luca" studios in Novo Mesto, Slovenia, while the final editing and processing was performed in the "Metro" studios, Ljubljana, Slovenia. The album had a good response with the audience and the music critics. Laufer members: Damir Urban ( vocals), Vlado Simčić ( electric guitar), Ljubo Silić ( bass guitar) and Alen Tibljaš (

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

), in September 1994 left for Krk island to prepare and record the material for the new studio album. The recording itself took little time, with most of the songs being recorded in one of the first essays, with the producer performing minor corrections and additional recordings being made in the summer break between the two concert tours. The topics of the songs are the everyday life of the time, such as the angst and confusion pertaining to growing up ("...hey dad, sorry for looking like a dog..."), insomnia, neurosis, anger, the destructive PTSD in the minds of the yesterday's street friends, the search for spirituality in the immaterial and material deserts of grey cities ("... kiss our eyes they are like deserts, where I understand everything without a single word uttered.."), fatigue carved in the faces of passersby, bad news, being strapped for cash and the hopelessness, bad relationships ("...she will never understand what I am talking about.."), resulting with the recognizable, organic, bombastic sound. The optimism can however be felt throughout the album because ''Pustinje'' is actually one song divided into several musical parts. In 1995, they were awarded the Porin music award for the best alternative rock album of the year.

Song list

# "Falš" (0:24) # "Hej tata" (2:25) # "Vampir" (4:08) # "Govorim u snu" (4:24) # "Viđđđeno" (4:20) # "Matematička" (3:22) # "Mišolovka" (3:51) # "Umorni kompas" (6:07) # "Balerina" (3:55) # "Mjesečev rog" (7:20) # "Pustinje" (5:53)

Performers

* Damir Urban -

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

* Vlado Simčić - electric guitar * Ljubo Silić - bass guitar * Vedran Križan -

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

* Alen Tibljaš -

* Edi Kraljić - backing vocals

References

{{Porin Award for Best Rock Album Croatian rock music groups Musical groups established in 1986 Musical groups disestablished in 1996 1986 establishments in Croatia Musicians from Rijeka Culture in Rijeka