Rok Mašina ( sr-cyr, Рок Машина; trans. ''Rock Machine'') was a short-lasting Yugoslav

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

and heavy metal band formed in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

in 1980. Formed by former members of the

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

/hard rock band

Pop Mašina Pop Mašina ( sr-cyr, Поп Машина; trans. ''Pop Machine'') was a Yugoslav progressive rock band formed in Belgrade in 1972. Pop Mašina was one of the most notable bands of the Yugoslav rock scene in the 1970s. Pop Mašina was formed by ...

Robert Nemeček The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

(vocals and bass guitar) and brothers

Zoran Zoran ( sr-Cyrl, Зоран) is a common South Slavic name, the masculine form of Zora, which means ''dawn, daybreak''. The name is especially common in Serbia, North Macedonia, Croatia and a little in Slovenia. Notable people with this given na ...

and

Vidoja Božinović Vidoja Božinović (Serbian Cyrillic: Видоја Божиновић, born 3 October 1955), also known as Džindžer (transliteration for ''Ginger''), is a Serbian musician. He is best known as the guitarist for the Serbian and former Yugoslav r ...

(guitars), Rok Mašina released only one studio album, ''

Rok Mašina Rok Mašina ( sr-cyr, Рок Машина; trans. ''Rock Machine'') was a short-lasting Yugoslav hard rock and heavy metal band formed in Belgrade in 1980. Formed by former members of the progressive/hard rock band Pop Mašina Robert Nemeček ( ...

'', before disbanding in 1982, while in the midst of recording of their second album. Part of the material recorded for their second album appeared in 1983 on the influential

mini-album A mini-LP or mini-album is a short vinyl record album or LP, usually retailing at a lower price than an album that would be considered full-length. It is distinct from an EP due to containing more tracks and a slightly longer running length. A ...

Izrod na granici ''Izrod na granici'' (trans. ''Bastard on the Border'') is a mini-album by Yugoslav hard rock and heavy metal band Rok Mašina, released in 1983. The album was released after the band disbanded in 1982, and featured a part of the material they ...

''.

Band history

1980–1982

The band was formed in 1980 by former

members

(vocals and bass guitar) and brothers

and

(guitars), with Vladan Dokić (drums). With Rok Mašina, Nemeček and the Božinović brothers turned towards heavier, less complex sound than Pop Mašina's

/hard rock sound with

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...

and

acid rock Acid rock is a loosely defined type of rock music that evolved out of the mid-1960s garage punk movement and helped launch the psychedelic subculture. Named after lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), the style is generally defined by heavy, di ...

elements. The band had its debut live appearance in 1980 in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

, as a part of the event named Pozdrav iz Beograda (''Greetings from Belgrade''). Later that year, the band released the

7-inch single In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separate ...

with the songs "Vatra" ("Fire") and "Bilo mi je bolje" ("I Felt Better"). In 1981, the band released their only studio album, ''

'', through

Jugodisk Jugodisk was a record label was established in 1968, in the then Socialist Republic of Serbia in SFR Yugoslavia in Belgrade, today Serbia. Before 1981, it was known as Beograd Disk. In 2003, the company was sold at a state auction to the show bus ...

record label. Part of the album lyrics were written by Dragana Stanaćev and Koviljka Milić, actresses of the Teatar Levo (''Left Theatre'') theatre, and the album featured

Ljuba Ninković Ljuba may refer to: * Ljuba (given name), a Slavic given name * Ljuba, Serbia, a village in Syrmia, Vojvodina * 1062 Ljuba, an asteroid See also * Ljubav (disambiguation) {{disambig, geo, given name ...

(formerly of

S Vremena Na Vreme S Vremena Na Vreme ( sr-cyr, С Времена На Време, trans. ''From Time To Time'') is a Serbian and Yugoslav rock band formed in Belgrade in 1972. S Vremena Na Vreme were one of the pioneers of the Yugoslav 1970s acoustic rock scene, ...

) and Dragan Popović (formerly of DAG) on backing vocals. The album was produced by Nemeček and featured, beside new tracks, new versions of previously released "Vatra" and "Bilo mi je bolje". After the album release, Dragan Đorđević, a former member of

Generacija 5 Generacija 5 ( sr-cyr, Генерација 5; trans. ''Generation 5'') is a Serbian and Yugoslav rock band formed in Belgrade in 1977. The mainstay members of the band are keyboardist and band leader Dragoljub Ilić and guitarist Dragan Jovan ...

, replaced Dokić. However, as at the time of the great popularity of new wave bands in Yugoslavia the future for the band did not seem very promising, they disbanded in 1982, in the midst of recording their second studio album. They had their last performance on the Belgrade Rock Festival held in Pionir Hall in September 1982.

Post-breakup

Part of the material recorded for the band's second studio album was released by Jugodisk in 1983 on the

'' (''Bastard on the Border''). The album featured a live version of the song "Bilo mi je bolje", recorded at the 1982 Belgrade Rock Festival, on the band's last live performance. The song "Promašen san" ("Failed Dream") featured a recording of

Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley (; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pro ...

's voice. The album cover was designed by

Jugoslav Vlahović Jugoslav Vlahović ( sr-cyr, Југослав Влаховић, born 1949) is a Serbian artist, illustrator, photographer and a former rock musician. Vlahović is known for his work on album covers. He is also known as a former member of the rock ...

. The original cover, also designed by Vlahović, should have featured two hands with feathers thrust through them and the bands logo and album title written in red, but was, as Robert Nemeček stated in 1983, refused by the Jugodisk as "politically problematic". After Rok Mašina disbanded, Zoran Božinović retired from music. In the late 1990s, he returned to performing, starting to perform with the

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...

band

Zona B Zona B is a Serbian blues rock band from Belgrade. History Former Idoli bassist Zdenko Kolar and drummer Dušan Ristić "Rista" officially formed Zona B on November 29, 1986. After several personnel changes, the band got a default lineup featurin ...

. He died on 12 July 2004. Vidoja Božinović dedicated himself to his studies of architecture at the Belgrade Faculty of Architecture. He would occasionally perform in

clubs and with the

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

band Interaction, before joining the highly popular band

Riblja Čorba Riblja Čorba ( sr-Cyrl, Рибља Чорба, pronounced ; translation: lit. ''Fish Stew'') is a Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band formed in Belgrade in 1978. The band was one of the most popular and most influential acts of the Yugoslav ...

in 1985. Robert Nemeček became the film program editor at TV Politika. He later worked as program editor on

TV Pink Pink is a privately owned, national radio station and TV channel in Serbia. Pink is the leading commercial station in the Serbian television broadcast market. Pink's parent company is the Belgrade-based Pink International Company Pink Internat ...

and

Radio Television of Serbia Radio Television of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Радио-телевизија Србије, sr-Lat, Radio-televizija Srbije, italics=yes; abbr. RTS/PTC) is Serbia's public broadcaster. It broadcasts and produces news, drama, and sports programming thro ...

. In 1994, the band's song "Nulti čas" ("Zero Hour") was released on Komuna compilation album '' Pakleni vozači: Jugoslovenski hard rock'' (''Hell Riders: Yugoslav Hard Rock''). In 2001, One Records released the compilation album entitled ''Rok Mašina'', which featured all the tracks from both their self-titled debut and ''Izrod na granici''. In 2008, Nemeček released a collection of Pop Mašina recordings on the box set ''Antologija 1972 – 1976'' (''Anthology 1972 – 1976''). During the following years, Vidoja Božinović tried to persuade him to do the similar thing with Rok Mašina recordings. Finally, in 2015, the compilation album ''Antologija 1980 – 1983'' was released through Multimedia Music. The songs released on the album were remastered by Nemeček himself and his son Jan. The compilation featured all the material officially released by Rok Mašina, previously unreleased recordings and a book about the band."Za rok sladokusce: Antologija grupe "Rok Mašina"", Blic
/ref> The previously unreleased recordings included the song "Umbra Zonule" (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for " Twilight Zone"), originally performed by Nemeček's 1960s band

Dogovor iz 1804. Dogovor iz 1804. ( sr-cyr, Договор из 1804., trans. ''The 1804 Agreement'') was a Yugoslav rock band formed in Belgrade in 1968. Although short-lived, the band is notable as one of the pioneers of the Yugoslav progressive and psychedel ...

and later recorded by Rok Mašina.

Legacy

In 2012,

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

Kanda, Kodža i Nebojša Kanda, Kodža i Nebojša ( sr-cyr, Канда, Коџа и Небојша; , trans. ''Probably, Plenty and Daredevil'') is a Serbian alternative rock band from Belgrade. History Formation, first releases (1991–1995) The band, consisting of ...

recorded a cover of Rok Mašina's song "Granica" ("Border") for the

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...

edition of

show ''Bunt'' (''Rebellion''). In 2016, the same song was covered by Serbian

band

Texas Flood ''Texas Flood'' is the debut studio album by the American blues rock band Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, released on June 13, 1983 by Epic Records. The album was named after a cover featured on the album, " Texas Flood", which was first ...

in Radio Television of Serbia show ''Tri boje zvuka'' (''Three Colors of Sound'').Texas Flood - Granica", ''Tri boje zvuka'' official YouTube channel
/ref>

Discography

Studio albums

*''

'' (1981) *''

'' (1983)

Compilations

*''Rok Mašina'' (2001) *''Antologija 1980 - 1983'' (2015)

Singles

*"Vatra" / "Bilo mi je bolje" (1980)

References

External links

Rok Mašina at Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rok Masina Serbian hard rock musical groups Serbian heavy metal musical groups Yugoslav hard rock musical groups Yugoslav heavy metal musical groups Musical groups from Belgrade Musical groups established in 1980 Musical groups disestablished in 1982