Smoke'n'Soul is a

roots reggae Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of Africans and those in the African Diaspora, including the spiritual side of Rastafari, black liberation, revolution and the honoring of God, called Jah ...

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

band from

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 ...

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 ...

. It was formed in 2000 by Miloš Iković and Vladimir Krkljuš. Over the years they have developed their organic sound that incorporates all of the roots reggae foundations and rasta philosophies, as well as introducing heavy

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

influence. Smoke'n'Soul won Rebel Demo - Battle of the Bands contest held in 2003 in Belgrade playing their first single ''War Inside of You''. The band has played well received shows appearing in many of the Balkans established music festivals including three performances at the Exit Festival in

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...

, Serbia. They have released an eponymous debut album on Automatik Records in 2007. Currently the band is working on a second album and continues playing concerts in Serbia and in

former Yugoslav countries The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yugo ...

Early years

In 2003, Smoke'n'Soul was declared the best demo band in Serbia, and a song ''War Inside Of You'' was published on a compilation CD called ''Rebel Demo''. The band played many shows, including opening for

Julian Marley Julian Ricardo Marley (born 4 June 1975) is a British-Jamaican reggae musician, songwriter, producer and humanitarian. He is the son of reggae music icon Bob Marley, and Lucy Pounder. He follows in his father's footsteps and is a devout Rasta ...

and appearing in festival in

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Istra in Reggae and in

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

Soča Riversplash Festival.

Debut album

During 2005 and 2006, Smoke'n'Soul recorded their first album. Miloš Iković and Vladimir Krkljuš took on recording and mixing duties and co-produced the album with Goran Živković and Vladan Matić doing postproduction. Album was released in 2007 and spawned a #1 radio hit single in Serbia - ''Find the Way''. Videos were filmed for both ''Find the Way'' and ''One Day'' - a second single and a concert favorite.

Festivals

The band had many successful appearances in well established festivals. In the early days Smoke'n'Soul appeared in Trenchtown Festival in Palić (Subotica) in 2002, in Rebel Demo in Belgrade in 2003. The band also performed three times at Exit Festival - in 2002, 2003 and 2005 at the Reggae Stage and in 2008 at the Fusion Stage (opening for

Gentleman A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the ra ...

). In 2008 Smoke'n'Soul appeared at Reggae Serbia Festival in Pančevo. Another well received performance by the band took place in Kotor at the Refresh Festival in 2008.

Current activities

Smoke'n'Soul has strong connections to Serbian reggae scene with some members playing in other bands as well - Irie FM, Burning Sounds,

Eyesburn Eyesburn is a Serbian band that combines hardcore punk and crossover thrash with reggae music. History 1994–2007 The band was formed in 1994, and the original line-up featured former Dead Ideas guitarist Nemanja "Kojot" Kojić (guitar, b ...

. While occasionally playing in the greater Belgrade region, the band is currently working on a follow-up album, tentatively entitled ''Soul Infected''.

Collaborations

Notable guest appearances include Asher Selector and

Prince Alla Keith Blake (born 10 May 1950), better known as Prince Alla (sometimes Prince Allah or Ras Allah) is a Jamaican roots reggae singer whose career began in the 1960s, and has continued with a string of releases into the 2000s. Biography Born in ...

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Smoke'n'Soul'' (2007) - Automatik Records/Warner Music

Compilations

* ''Rebel Demo'' - ''War Inside of You'' (2003) - Dom omladine Beograd

Videos

* Find the Way (by Tamara Popov and Looney) * One Day (by Nemanja Ličina)

Band members

* Miloš Iković - lead vocal, rhythm guitar, tenor flute * Vladimir Krkljuš – lead vocals, backing vocals, drums * Vukašin Marković – lead vocals, trombone * Nebojša Potkonjak – backing vocals, trumpet * Andreja Bućan – tenor saxophone * Vlada Jovanović - trumpet * Ivan Jovanović - trombone * Damjan Ćirilović – bass guitar * Vladimir Tomić – backing vocals, lead guitar * Rade Martinović – keyboards

References

{{Reflist

External links

www.discogs.com

www.last.fm

music.myexit.org

www.reggaeserbia.com

www.b92.fm

facebook.com

myspace.com

youtube.com
Serbian reggae musical groups