Trivalia ( sr, / ) was 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 ...

n and Yugoslav

gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie a ...

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

band formed in

Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...

in 1986. Led by vocalist and principal songwriter Vladimir Žikić "Mantis", Trivalia combined gothic rock, industrial music and

darkwave Dark wave (also typeset as darkwave) is a music genre that emerged from the new wave and post-punk movement of the late 1970s. Dark wave compositions are largely based on minor key tonality and introspective lyrics and have been perceived as be ...

with influences of

Byzantine music Byzantine music (Greek: Βυζαντινή μουσική) is the music of the Byzantine Empire. Originally it consisted of songs and hymns composed to Greek texts used for courtly ceremonials, during festivals, or as paraliturgical and liturgical ...

and other musical genres.

History

1986-1994

The band was formed during the summer of 1986 in Niš by vocalist Vladimir Žikić "Mantis", also known under the pseudonym "Vlad-a-Mantis", the band's principal songwriter as well as the rhythm machine sequencer, bass guitarist Boban Stojiljković "Bocko" and guitarist Srđan Jovanović "Điđa". During the years, the band cooperated with a number of musicians from Niš; on a number of occasions they performed with drummer Miloš Medić and keyboardist Peđa Avramović. The band was named after Tribalia, the homeland of the

Triballi The Triballi ( grc, Τριβαλλοί, Triballoí, lat, Triballi) were an ancient people who lived in northern Bulgaria in the region of Roman Oescus up to southeastern Serbia, possibly near the territory of the Morava Valley in the late Iron A ...

, an ancient

Thracian The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied t ...

tribe that lived in modern southern Serbia and western

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

. Starting with a lot of already written material, in 1987 the band recorded their debut EP, ''We Always...'', inspired lyrically by

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

secret societies A secret society is a club or an organization whose activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence a ...

and musically predominantly by movie soundtracks and the popular

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

and

acts such as

Joy Division Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. Sumner and Hook formed the band after attend ...

The Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is an English rock band, formed in 1980 in Leeds. After achieving early underground fame there, the band had their commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasin ...

, The Mission,

The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...

and

Fields of the Nephilim Fields of the Nephilim are an English gothic rock band formed in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, in 1984. The band's name refers to a Biblical race of angel-human hybrids known as the Nephilim. Career Early years (1984–1991) Fields of the Nep ...

."Trivalia: Neuhvatljivi crni jahači", Rokcomotiva.com
/ref> The album was released independently by the band themselves on

compact cassette The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Ottens ...

only, which was the case with most of their later releases. Beside the recorded material, on live appearances the band also performed cover versions of the bands they were citing as their influences. Their live performances usually had a form of art performances, featuring stage decorations, video and light effects. From 1988 to 1989 the band performed rarely due to Stojiljković's mandatory stint in the

Yugoslav army The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska a ...

. On his return, the band recorded new material featuring a combination of

and

industrial music Industrial music is a genre of music that draws on harsh, mechanical, transgressive or provocative sounds and themes. AllMusic defines industrial music as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music" that was "initiall ...

with the elements of

, independently released on the EP ''Pravoslavia'' (''Orthodoxia''). The EP, featuring the songs "Popečenije" ("Ministry"), "Praviteljstvujušči sovjet serbski" (" The Ruling Council of Serbia"), "Pričes" ("

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

") and "Blagosloven Gospod" ("Praised Be the Lord"), did not include drum recordings, and the band instead used the Edic rhythm machine both on studio and live performances. In late 1989 Jovanović left the band, being replaced by Ivan Marković "Parsifal". In 1990 the new lineup recorded several new tracks which, beside the selection of the previously recorded material, appeared on the compilation album '' Telo i duša'' (''Body and Soul''), released in a limited printing of 50 copies by the band's own

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

Black Rider.''Telo i duša'' at Discogs
/ref> The name of the label was inspired by the

Black Riders Black is a color which results from the absence or complete Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption of visible spectrum, visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or fi ...

from

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was ...

's ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...

''. For a period of time the band issued the

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) ...

entitled ''Black Rider''. During the same year, the band released the EP ''Dat Rosa Mel Apibus'' (

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 ''The Rose Gives Honey to the Bees''), inspired by the

Rosicrucian Order Rosicrucianism is a spiritual and cultural movement that arose in Europe in the early 17th century after the publication of several texts purported to announce the existence of a hitherto unknown esoteric order to the world and made seeking its ...

and featuring three songs: "Ruža i krst" ("A rose and a Cross"), "U sobi" ("In the Room") and "Blede ruke volim tako mnogo" ("Pale Hands I Love so Much"). Printed as a limited edition 7-inch EP by

Jugoton Jugoton was the largest record label and chain record store in the former Yugoslavia based in Zagreb, SR Croatia. History Jugoton was formed in 1947. It is notable for releasing some of the most important former Yugoslav pop and rock records ...

, the EP was released in March 1991 by the Niš Students' Cultural Centre. The song "Ruža i krst" had quickly become a minor hit, providing the band with an opportunity to perform as an opening act for

Električni Orgazam Električni Orgazam ( sr-cyr, Електрични Оргазам, lit=Electric Orgasm, translit=) is a Serbian rock band from Belgrade. Originally starting as a combination of new wave, punk rock and post-punk, the band later slowly changed th ...

KUD Idijoti KUD Idijoti was a punk rock band from Pula, Croatia. The name of the band translates to ''Cultural Artistic Society " Idiots"'' The word ''Idijoti'' is deliberately spelled wrong, the correct Croatian form of the word being ''idioti''. The pre ...

and

U Škripcu U Škripcu ( sr-cyr, У Шкрипцу; trans. ''In Dire Straits'') was a Yugoslav rock band formed in Belgrade in 1980. The band was formed in 1980 by Milan Delčić "Delča" (vocals), Aleksandar Vasiljević "Vasa" (guitar) and Zoran Vulovi� ...

. After the EP release, the new band member had become Miloš Vukotić (guitar, vocals, keyboards). In late 1991 the band released religiously oriented album ''Crna voda'' (''Black Water''), thematically inspired by the book ''

The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail ''The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail'' (published as ''Holy Blood, Holy Grail'' in the United States) is a book by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh (author), Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln. The book was first published in 1982 by Jonathan Cape in ...

'' and musically by the film ''

The NeverEnding Story ''The Neverending Story'' (german: Die unendliche Geschichte) is a fantasy novel by German writer Michael Ende, published in 1979. The first English translation, by Ralph Manheim, was published in 1983. The novel was later adapted into several f ...

'', featuring darker and heavier sound than their previous releases. The album, produced by Dejan Glozić and released by Happy House records, featured guest appearances by the guitarists Dejan Šišnjić and Goran Savić. Beside the new tracks, the album featured the rerecorded versions of "Ruža i krst" and "U sobi", this time more guitar-oriented. The band had also recorded a promotional video for the ''Afirmator 2'' television show. After the album release, the band held several local performances in Niš, including the May 21, 1992 performance at the M Pub, featuring, beside their material, cover versions of songs by

The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

and

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the ...

. The studio album ''Headhunter'', released in 1992, for the first time featured the material with the lyrics entirely in

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

. The album, featuring

electronic body music Electronic body music (acronymized to EBM) is a genre of electronic music that combines elements of industrial music and synth-punk with elements of disco and dance music. It developed in the early 1980s in Western Europe as an outgrowth of bo ...

influences, mainly acquired by the band members through the works of the bands

Skinny Puppy Skinny Puppy is a Canadian industrial music group formed in Vancouver in 1982. The group is among the founders of the industrial rock and electro-industrial genres. Initially envisioned as an experimental side-project by cEvin Key (Kevin Crompton ...

Front Line Assembly Front Line Assembly (FLA) is a Canadian electro-industrial band formed by Bill Leeb in 1986 after leaving Skinny Puppy. FLA has developed its own sound incorporating elements of electronic body music and electro-industrial. The band's members ...

Klinik Klinik, (sometimes called The Klinik), is an industrial music band from Belgium, originally formed around 1982 by electro-synthpop practitioner Marc Verhaeghen, who is the only constant member. History Marc Verhaeghen originally formed Klinik ...

and

Front 242 Front 242 is a Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. Pioneering the style they called electronic body music, they are a profound influence on the electronic and industrial music genres. History Formation Fr ...

, was released by the

Dobri Isak Dobri Isak (Serbian Cyrillic: Добри Исак; trans. ''Kind Isaac'') was a Yugoslav post-punk/darkwave band formed in Niš in 1983. Dobri Isak existed for only several years, releasing only one studio album, '' Mi plačemo iza tamnih naoča ...

frontman Predrag Cvetičanin's indie record label DOM.Trivalia biography at Niscafe.com
After the album release, the band was joined by Ivan Litovski as the new guitarist, and released the compilation album ''Body Collection''. The album featured a new version of the song "Headhunter", a cover version of

single "

Das Model "Das Model" ("The Model" in English) is a song recorded by the German group Kraftwerk in 1978, written by musicians Ralf Hütter and Karl Bartos, with artist Emil Schult collaborating on the lyrics. It is featured on the album, ''Die Mensch-M ...

", and two recordings from their 1992 M Pub performance. After the compilation release, in early 1994, the band had disbanded.

Post breakup

In 1996, the recordings from the band's concert held on

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

in the Niš Medical Faculty students club was released on the live album ''Halloween Nights''. During the same year Žikić, under the Trivalia moniker, released the album ''Instant God''. After the release of the album he withdrawn from the scene. Miloš Vukotić formed the band Ružne Religiozne Lutke (''Ugly Religious Dolls''), with which he recorded the album ''TV je mrtav'' (''TV Is Dead''), released in 1998.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Crna voda'' (1991) * ''The Headhunter'' (1992) * ''Instant God'' (1996)

Live albums

* ''Halloween Nights'' (1996)

Extended plays

* ''We Always...'' (1987) * ''Pravoslavia'' (1989) * ''Dat Rosa Mel Apibus'' (1990)

Compilation albums

* '' Telo i duša'' (1990) * ''Body Collection'' (1992)

References

{{reflist

External links

Trivalia
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

Trivalia
at

Last.fm Last.fm is a music website founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. Using a music recommender system called "Audioscrobbler", Last.fm builds a detailed profile of each user's musical taste by recording details of the tracks the user listens to, e ...

Serbian rock music groups Serbian gothic rock groups Serbian post-punk music groups Serbian dark wave musical groups Serbian alternative rock groups Serbian industrial music groups Yugoslav rock music groups Yugoslav gothic rock groups Electronic body music groups Performers of Byzantine music Musical groups from Niš Musical groups established in 1986 Musical groups disestablished in 1994 1986 establishments in Yugoslavia