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Šarlo akrobata (Koja, Milan and Vd), fall 1980

Šarlo Akrobata were a seminal Yugoslav rock band often categorized as late punk or New Wave, with a particularly arty attitude. Short-lived but extremely influential, the threepiece left an indelible mark on the music scene of entire former Yugoslavia.

The story of Šarlo

Šarlo akrobata's roots are found in another band named Limunovo drvo, started in the late 1970s by Milan Mladenović and Dragomir Mihajlović 'Gagi'. The duo laboured for two years in the waters of melodic hard rock before realizing they were headed nowhere.

At the end of their musical wits they were joined by Dušan Kojić 'Koja' and Ivica Vdović 'Vd' which is when things began to change for the better. They adopted a fresh sound, inspired by punk and New Wave. Koja also brought along his friend Nenad Krasavac 'Kele' who became the band's unofficial manager.

In April 1980, Limunovo drvo was to open for Pankrti at SKC, but guys decided to change their name to Šarlo akrobata on the day of the show. That night, they played a fresh set consisting of new songs as well as some older ones in modified form. Shortly afterwards, Gagi left the band.

So, this left the trio that everyone today associates with Šarlo: Milan [guitar+vocal], Vd [drums] and Koja [bass+vocal].

Their first recordings were done in studio owned by Enco Lesic: "Ona se budi", "Oko moje glave", "Niko kao ja" and "Mali čovek". All four tracks later appeared on Paket aranžman together with material of Idoli and Elektricni orgazam released in 1981 by Jugoton.

At the end of 1980, Šarlo competed in Omladinski festival (Youth fest) in Subotica and claimed second jury prize with "Ona se budi".

With Goran Vejvoda, they created the soundtrack for Dečko koji obećava directed by Miša Radivojević. Koja did the music, while lyrics were written by Nebojša Pajkić who also wrote the movie's screenplay. Koja and Vd have roles in the film as the rhythm section of the fictional band VIS Dobri dečaci. For the movie, they recorded three tracks that were never released: "Slobodan", "Balada o tvrdim sisama" and "Depresija". On an off note, in a truly peculiar coincedence movie's main character, the rebelious teenager, is named Slobodan Miloševic. This is long before a certain politician who would make that name infamous arrived on the Serbian political scene.

During spring of 1981, Šarlo played Zagreb's biennale on a bill that also included now legendary Gang of Four and Classix Nouveaux.

By 1981 they created enough buzz that PGP RTB came calling with an offer of a full-length album. Šarlo recorded Bistriji ili tuplji čovek biva kad..., which confused PGP's executives so thoroughly that they immediately sold the material to Jugoton. Today regarded by fans and critics as one of the milestones of Yugoslav rock, the album was an experimantal delight. Up to that point Šarlo based their sound around punk and white reggae, whereas on this record they broke new ground even by their own innovative standards.

The creative tasks were divided up according to trio's individual sensibilities. Milan's role was basic melody, Koja's destabilised the sound by mixing Hendrix with punk on his bass, while Vd had the unenviable task of bridging this gap. Even the lyrics bore major differences: Koja's were minimalistic, akin to angry graffiti whereas Milan's were layered and poetic. The approach worked like a charm within the context of the record: by fusing different genres and energies they made something that was inherently their own. Goran Vejvoda, Jurij Novoselic, Dejan Kostić and old friend Dragomir Mihajlović also took part in the recording sessions.

The album got its name from a text found in Vasa Pelagić's book Narodni ucitelj. Excerpts from the same book were used on track "Pazite na decu I", a song that's significant because it features Milan playing drums, Vd on guitar, Goran Vejvoda singing, Dejan Kostić on bass while Koja lets out an occasional shriek.

The record came out during summer of 1981.

In the fall, they embarked on a tour of Poland. After returning home and performing a show in Ljubljana in October, the group abruptly disbanded.

Discography

Singles

Mali čovek / Ona se budi (1981)

Albums

BEOGRAD - Paket-aranžman (1981)

Ona se budi
Oko moje glave
Mali čovek
Niko kao ja

Bistriji ili tuplji, covek biva kad.... (1981)

Bistriji ili tuplji, čovek biva kad... (Jugoton 1981.)

Šarlo je nežan
Pazite na decu
Fenomen
Sad se jasno vidi
Rano izjutra
Ljubavna priča
Samo ponekad
Čovek
Bes
O, O, O
Problem
Ja želim jako
Pazite na decu (2)

External links

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 Šarlo akrobata's roots are found in another band named Limunovo drvo, started in the late 1970s by [[Milan Mladenović]] and Dragomir Mihajlović 'Gagi'. The duo laboured for two years in the waters of melodic [[hard rock]] before realizing they were headed nowhere.
-At the end of their musical wits they were joined by Dušan Kojić 'Koja' and Ivica Vdović 'Vd' which is when things began to change for the better. They adopted a fresh sound, inspired by punk and New Wave. Koja also brought along his friend Nenad Krasavac 'Kele' who became band's unofficial manager.
+At the end of their musical wits they were joined by Dušan Kojić 'Koja' and Ivica Vdović 'Vd' which is when things began to change for the better. They adopted a fresh sound, inspired by punk and New Wave. Koja also brought along his friend Nenad Krasavac 'Kele' who became the band's unofficial manager.
 In [[April]] [[1980]], Limunovo drvo was to open for [[Pankrti]] at SKC, but guys decided to change their name to Šarlo akrobata on the day of the show. That night, they played a fresh set consisting of new songs as well as some older ones in modified form. Shortly afterwards, Gagi left the band.