URGH! (band)
Encyclopedia
1990s
The band was formed in January 1991 in Belgrade as grindcoreGrindcore
Grindcore is an extreme genre of music that started in the early- to mid-1980s. It draws inspiration from some of the most abrasive music genres – including death metal, industrial music, noise and the more extreme varieties of hardcore punk....
quartet. With heavy rotation on bass default members were Dragoslav Ružić "Guru Ghagi" (vocals), Ðorđe Smiljanić "Djolle"(guitar) and Dejan Stanisavljević "Stanna" (drums). The band got the name from a typical onomatopoeic word URGH! frequently used in comicbooks. Their debut recordings, the tracks "Acid Rain" and "Paradise Town", appeared on the various artists compilation album Tito nikada više (Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
Nevermore), released by Intermusic in 1992.
During the same year, they appeared on the split album
Split album
A split album is a music album which includes tracks by two or more separate artists. There have been singles and EPs released in the same nature, which can be referred to as split singles and split EPs respectively...
Yonuss Tape, also featuring the Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
girl band
Girl group
A girl group is a popular music act featuring several young female singers who generally harmonise together.Girl groups emerged in the late 1950s as groups of young singers teamed up with behind-the-scenes songwriters and music producers to create hit singles, often featuring glossy production...
PMS, with the prominent tracks "Acid Rain", "Paradise Town", "Let's See What You Give", "Zašto vrištiš?" ("Why Are You Screaming") and "Deceiver", the latter being a cover version of a Napalm Death
Napalm Death
Napalm Death are a death metal band formed in Birmingham, England in 1981. While none of its original members remain in the group, the lineup of vocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway, bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch Harris and drummer Danny Herrera has remained consistent for most of the band's ...
track, released on compact cassette
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
by Take It Or Leave It Records. The band also recorded a successful promotional video for the song "Paradise Town", which, broadcast on the national television, presented the band to a wider audience.
The following year, the band participated the Armatura performance, featuring Belgrade artists from various spheres, where, on several occasions, the band performed only cover versions and due to the positive reactions to the performance of the Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads...
song "Are You Gonna Go My Way
Are You Gonna Go My Way (song)
"Are You Gonna Go My Way" is the first single to be released by Lenny Kravitz from the album of the same name. It was released in March 1993. It was written by Lenny Kravitz and Craig Ross...
", the band introduced it into their repertoire. At the time, the line-up stabilized with Igor Štanglicki "Krrle" on bass. The band started combining different genres, including rock, rap
Rap
Rap may refer to:*Rapping, performance in which rhyming lyrics are used, with or without musical accompaniment ; while an MC performs spoken verses in time to a beat/ melody**Hip hop subculture**Hip hop music...
, noise
Noise music
Noise music is a term used to describe varieties of avant-garde music and sound art that may use elements such as cacophony, dissonance, atonality, noise, indeterminacy, and repetition in their realization. Noise music can feature distortion, various types of acoustically or electronically...
and techno music, eventually being recorded on their first studio album 9194 in 1995. The album, available on compact cassette only, got the name 9194 since it featured the material recorded from 1991 until 1994. Being split on two sides, the A-side called Evergreen, and the B-side called Evergrind, the album featured a guest appearance by the Dead Ideas
Dead Ideas
- History :The band was formed in 1990 by bassist and vocalist Darko Marković, however, after their first live appearance, the band disbanded. The following year, on January, with the female vocalist Jelena Komnenić and guitarist Nemanja Kojić, Marković reformed the band, soon being joined by the...
vocalist Jelena Komnenić on the track "Kraj" ("The End").
On November 1995, the band held acoustic
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
performances at the Belgrade clubs Barutana and KST, featuring the previously released songs in unplugged
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
arrangements performed on acoustic guitars, a violin, an accordion and toys. The recordings from the performances were released on the live album Unplugged. The album was released on compact cassette in a limited edition of 1000 copies and beside their own songs also featured a cover version of The Misfits song "Mommy". The band also participated the Brzi Bendovi Srbije manifestation, getting the band of the year award. During the same year, the songs "Deep Breathing" and "Thirst" appeared on the various artists compilation Witness Of the 1st Discussion, released by Silver Cross Records.
The second studio album Oesophagus was released by B92 on June 1997, in a similar musical direction as on the previous release. The album, available on compact cassette only, recorded at the Belgrade studio Focus, on November and December 1996, featured guest appearance by Viborg Dallas vocalist Ema Vuai and Vrooom vocalist and actress Vladislava Đorđević. Music videos recorded for the tracks "Kratko & jasno" ("Loud & Clear"), "Apo pantos kakodaimonos" and "Razmena materije" ("Matter Exchange"), beside promoting the album, also served as an evidence of the band activity since they seldom performed live at the time. After the album release, the band held a mini-tour of Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
with Jovan Ružić "Yolefist" on guitar.
The following year, Guru Ghagi appeared on the Vlada Divljan
Vlada Divljan
Vladimir "Vlada" Divljan , is a Serbian singer and songwriter. He is known as the frontman for the Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band Idoli, as well as for his solo works.-Early activity:...
tracks "Niko nije srećniji od nas" ("Nobody Is Happier Than Us"), also featuring Šaban Bajramović
Šaban Bajramovic
-Biography:He was born in Niš where he attended primary school for only the first four years. On quitting school, he picked up his musical education on the street.When he was 19 he ran away from the army out of love for a girl...
, and "Pomoć, pomoć
Pomoc, pomoc
"Pomoć, pomoć" is the first song which appeared on the first single by Serbian new wave band Idoli. The song, with "Retko te viđam sa devojkama" appeared on the A-side while the B-side contained Slobodan Škerović's narrative poem called "Poklon"...
" ("Help, Help"), a cover version of the Idoli first singe, released on the 3 palme za dve bitange i ribicu (Palm Trees for Two Punks and a Chick) movie soundtrack. The soundtrack album also featured the URGH! track "Duboko disanje". The band also appeared on the various artists compilation with live versions of the songs "Nikad se necu vratiti" ("I Will Never Come Back") and "Erupcija" ("Eruption"), recorded at the fifth anniversary celebration of the TV Politika show Paket Aranžman (Package Deal) held at the Belgrade KST on December 7, 1996 and released on the Svi protiv svih (Everybody Against Everyone) various artists compilation in 1998.
In 1999, the band entered the studio and recorded several new songs: "Struja" ("Electricity"), Samousavršavanje ("Self-improvement"), "Grč" ("Spasm") and "Konačno gluv" ("Deaf At Last"), which would appear on the first compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
release, the compilation album 120%, featuring a selection of the material released on Unplugged and Oesophagus. The CD was never released although some tapes surfaced in the market and had modest distribution. In the autumn of the same year E-Play
E-Play
- History :The band was formed in 1997, initially having several lineup changes before the lineup consisting of Biljana Todorovski , Maja Cvetković and Jarboli member Nemanja Aćimović became the default one. The band also had a semi-official band member Sonja Lončar who played an analogous...
member Maja Cvetković took over bass duties and shortly after the drummer Dejan Stanisavljević left the band, being replaced by sampled drum tracks. Thus, the band remained a trio with Yolefist in charge of samples and had another tour of Slovenia.
2000s
In May and June 2000 the band recorded their third studio album Sumo, featuring the songs "Kašika, viljuška, nož" ("Spoon, Fork, Knife"), promoted with an animated music video, and "Stigmata" featuring guest appearance by the hip hopHip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
group Beogradski Sindikat
Beogradski Sindikat
Beogradski Sindikat is a Serbian hip-hop group from Belgrade formed in 1999. It currently consists of eleven members. They have released three albums,first one highly acclaimed and marked the beginning of second wave of Serbian hip hop.-Group members:* Žobla - MC * Ogi - MC Beogradski Sindikat...
. The album, band's first one to be released on compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, was produced by Dragan Milošević "Krle" and released by Be Bop Records in 2001. After the album release, the band ceased to exist. During the same year, their song "Čekić" ("The Hammer") appeared on the Apsolutnih sto (Absolute Hundred) movie soundtrack, released by Komuna
Komuna Belgrade
Komuna is a Serbian record label and media production house. Established in 1985, its headquarters are in Belgrade, Serbia with a branch office Budva, Montenegro...
.
In 2009, Guru Ghagi with Yolefist and E-Play
E-Play
- History :The band was formed in 1997, initially having several lineup changes before the lineup consisting of Biljana Todorovski , Maja Cvetković and Jarboli member Nemanja Aćimović became the default one. The band also had a semi-official band member Sonja Lončar who played an analogous...
bassist Maja Cvetković reformed the band and started working on a new studio release. During December of the same year, the band had finished the recording sessions for the new studio album entitled Pozorište surovosti (Theatre of Cruelty), featuring the new drummer Siniša Stojanović "Sinister".
2010s
In 2010, the band continued working on the album and spent most of the year in mixing the completed twelve songs, one of which, "Horoskop laže" ("The Horoscope is Lying") was released in 2011 as a single available for digital downloadMusic download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
. A new version of the track from Sumo "Noć punog meseca" ("Night of the Full Moon") was included as the single's B-side". A promotional video for the single had also been recorded, expected to be released during March 2011.
Since May 2011 the album Pozorište surovosti (Theatre of Cruelty) has been available for free download from band's website.
Studio albums
- 9194 (1994)
- Oesophagus (1997)
- Sumo (2001)
- Pozorište surovosti (2011)
External links
- Official website
- Official blog
- URGH! at MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- URGH! at FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
- URGH! at YoutubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
- URGH! at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- URGH! at Last.fmLast.fmLast.fm is a music website, founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. It has claimed 30 million active users in March 2009. On 30 May 2007, CBS Interactive acquired Last.fm for UK£140m ....
- URGH! at Rateyourmusic