Zana (band)

Infobox musical artist
Name = Zana


Img_capt =
Landscape = yes
Background = group_or_band
Origin = Belgrade, Serbia
Genre = Rock
New Wave
Synthpop
Pop-rock
Pop
Pop-folk
Years_active = 1980 – present
Label = Jugoton, PGP RTB, Diskoton, City Records
Associated_acts = Zana Nimani
URL = [http://www.zana.rs// Official web site]
Current_members = Jelena Galonić
Zoran Živanović
Past_members = Zana Nimani
Nataša Gajović
Nataša Živković<
Radovan Jovićević
Igor Jovanović
Bogdan Dragović
Pavle Nikolić
Aleksandar Ivanov

Zana is a popular music group from Belgrade, Serbia, which was especially successful during the 1980s in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Early years

The band was formed in 1980 in Belgrade by Zoran "Kikamac" Živanović (keyboards) and Radovan Jovićević (guitar). The band was named after its first and most popular frontress, the ethnic Albanian from Belgrade Zana Nimani.The band released several singles before their first album "Loše vesti uz rege za pivsku flašu" ("Bad News Accompanied by Reggae for a Beer Bottle") was released for the Yugoslav major label Jugoton in 1981. During this short and less known initial period, Zana was a New Wave band and part of the Yugoslav New Wave music scene. They were featured on the compilations "Svi marš na ples!" and "Vrući dani i vrele noći".

Mainstream commercial success

The band and especially Zana Nimani herself gained nationwide popularity across the former SFR Yugoslavia with their very successful second album "Dodirni mi kolena" released for Jugoton in 1982. With this album, the band shifted towards a more power pop sound, thus fusing New Wave music with more radio-friendly pop. However, certain elements of the then-popular New Romantic and synthpop sound are also evident on this record. The album was recorded in Torsby, Sweden between May 20 and June 25, 1982, with the line-up: Zana Nimani (vocalist); Kikamac (ARP omnisynthesizer and piano); Radovan Jovićević and Igor "Mali" Jovanović (guitar); Bogdan "Bogi" Dragović (bass guitar and backing vocals); Pavle "Paja Banana" Nikolić (drums)instead of Aleksandar Ivanov while he was attending compulsory military service ; Bylla Gunnar Byllin (percussion); Goran Nillson (saxophone) and Tini (Roland guitar synthesizer).In 1983 they release their album "Natrag na voz" including the pop-ballad hit "Jabuke i vino", a duet of Zana Nimani and Željko Bebek (the ex-frontman of Bijelo Dugme).

Zana Nimani solo

In 1985 Zana Nimani left the band and started a successful solo career as a pop singer. She released her solo album "Noćas pevam samo tebi" in 1986.

Zana without Zana

Despite Zana Nimani's departure, the band continued to work under the same name with a new vocalist: Nataša "Naca" Gajović (1985 – 1988 period) which sang on the albums "Crvene lale" (PGP RTB 1985), "Otkinimo noćas zajedno" (PGP RTB 1987) and "Vlak" (Diskoton 1988) with guests such as Mladen Vojičić Tifa and Laza Ristovski of Bijelo Dugme. Beside the arrival of the new vocalist the sound of the band also underwent severe changes to commercial pop music with frequent use of pop-folk (for example the songs: "Vejte snegovi", "Oženićes se ti" and others). After Nataša Gajović left she was replaced by Nataša Živković (1989 - 1990 period), who sang on the 1989 album "Miš" (Diskoton 1989) which includes the pop-folk hit "Rukuju se, rukuju". A guest on this album was the Serbian pop-folk and later turbo-folk star Dragana Mirković.

The current singer Jelena Galonić joined the band in 1990. With her the group released albums "Nisam, nisam" (1991), "Tražim" (PGP RTS 1993), "Zanomanija" (PGP RTS 1997), "Prijatelji" (PGP RTS 1999) and "Kvaka" (PGP RTS 2001) and "Kao nekad" (City Records 2006), mostly pop-folk oriented records without any connection to the band's earlier period when Zana Nimani was its vocalist.

In 1999, Radovan Jovićević, one of the founders of the band, left the group and moved to the United States.

In 2006 the group released the album "Kao nekad" which includes remixes of the older hits "Dodirni mi kolena" and "Vejte snegovi".

Video

* [http://www.zana.co.yu/video/majstorzapoljupceDivX.avi Zana - Short excerpt from "Majstor za poljupce" video, from their second album "Dodirni mi kolena" 1982]

External links

* [http://www.zana.rs Official site]
* [http://www.balkanmedia.com/m2/doc/274-1.shtml Zana Bio at Balkanmedia] sr icon
* [http://www.discogs.com/artist/Zana Short info at Discogs]
* [http://www.last.fm/music/Zana Zana at Last fm]
* [http://www.opendemocracy.net/arts-festival/article_546.jsp Dejan Djokić: Ex-Yugoslav Rock at openDemocracy Ltd. (incl. Zana)]
* [http://arhiva.glas-javnosti.co.yu/arhiva/1999/10/16/srpski/k99101603.shtm CD "Prijatelji" promotion at "Glas javnosti" magazine, Serbia] sr icon
* [http://www.republika.cg.yu/naslovna.phtml?akcija=vijest&id=68721 Promotion of the album "Kao nekad" - "Republika" daily newspaper, Montenegro] sr icon
* [http://www.cityrecords.co.yu/izdanja/464.html City Records, Serbia - Catalogue of 1980s Retro compilations incl. Zana]
* [http://www.novosti.co.yu/code/navigate.php?Id=15&status=jedna&vest=96208&search=zana%20nimani&datum=2007-04-04 25th Anniversary of Zana - "Večernje novosti" newspaper, Belgrade, Serbia] sr icon
* [http://www.kurir-info.co.yu/Arhiva/2005/oktobar/31/ST-01-31102005.shtml "Kurir" magazine, Serbia] sr icon