Montenegro

Reuploaded 12/04/2025

 

Перпер (Perper) was formed at the end of 1991 in Cetinje, Montenegro. Centije is a small town. It was the perfect place for friends to get together & form a band. After a holiday conversation between Momčilo Zeković Zeko - bass & Aleksandar Radunović Popaj – lead guitar, the two got together to play a few songs & decided to get serious about recording.

After the holidays, the two returned to Novi Sad & Belgrade where they were studying. While at school, Popaj enlisted his brother Nikola Radunović - vocals, then they rounded up Mladen Brajović – rhythm guitar & Ivan Vujović Mane – drums, & Перпер was formed ( the band name Perper was coined by an old friend & local bands singer Mićko Marović). They were looking for a name that would be unique, recognizable, & easily remembered. Перпер was exactly what they wanted.

Перпер’s first major appearance was on a Montenegrin TV show in November 1991 with a song "Mir Kao Peto Godišnje Doba" (Peace as a Fifth Season). It was an anti-war song, which, due to strong pro-war sentiment, didn’t go over very well but led to more exposure for the band.

At the end of December they recorded their first album Sa Gomile Velikih Oblaka (From a Bunch of Big Clouds) in Novi Sad. They have released seven albums & many singles. This album, recorded live at the Montenegro National Theater is the first ever ‘unplugged’ concert recorded in Montenegro.

Перпер – Uživo u CNP 

(Live at CNP [Crnogorsko Narodno Pozorište – Montenegrin National Theater]),

Montenegrin Multimedia Group ‎– 001, 2000. 

Tracklist –

Najava

Dobre noći nek' te čuvaju

Montenegro Jazz

Golub za 086

Cetinjske kiše

Dobrovoljac

Samo tebe sam volio

Čuvam te

Za laku noć

4 ljeta,4 zime

Sanjaj me

Kome dolaziš u san

Perperi i zlato

Goro moja

Na Svetoga Nikolu

Voliš dok si mlad

Goro moja

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Pop rock group The Montenegro Five was established in the late sixties in Montenegro. They were very popular in the 60s & 70s in the former Yugoslavia. They recorded one albums & five singles for the European market. They split in the mid-70s. There is very little information available about them. I was only able to figure out 3 of The Montenegro 5.

Those I could figure out: Djordje Kraljevic – vocal; Slobodan Novovic – guitar; & Milan Kovacevic – saxophone & xylophone.

 The Montenegro Five – The Montenegro Five, Star Records C R ST 211, 1971.

Side A –

Heya

Oh Baby Baby

Svađamo se

Flute Soul

Guantanamera

The Last Waltz

La Bostella

Side B –

Na Na Hey Hey

Jakobshorn

Volim te

Going on the Blues

Pretty Kathy

Lara’s Theme

Soul Finger

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Janko Nilovic is probably the greatest musician from Montenegro, in my opinion. He only lived there until he turned 19. He is a pianist, poet & composer extraordinare. He was born in 1941 & in 1960, he moved to a Parisian suburb. There he isolated himself from the rest of the world to create his own universe, consisting of his musical & electronic instruments. He peopled that universe with local musicians & composers. At least 10 hours a day of experimenting, searching for the right composition, resulted in a great number of published works. Most of these are on library labels not available for sale.

Library music (also known as production music or stock music) is the name given to recorded music produced & owned by production music libraries, usually licensed to customers for use in film, television, radio & other media. When someone mentions ‘library music’ most musicphiles think about composer Janko Nilovic. His career has been & still is a very rich one, from the earliest start as a jazz musician to the late 60s when his career really began to explode. In the 70s he recorded & produced an amazing amount of albums. He has always been ahead of everyone; taking various influences from traditional music & combining that with whatever is pop at the time, as with funk & psychedelic rock in the 70s. Janko is a poet as well as musician, so he creates poetic musical images by bending the edges of multitudinous styles. 

Janko Nilovic's 1970 album Psyc' Impressions  is a concentrate of the crazy music from the end of the 60s while incorporating styles into the mix of styles that would become mainstays of the 70s. Elements of big band jazz, psychedelia, funk & rock meld themselves onto a solid pop base. Guitars are dipped into an acid bath, bass & drums wind on to infinity as swarms of brass kindle the live embers of a high-powered groove.

Psyc' Impressions is Janko Nilovic & Dave Sucky.

 Janko Nilovic – Psyc' Impressions, Edition Montparnasse 2000 MP 06, 1970.

Face A –

Rush on the Ball

Ballad for a Horse

Duty Free

Ski Trails

Real Happening

Middle Contest

Face to the World

Meeting in the Square

Face B –

Shaking Pop

Sunder Fire

Shadow of Our Line

Blows & Rhythms

Love on the Moon

In the Space

Concerto for a Star

New Heart

Also, while in the Janko groove, a definite treat & must-hear for any musick lover. The top notch psych funk single, direct from Belgium on the original Pink Elephant funk 45. Janko Nilovic & Davy Jones doing that voodoo they do so well.

 Davy Jones & Janko Nilovic - Voodoo Ju Ju Obsessionpt1 7" 45, 

Pink Elephant Records PE 22024 P, 1970. 

Side A -

Voodoo Ju Ju Obsession, Part 1

Side B -

Voodoo Ju Ju Obsession, Part 2

To paraphrase George…

Ain’t nothing but a Voodoo party.

NØ