Familija

History

In late 1993, Familija came together from two existing bands. Guitarist Aleksandar "Vasa" Vasiljević, bassist Aleksandar "Luka" Lukić, and drummer Ratko Ljubičić, all from U Škripcu, joined forces with former Vampiri members Dejan "Peja" Pejović and Dejan "Dexy" Petrović on vocals, plus drummer and percussionist Goran "Gedža" Redžepi. By February 1994, they were in the studio cutting their first album, Narodno pozorište, which PGP-RTS put out later that year.

Pejović, Vasiljević, Lukić, and Petrović handled the songwriting, blending pop rock with a mix of other styles. The record spun off hits like "Baltazar," whose chorus borrowed from the Professor Balthazar theme, along with "Mala, mala," "Što ja volim taj seks," and "Nije mi ništa." The track "Trajna Nina" lifted lyrics from the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine." Đorđe Petrović produced the album and played keyboards. Saša "Madoženja" Marković designed the vinyl and cassette sleeves, while Branko Lukić handled the CD artwork.

The band also popped up as performers at a New Year's Eve party in Srđan Dragojević's film Dva sata kvalitetnog TV programa. Ljubičić left in late 1995, followed by Redžepi in early 1996, so Familija started cycling through drummers for recordings and gigs. In mid-1996, they dropped a CD single through Komuna Belgrade with two songs: "Ringišpil" from the debut and a fresh track, "Brate Murate," featuring Marko Milivojević on drums and produced by Saša Habić.

Their second album, Seljačka buna, arrived in May 1997. Aside from "Brate Murate," Đorđe Petrović again produced the rest in their signature eclectic style, yielding more hits like "Paranoja" and "Boli me kita." Petar "Zver" Radmilović laid down the drum tracks in the studio, while Branko Popović took over for live shows. The band called it quits in early 1998.

Post breakup

Dejan Petrović and his brother Nenad, who played in Mušterije, started the band Centrala, which blended electronic music with rock and is now inactive. Pejović founded The Dibidus in 2003 alongside Milan Sarić, formerly of Hush, and Jova Jović, previously with Deca Loših Muzičara.

The Dibidus often played Familija songs live, and their 2013 album Uživo iz kluba "Fest" included five tracks originally by Familija. In 2006, Vasiljević and Lukić performed with the original U Škripcu lineup at a Delča & Sklekovi show in Belgrade. Two years later, Lukić started Radio Gerila, a band inspired by Manu Chao and The Clash.

Did You Know?

• In 2021 the album Narodno pozorište was ranked 99th on the list of 100 best Serbian rock albums published after the breakup of SFR Yugoslavia.
• In 2011 "Što ja volim taj seks" was voted by Radio 202 listeners as one of the 60 greatest songs released by PGP-RTB/PGP-RTS during the label's sixty years.
• In 2000, Slovenian label Taped Pictures released a various artists compilation that included the band's song "Mala, mala".