Ekatarina Velika / EKV

IN MEMORY OF THE GREATEST SOUND MAKERS AND LYRIC WRITERS OF THE PRETTY, WILD EX-YU



Ekatarina Velika (Catherine the Great) (also known as EKV) was one of the most succesful rock/New Wave bands from Yugoslavia. Initially called Katarina II, it was formed in 1982. This band came to being after the breakup of Sarlo Akrobata, (another famous New Wave band from Belgrade). Milan Mladenovic and Ivica Vdovic VD were both members of Sarlo Akrobata. Once Sarlo Akrobata split up, together with guitarist Dragomir Mihajlovic Gagi, bassist Bojan Pecar and keyboardist Margita Stefanovic, Milan formed Katarina II.

First album of Katarina II, entitled Katarina II, came out in 1984. It is often considered one of the band's finest works, if not the best. However, this album never gained much popularity, because of its artistic sound, which was not an easy listen and lacked the catchiness to become a commercial success. After the album came out, there were some lineup changes. Ivica Vdovic left the band due to drug abuse problems. Gagi left the band due to interpersonal problems. However, since Gagi had the license for the name Katarina II, the band had to change the name. Since then they have called themselves Ekatarina Velika (Catherine the Great), or EKV for short. They hired a new drummer, Ivan Fece Firchie, and went on with work.

In 1985, EKV released their second album, Ekatarina Velika, which presented a certain change in sound. Compared with the previous album, it was a bit faster and more energetic. Nevertheless, it retained the band's trademark characteristics: subtle music and Milan's hermetic, introspective, and metaphorical lyrics. The album gave the band its first hits, Oci boje meda (Honey Coloured Eyes), Tattoo," and Modro i zeleno (Blue and Green).

In 1986, EKV released their third album, S vetrom uz lice (Downwind), the breakthrough album which turned them into stars. The album's sound is very polished and keyboard-based. Its hits included Budi sam na ulici (Be Alone on the Street), Ti si sav moj bol (You Are All My Pain), Novac u rukama (Money in the Hands), and Kao da je bilo nekad (Like It Was Once Before).The band toured extensively, consequently releasing in 1987 a live album, EKV 19LIVE!86.

In 1988, Firchie moved to the United States, particularly to New York City. The new drummer was Srdjan "Zika" Todorovic. After the lineup change, the band released the album Ljubav (Love), which is often considered the best EKV album as well as one of the best Rock albums recorded in Yugoslavia. It displayed a more guitar-oriented, polished sound, partly because of a new producer, Theodore Yanni. Hits from this album include Zemlja (Land'), 7 Dana (7 Days), and Ljubav (Love). It also showed the first signs of Milan's depressive lyrics, as exemplified by the song Tonemo (We're Sinking).

In 1989, the band released Samo par godina za nas (Only a Few of Years for Us). Critics regarded this album as a mere copy of Ljubav, but unlike Ljubav's general upbeatness and slight darkness, Samo par godina za nas was in tone much darker, downbeat, as if it was predicting the fall of Yugoslavia, civil wars, sanctions, and general destruction of the world and the society where the band members grew up and lived. Several hits from this album include Krug (Circle), Par godina za nas (A Few of Years for Us), and Srce (Heart).

After the release of Samo par godina za nas came a hiatus. Srdjan and Bojan left the band, with Srdjan concentrating on his acting career and Bojan moving to London, England. In 1991, Milan and Margita persevered, finding new members: Dragiša Uskokovi he discovered that he had pancreatic cancer. On November 5th, 1994, Milan Mladenovic died in Belgrade. EKV ceased to exist. In 1998, another tragic incident occurred: Bojan Pecar died in London. And another: Margita Stefanovic died on September 19, 2002, in Belgrade.