Samonikli

Samonikli was a former Yugoslav and Serbian rock music group of the mid 1960's.

Career

1963-1969

In 1963, four Belgrade high school students founded a rock group they named Samonikli (which means "indigenous"), based on a collection of short stories by Slovene writer Prezihov Voranc (real name: Lovro Kuhar). Group members changed frequently in that early period, but by 1964 they stabilized and formed their own style of music, which was mainly based on instrumentals inspired by popular British group The Shadows, and started playing publicly, at school proms and college dance parties. In 1965 and 1966 they played regularly at dances at the Belgrade University School of Technology and soon became widely popular. In 1966 they won first place at a country-wide youth festival of rock bands, which entitled them to represent their country at an international festival of youth orchestras in Hungary, which featured the best Eastern European groups of that time (Illés, Metró, Omega, etc.). In May of 1966 an interview with them was featured in the first issue of Džuboks (Juke Box) Magazine, which later achieved cult status. The April 1966 issue of Belgrade youth magazine Susret wrote that Samonikli were the first "electric guitar band" in Belgrade to work with a group of violinists, preparing their subsequent two recordings (Dozvoljavate li gospodine and Povetarac i ja, the latter of which became one of the top hits of 1966 on a popular Radio Belgrade II music program called "Muzički automat." They were featured in a very popular series of shows on Belgrade Television called "Koncert za ludi mladi svet" (Concert for a Young and Crazy World). Their recordings reached top lists of many popular radio programs, including "Nedeljom u devet i pet (Sunday at 9:05), produced and hosted by Nikola Karaklajić. Toward the end of their career in 1967 and 1968, they covered many hits by Jimi Hendrix. They broke up in early 1969 to pursue other professional interests.

Like many popular Yugoslav bands of the mid 60's, they did not have a significant impact on the domestic record industry, but they did leave behind many studio recordings and appeared widely on radio and television programs, and were very popular as a live band.

Reunion

In December 1985, Samonikli reunited to play in Belgrade's Dom Sindikata Hall, along with many other popular sixties groups, at a commemorative concert marking the 25th anniversary of rock music in Belgrade. In 2003, marking their 40th anniversary, Samonikli held a dance concert for their friends and fans at the Duga Disco Club in Belgrade, returning to their first "love," instrumental music. In 2005 and 2006 they held two dance concerts for several hundred nostalgic fans in Belgrade's Park Restaurant.

Recordings

Povetarac i ja - Belgrade Radio
Dozvoljavate li gospodine - Belgrade Radio
Usamljena gitara - Belgrade Radio
Ne ustupam vam svoje mesto - Belgrade Radio
Gde su ruže nestale - Belgrade Radio
Massachusetts - Belgrade Radio
Mene moja nana - Belgrade Radio
Izgubljena ljubav - Belgrade Radio
Budi se Istok i Zapad - Belgrade Radio
Heroj Tito - Belgrade Radio
Napisao sam volim te u pesku - Belgrade Television
Takav čovek - Belgrade Television
Da li vidiš - Belgrade Television

References

Džuboks magazin, NIP Duga Beograd 1966. godine, br. 1, 3 maj 1966
Susret, list omladine Beograda, broj 44, god. III, 13. april 1966
BIN A Budapesti ifjusagi napok magazinja; 24 april, 1966

Sources

EX YU ROCK enciklopedija 1960-2006, Janjatović Petar; ISBN 978-86-905317-1-4
Siniša Škarica, "Kada je rock bio mlad: Priča s istočne strane (1956.-1970.)", V.B.Z. d.o.o., Zagreb, 2005. godine. ISBN 953-201-517-5
Personal archive of band member Bojan Drndić