The promotion of the monograph “Smak” by Ksenija Đerković, journalist and archivist of the Historical Archives of Šumadija from Kragujevac, was held in the Gallery of the National Museum Kraljevo, on Thursday, February 6th, 2025, starting at 6 p.m. The gathered audience was greeted by Darko Gučanin, director of the National Museum Kraljevo, and introduced the participants of the program. In his address, he referred to the guest appearance of the retrospective exhibition “Smak 50”, on the occasion of the half-century of the band’s existence, but also to the cooperation with the “Sidža” association, which led to the filming of documentaries about prominent musicians from Kraljevo. The first such film was filmed precisely about the drummer of the group “Smak”, Slobodan Stojanović Kepa, father of Ksenija Đerković. He pointed out that, taking into account the strong connection of the band with Kraljevo, the National Museum Kraljevo supported the publication of this monograph, which sheds light on the history of one of the most influential Yugoslav groups through private documentation and photographs. A short documentary about the group “Smak” was then shown.
Branimir Lokner, the reviewer of the monograph, music editor and rock critic, pointed out in his presentation the importance of the group “Smak”, including it as one of the most significant names of the Yugoslav rock scene, which in a short period of its existence, along with “Bijelo dugme”, was the most popular group in this region. Although the concept of commercialism cannot be associated with the group “Smak”, it achieved great popularity and commercial success with the release of the album “Crna dama”, which was published by a German publishing house, after which the group had an international tour. Progressive rock, to which the group “Smak”, ” belongs as a genre, is not sufficiently valued in the country, but such treatment was also received by the leading names of the world’s progressive scene, Lokner noted. What makes “Smak” specific is the strong core of fans who followed the group at all its performances, primarily in Serbia, and this is what sets this band apart from the sea of others who did not have such public support. It is precisely this loyal audience, which called itself “smakists” or “smakovci”, that is the trademark of this band. Lokner considers the first phase of the group’s career to be the most qualitative, which includes a performance at a concert of the group “Deep Purple” in Belgrade as an opening act and an unplanned, but spectacular, performance in the “Pinki” Hall in Zemun. On that occasion, the audience demolished the seats after the performance of the song “Satellite”.
Branimir Lokner considers the album “Stranice naseg vremena”, which was also released abroad, to be the most qualitative. The group’s further activities are characterized by discontinuity in their career and discography, as well as frequent changes in members. Laza Ristovski’s departure from “Smak” to “Bijelo Dugme” was considered a betrayal, even among the audience. During the New Wave period, the group “Smak” failed to adequately respond to the demands of the market and the critical public, but the composition remained true to itself until the end and they avoided taking the safe path, refusing to agree to lose their artistic style for the sake of commercialism. Lokner referred to the group’s phenomenal “comeback” performances, such as the 2012 performance in front of 20,000 people in Belgrade. He called writing such a monograph a serious undertaking and particularly emphasized the importance of the texts extracted from newspapers that in an uncomplicated way evoke the history of “Smak”, through the thoughts of the band members, their mutual relationships as well as relationships with the audience and the media.
Ksenija Đerković emphasized that Kraljevo has great emotional significance for her and noted that the monograph covers the period from the formation of the group in 1971 to the installation of a monument to the group in Kragujevac in 2023. She stated that the monograph, on almost 600 color pages, is adorned with numerous articles and interviews from newspapers and magazines such as “Djuboks”, “Eureka Express”, “TV Revija”, as well as song lyrics. The publication is also equipped with QR codes that allow readers to access the Internet and listen to the most famous songs of the group “Smak”. She emphasized her satisfaction with the completion of a very demanding and arduous task and finally thanked the city of Kraljevo and the National Museum Kraljevo for their financial assistance, without which this monograph would not have seen the light of day.