EKATARINA VELIKA

VINYL COLLECTORS CORNER

Format: Long Play

Code: 118852

EAN: 3838898118852

ZKP RTV Slovenia, in cooperation with PGP RTS and Zadužbina Milana Mladenovića, has reprinted the 1985 vinyl album by cult band Ekatarina Velika (EKV) Ekatarina Velika. It is the band's second album, but their first under this name (they were previously known as Katarina II). The album was recorded at the SIM studio in Zagreb by the then members of the band: singer Milan Mladenović, keyboarder Margita "Magi" Stefanović, bassist Bojan Pečar and drummer Ivan Fece Firči, with producer Vladimir Smolec, and features guest appearances by Massimo Savić, then lead singer of the Croatian band Dorian Gray, and Tomo In der Mühlen, guitarist of the band Karlowy Vary. The second album brought the band their first real hits: Oči boje meda, Tattoo and Modro i zeleno.

In less than ten years of existence, Ekatarina Velika went through an incredible journey. From a “hermetic art-rock” band performing in clubs, they became stars filling sports halls across the region in less than five years. In the second half of their career, they gained the respect and love of a new generation of listeners, without compromising the expectations of music critics, radio editors, or the audience. The EKV box set has also recently been released.  Along with eight vinyl records remastered from the original studio tapes, this box set also contains a double CD with 27 demo recordings, working remixes, and alternative versions of songs from the period 1983-1993, as well as a 76-page booklet with previously unpublished photographs, documents, and stories from those who participated in the recordings of these albums. This comprehensive and presented body of work – created in collaboration with the original publishers RTV SLO, PGP RTS, and the Milan Mladenović Foundation – sheds new light on the phenomenon of Ekatarina Velika and reveals why this band is still so loved today across the entire former Yugoslavia.

The box set was sold out in just eight days. We are in talks with international partners about a reprint, but the albums will also be released individually. A vinyl reprint of Katarina II was released last December and is still available.

Head of ZKP RTV Slovenia Mojca Menart, Chairman of the Board of Zadužbina Milana Mladenovića Maja Maričić and Nenad Milovanović, member of Zadužbina Milana Mladenovića, at the presentation of the EKV box set in Belgrade on 17 April. (foto: Zadužbina Milana Mladenovića / Iva Tanacković)