SARS (band)

Sveže Amputirana Ruka Satrijanija
S.A.R.S. in 2009 S.A.R.S. in 2009
Background information
Also known as	S.A.R.S.
Origin	Belgrade, Serbia
Genres	Alternative rock, pop rock, reggae, blues, jazz, ethnic music, hip hop
Years active	2006 – present
Labels	PGP-RTS, ZMEX, MTV
Members	Aleksandar Luković Boris Tasev Nenad Đorđević Sanja Lalić Tihomir Hinić Žarko Kovačević
Past members	Branislav Lučić Dragan Kovačević Miloš Bakalović Miloš Kovačević Vladimir Popović

Sveže Amputirana Ruka Satrijanija (Serbian Cyrillic: Свеже Ампутирана Рука Сатрианија; trans. Satriani's Arm Recently Severed), or S.A.R.S. for short, are a Serbian alternative rock band from Belgrade. Presenting a combination of pop rock, reggae, blues, jazz and hip hop with the ethnic music of Serbia, the band is one of the leading acts of the so-called New Serbian Scene.

History

The band was formed in March 2006 by Aleksandar Luković "Lukac" (guitar) and Dragan Kovačević "Žabac" (vocals) with musicians coming from different backgrounds and spheres of interest, Žarko Kovačević "Žare" (vocals), Vladimir Popović "Hobbo" (vocals), Miloš Kovačević "Kriva" (bass guitar), Branislav Lučić "Beban" (percussion), Goran Mladenović "Japanac" (drums) and Ivana Blažević "Violina" (violin), resulting in a fusion of different musical genres. The lineup recorded their first song "Buđav lebac" ("Molded Bread") at the Resnik RLZ studio and uploaded the recording on the Internet for free digital download. Without literally any media promotion, the single had become an instant hit in Serbia and other former Yugoslav republics.

After a few minor live appearances, including several performances at Belgrade clubs as well as the Niš performance as a part of the Mirovni Karavan (Peace Caravan) manifestation, the band had entered a crisis. On early 2008, bassist Kovačević went to serve the army and drummer Mladenović and violinist Blažević had left the band, thus the band disbanded. However, the success of the single had encouraged the rest of the band to continue working on mid-2008, and the band once again entered the RLZ studio and recorded a demo including the song "Ratujemo ti i ja" ("We are at War, You and Me"), with the new members Miloš Bakalović "Bakal" (drums) and Boris Tasev "Bora" (keyboards, accordion). During the late 2008, the band got an offer from the management of the PGP-RTS record label to record their debut album.

The album recording sessions, done with the help of the producer Đorđe Miljenović, better known as Wikluh Sky, were finished within a couple of months, and the eponymous debut album S.A.R.S was officially released on March 2009. The song lyrics for the album had been written by the vocalists Kovačević and Popović, and the music and arrangements were done by Kovačević, Luković and Miljenović and guest appearances featured former Eyesburn frontman Nemanja Kojić (trombone on "Ratujemo ti i ja" and "Zubarka" ("The Dentist")), the multi-instrumentalist Aleksandar Sedlar Bogoev (bouzouki on the same tracks), Nikola Demonja (saxophone), Kanda, Kodža i Nebojša member Vladan Rajović (drums on "Zubarka") and the former band member Ivana Blažević "Violina" (violin on the track "Sindrom lidera male stranke" ("Syndrome Of A Minor Political Party Leader ")).

File:SARS-banda.jpg

S.A.R.S, the lienup from the debut album

In the meantime, on early 2009, the band got the award on TV Metropolis for the greatest musical discovery in 2008, and on the webzine Popboks annual lists, the band were pronounced as eighth best debut act and the song "Buđav lebac" appeared as the tenth best single in 2008 according to the critics, but appeared on the first places in the two categories according to the poll made by the readers. However, after the album release, the Popboks journalist Uroš Smiljanić described the it as a "Thin layer of simple(ton) humor and cheaper formal experimentation, smeared over a thick piece of nothing".

Simultaneously with the album release appeared the animated promotional video for the song "Buđav lebac", directed by the Serbian illustrator Aleksa Gajić. The Serbian swimmer Nađa Higl stated that she had sung the song lyrics before the race in Rome where she became the World Champion in 200 m breaststroke, and the audience had sung the song to her at the Belgrade City Council plateau at the welcome ceremony. At the other welcome ceremony in her home town Pančevo, Higl appeared on stage with S.A.R.S. who had been performing at the ceremony. The song, with altered lyrics, was also sung by Delije, the fans of the football club Red Star Belgrade, due to the current economical situation within the club.

After the album release, on mid-2009, the lineup suddenly changed as vocalist Popović, bassist Kovačević, percussionist Lučić, and drummer Bakalović left the band. Together with violinist Blažević they have formed band VHS (an acronym for Very Heavy S.A.R.S.). New members arrived, Nenad Đorđević "Đole" (bass guitar), Tihomir Hinić "Tihi" (drums), Petar Milanović "Pera" (trombone, saxophone) and Sanja Lalić (backing vocals). At the time, appeared the second promotional video, for the song "Debeli lad" ("Thick Shade"), in which the new members had presented to the wider audience., and on November of the same year, the band recorded the video for the song "Rakija" ("Brandy"). The later song, along with "Buđav lebac", was performed by the band in the Fajront Republika hosted by Zoran Kesić.

On October 2009, the band went on their first tour, performing at various Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian cities and towns, ended with a large concert at the Belgrade Youth Center. After the tour, the band entered the studio in order to record the material for the upcoming album. In the meantime, on March 2010, the band had a well-acclaimed performance at MTV. Also, the band had recorded the soundtrack for the TV series Može i drugačije (It May Be Different), debuted on January 2010. At midnight on December 31, 2010, the band released their second studio album, Perspektiva (Perspective), released for free digital download at the MTV Adria official website.

In 2011, "Buđav lebac" was polled, by the listeners of Radio 202, one of 60 greatest songs released by PGP-RTB/PGP-RTS.

Discography

Studio albums

• S.A.R.S. (2009)
• Perspektiva (2010)

Singles

• "Buđav lebac" (2007)

Other appearances

• "Buđav lebac (RMX)" (Radio ubica dečijeg lica; 2009)

References

• Band biography at the official Facebook page

External links

• S.A.R.S. at Facebook
• S.A.R.S. at Youtube
• S.A.R.S. at Discogs
• S.A.R.S. at Last.fm
• S.A.R.S. at Rateyourmusic