PARAF - A Dan Je Tako Lijepo Počeo 1980

Moving to Ex-Yugoslavia and meet Paraf, together with Pekinška Patka one of my favourite band and this is their debut record on RTV Ljubljana with fourteen sophisticated jewels.

Paraf was a punk rock and later post-punk band from Rijeka, Croatia, known as one of the pioneers of punk rock in the former Yugoslavia. Following the expansion of punk rock in Europe, teenagers Valter Kocijancic (guitar, vocals), Zdravko Cabrijan (bass) and Dušan Ladavac "Pjer" (drums) formed Paraf in 1976. They played their first gig at Belvedere in Rijeka on December 31, 1976. The band's early live appearances were at Rijeka high-school parties along with the bands of similar musical orientation, Termiti, Protest and Lom. During the late 1978, the band started performing frequently, even outside Rijeka. They played in Ljubljana, Belgrade, Zagreb. The band also performed at the Novi Sad BOOM festival, as well as an opening act for The Ruts concert in Zagreb. In 1979, they released their debut single "Rijeka", a cover version of the Ramones song "Chinese Rocks", but Kocijancic signed as the song author in order to test the Yugoslav critics of the time. Despite the intention, it was the Dzuboks magazine journalist Petar Lukovic who recognized that the song was a cover version. The band also appeared on the various artists compilation album Novi punk Val 78-80, released by ZKP RTLJ in 1980, with the song "Narodna Pjesma" ("Folk Song").

After several delays, the band debut album A Dan Je Tako Lijepo Poceo... (And The Day Started Out So Nicely...) was released by ZKP RTLJ in the Spring of 1980. Due to provocative lyrics, the album was classified as kitsch product, and thus liable to additional taxation, despite subsequent changes to some of the lyrics as well as the selection of a different album cover. In line with the punk rock ideology, the band addressed several topics which were at the time new to the Yugoslav rock: the songs featured ironic usages of communist slogans, mocked, at the time, one of the most popular bands, Bijelo Dugme, in the song "Pritanga I Vaza", insulting the police in the censored version of "Narodna pjesma", and dealt with social themes typical for a port city. The album was produced by the band's close associate Goran Lisica "Fox", assisted by Igor Vidmar. (source: parafrijeka.blogspot)

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