Kristali

Kristali were a Serbian pop-rock band from Belgrade, founded in 1993 by bassist and singer Dejan Gvozden and guitarist Željko Markuš, who had played blues and rock in Belgrade cafés and clubs. They took the name in January 1993, when drummer Dejan Kostić joined.

Their first hit was "Dva metra", with a video directed by Milutin Petrović. Around then Milan Popović came in on bass, with Gvozden staying on as singer, and trombonist Nenad Potić, formerly of Del Arno Band, joined. Their first studio song, "O kako si lepa", appeared in 1993 on the L.V.O. compilation "Akademija vol. 1", and a live recording from the Belgrade club Prostor on 9 February 1994 later went onto "Gruvanje vol. 1".

The debut album "Kristali" (1994, L.V.O.), produced by Goran "Žika" Živković and Rodoljub Stojanović, gathered "Dva metra", "O kako si lepa", "Znam" and "Osmi dan". "Dolina ljubavi" (1997), produced by Igor Borojević, with Rambo Amadeus on acoustic guitar on "Sad se svega sećam", brought "Talasi", "Novi dan" and "Hajde, hajde"; in 2021 it was ranked 73rd in Duško Antonić's book of the 100 best Serbian albums since the breakup of Yugoslavia. In 1998 the band made the music for the play Furka at the Boško Buha Theatre, and in 1999 it covered "Baby, baby" for the compilation "Korak napred 2 koraka nazad".

"Sve što dolazi" (2001), produced by Mirko Vukomanović, with new bassist Aleksandar Šišić and drummer Bojan Dmitrašinović, brought "Ustani, kreni" and "Moje srce". The tenth anniversary was marked with a concert at PGP-RTS Studio 6, released as "Uživo @ Studio 6" (2004), and "Mesto za nas" was used in the film Sivi kamion crvene boje. In 2006 "Osmi dan" was ranked 74th on B92's list of the 100 best domestic songs, and in 2010 "Drvoseča", recorded for the film Žena sa slomljenim nosem, reached No. 5 on the Jelen Top 10.

"Samo blues" came out in March 2013 on PGP RTS, and in October 2014 Kristali marked twenty years with a concert at Dom omladine Beograda, with former members Milan Popović and Željko Markuš as guests. The single "Divan dan" (2014) was their last release. Dejan Gvozden, the last original member, died at his home on 5 October 2025, aged 55, after two years of illness, and the band ended with him.