Pop Mašina

Pop Mašina was a rock band from Belgrade, Serbia, and one of the most prominent bands of the 1970s Yugoslav rock scene, with a sound that ran from hard rock and blues rock to psychedelic and acid rock. It was formed in 1972 by bassist and singer Robert Nemeček, who had played in Dogovor iz 1804, Džentlmeni and Intro, guitarist and singer Zoran Božinović, formerly of Excellent, Rokeri, Džentlmeni and Intro, drummer Ratislav "Raša" Đelmaš and singer Sava Bojić. Bojić soon left, Đelmaš went to YU Grupa, and with Mihajlo "Bata" Popović on drums the band carried on as a power trio.

In 1972 PGP-RTB released their first single, "Put ka Suncu" / "Sjaj u očima", and the band organised a free open-air concert at Hajdučka česma in Belgrade, repeated on Youth Day, 25 May 1973. The second single, "Promenićemo svet" / "Svemirska priča", came out in 1973, as did the debut album Kiselina, whose concept, a psychedelic LSD trip, was disguised to get past the censors. It is widely regarded as one of the most notable Yugoslav rock records.

Na izvoru svetlosti, recorded in Ljubljana in early 1975, included a track recorded live in the Belgrade Sports Hall. The live album Put ka Suncu (1976), taped at three shows in the same hall and with a 19-minute version of the title song, was the first live album of their own by a Yugoslav band. Keyboardists Oliver Mandić and Dragan Velikić, later a writer, played with them briefly. At the end of 1976 Nemeček left for the army and Popović soon followed; with Zoran's brother Vidoja Božinović on guitar the band released one more single, "Moja pesma" / "Uspomena" (1977), and split in 1978.

Nemeček and the Božinović brothers later formed Rok Mašina (1980-1982). Vidoja Božinović and drummer Dušan Đukić went on to Dah, and Vidoja joined Riblja Čorba in 1984, while bassist Dušan Petrović left the late line-up for Generacija 5. Disciplina Kičme covered "Zemlja svetlosti" in 1991. Zoran Božinović died on 12 July 2004, Bata Popović on 31 August 2021, Raša Đelmaš on 28 October 2021 and Robert Nemeček on 8 January 2024.

Kiselina was ranked 60th in the 1998 YU 100 list of the best Yugoslav albums, and in the Rock Express Top 100 Yugoslav Rock Songs of All Times, voted in 2000 by readers, critics and musicians, "Put ka Suncu" was ranked 92nd.