Boye (band)


Boye were a Serbian new wave and later alternative rock band from Novi Sad. Until the late 1980s Boye were an all-female band, but later lineups also featured male members.

History

1980s

The band was formed in October 1981 by Biljana Babić, Jasna Manjulov, Ljiljana Radaković and Klaudija Gavrilović. The first live appearance the band had in December of the same year, presenting themselves as an energetic all-female new wave band. In February of the following year, along with other Novi Sad new wave bands, they performed at Novosadski novi talas concert held in the Vienna club Arena.
In 1983, the band performed at the international rock festival Frauen in der Rock Music in Vienna and Frauen Avantgarde festival in Linz. At the time, Klaudija Gavrilović left the band being replaced by Vesna Branković and Milica Žilnik "Maša" became the new lead vocalist. The following year, the band recorded their debut album in Zagreb, however, it was never released as the record label wanted them to become an electropop band.
In 1985, without the need for compromise the band made demo recordings, with the Disciplina Kičme frontman Dušan Kojić "Koja" as the producer. The recorded demo tracks provided them with an opportunity to release a single "Ja hoću te", with the song "Kralj dosade" as the B-side, through PGP RTB. The cover of the single featured the inscriptions "Prvi pravi ženski zvuk" written in Kojić's already familiar manner.
The single release was followed by the debut album, Dosta! Dosta! Dosta!, released by the same label in 1988, featuring the prominent songs "Mama Kivi", "Gde se možemo sresti", and the title track. The album also featured the new bassist Darko Matić, the first male member in the group, and yet another vocalist Tanja Đajić. Under Kojić's influence, the band had maintained their original musical style and introduced rap vocal sections. The album cover for both the album and the single had been designed by Biljana Babić.

1990s

In 1990, the band released their second album 78 through the Croatian independent record label Search and Enjoy, featuring the new bassist Ilija Vlaisavljević "Bebec", a former La Strada member. The album producer was once again Kojić who also appeared as the author of the tracks and a guest guitarist. The song "Ja sam radosna", present in the band repertoire since the beginning of their career appeared on the album, featuring the lyrics written by La Strada frontman Slobodan Tišma, whose song "Mlad i radostan" was also sampled on the track.
The political circumstances in the country influenced the work within the group as with the outbreak of the Yugoslav Wars, Tanja Đajić, Jasna Manjulov and Vesna Branković left the band quitting their musical careers. Biljana Babić and Ilija Vlaisavljević continued working with Boye featuring the new members Jelena Kajtez and Aleksandra Blažić "Caka" and Vladimir Radusinović "Radule", the member of the Novi Sad punk rock band Atheist Rap, who had left the group after a short period of time. The new lineup appeared on the Ne računajte na nas antiwar concert held at the Belgrade Republic Square during the spring of 1992.
The following year, the band recorded their third studio album Boye se ne boje in the Netherlands at the Sing Sing studio owned by the former Čista Proza member Milan Ćirić. The album production was done by Vlaisavljević, who had also recorded the guitar sections, and as guests on the album appeared the former Disciplina Kičme member Zoran Erkman "Zerkman" and David Gardeur. With the help of the latter, the band recorded a promotional video for the track "Gleglegledaj!" which, along with the interview with the band, had been broadcast on Dutch national television. The album was released by the Israel record label Doranit Enterprises Ltd, led by two people from Novi Sad, and in Serbia it was released first by Music YUser and then by Metropolis Records. The album got the award for the best release in 1993 by the Serbian magazine Ritam. Around that same time, a compilation album featuring Dosta! Dosta! Dosta!, 78 and the first three tracks of Boye Aren't Afraid was released.
Having returned from the Netherlands, Aleksandra Blažić left the band, and Miloš Rašković and Đorđe Todorović, became the new band members. During the early 1994, the band held three concerts in Athens, where, along with the performance at Crete, in April of the following year, the band had appeared on the manifestation Za mir na Balkanu. At the time, Robert Telčer became the new guitar player. The new lineup performed in March 1996 at the Balkans Art Festival in Komotini and Xanthi situated in Greece, near the Turkish border.
The fourth studio album Prevariti naviku was released in July 1997, once again recorded at the Sing Sing studio and produced by Vlaisavljević, featuring the single "Ludilo mašina", presenting the band in a more modern musical direction than on the previous releases. After the album release, without any official announcement, the band ceased to exist. During the same year, on the Slovenian live various artists compilation V živo v Štuki, the band appeared with the performance made in 1995 at the Maribor Štuk Hall, along with the performances of various bands from Slovenia and Croatia.

Legacy

In 2009, the Novi Sad alternative rock band Obojeni Program covered the song "Ja hoću te" and released it in 7" single format through Dutch independent record label Hello Bing. During the same year, the Belgrade indie rock band Autopark covered the song "Gde možemo se sresti" on their album Sve dalje.
In 2011, at the Belgrade Mikser Festival, the Serbian alternative rock band Jarboli performed the album Dosta! Dosta! Dosta! in its entirety.
In 2014, the cast of the Otvorena vrata TV series, covered the song "Dosta! Dosta! Dosta!", for the soundtrack for the episode "Idoli".

Discography

Studio albums