| Barikada
- World Of Music - Svastara - 2007 |
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Dragan is acoustic / country / rock musician from
Belgrade, Serbia.
Dragan has been writing music for
almost 17 years, from the early rock 'n' roll days of Rock Union to his solo
career.
The saying "persistence is always worth while" is not just a saying,
in Dragan's case it's true. Dragan creates music that transcends time, and
has been doing this for a long time. His music is played by real people, not
machines. It is not a worn out recycling of the past, but fresh, positive,
and creative sounds. Listeners can feel Dragan's emotions, sincerity and positive
energy, in his music.
Here's Dragan's story so far: Dragan Veljkovic, singer,
songwriter, composer, guitarist, performer and the last rock and roll rebel,
was born on March 2,
1974 in Belgrade , Serbia, at the crossroads of different
cultures, customs, dogmas and beliefs. Dragan is the elder of two children.
He grew up in a musical family that collected records and listened good music.
He was surrounded with fabulous jazz, blues, gospel and country. Dragan's mother
was very interested in literature and writing poetry, and his father was a
great engineer and passionate jazz record collector.
When Dragan was one, he
had a favourite group George Baker Selection, and a favorite song "Sing
A Song Of Love", with which Dragan took his first steps. When Dragan was
eleven, he acquired his first acoustic guitar. Dragan understood that music
had no boundaries, regardless of the colour of one's skin, race, or religion.
Jimi Hendrix's "Hey Joe" left a great impression on Dragan, and was
crucial in his decision to devote himself to guitar and music in general.
The
first song Dragan ever learned to play on his guitar was "Angie" by
The Rolling Stones. Dragan is a self taught musician. He learned to play by
listening to records, reading books, other literature, and attending concerts
/ shows, watching videos. As Dragan says, the greatest impression on him was
made by
three men: Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, and Oscar Benton.
As an active campaigner
for justice and humans rights, Dragan had many conflicts against the neocommunist
regime in his younger years. After Dragan finished high school, he spent a
year in the army in the country's north, during the Balkan war. When his service
was over, he returned to Belgrade and started work on a career in music.
In
1995, Dragan began to compose songs. He took his inspiration from things around
him. In 1996, he formed his own band, but because of the general crisis and
bad political situation in the country, he had to put his musical career on
hold again. In 1999, during the NATO bombing of Belgrade, Dragan was invited
to join the reputable Rock Union. This well known band had a wealth of experience
and high quality musicians: Matt Clifford (ex ABVH, The Rolling Stones, Mick
Jagger, Yes, Bill Wyman etc.), Phil Spalding (ex Toyah, Mike Oldfield, Elton
John, Terence Trent D' Arby, Nazareth, Roger Chapman, Seal, Right Said Fred,
Roger Taylor, Chris De Burgh, Jimmy Somerville, Ray Carles, Joe Cocker, Kylie
Minogue, Robbie Williams, Mick Jagger, Randy Crawford etc.), Preston Heyman
(ex Atomic Rooster, Bryan Ferry, Kate Bush, Mike Oldfield, Roy Harper, Jimmy
Page, Terence Trent D' Arby, Sting etc.), (RIP) Laza Ristovski (ex Smak, Bijelo
Dugme, Osvajaci etc.), Dragoljub Djuricic (ex Kerber, Leb i Sol, Djordje Balasevic
etc.), Zoran Nastoski (ex Magicno Oko) and (RIP) Dragan Radonjic, founder of
the band.
In 2001with Rock Union, Dragan released the album "Velika
je ljubav" ("Love Is Great"), produced by (RIP) Laza Ristovski,
under the label "HI-FI Center", limited distribution (Serbia only).
Dragan appeared on the album for the first time as a writer and composer. Dragan
looks back on those days with great fondness and honour. After the band broke
up, he decided on a solo career.
In September 2002 Dragan went into one of
Belgrade's best studios and recorded his first ever English album - "Street
Dancer". He collaborated with many excellent musicians, and the album
was produced by Alexandra Stojanovic. Over the next four years, Dragan and
his band toured consistently; playing various clubs, venues and festivals,
and were positively received with rave reviews. This gave Dragan the encouragement
to keep going. In September 2006 Dragan went to Sweden where he met legendary
gospel pianist, Per Erik Hallin (ex Elvis Presley). This meeting left Dragan
awestruck. In April 2007, Dragan signed with "One Records" and in
July 2007, "Street
Dancer" was released. Enjoy the music! (Suzana Denadija, Australian PR
Management - Polar Star International).
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