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Darkwood Dub was a alternative rock band formed in Belgrade in 1988. In the years after the formation the band gradually grew to prominence on the Serbian rock scene, eventually becoming one of the most notable acts of the 1990s and 2000s Serbian and regional scene. Their music spawned many different genres. It was characterized by a mixture of live drummer and electronic percussion with frequent use of slide guitar, and samplers and succinct and introspective lyrics, sung with offbeat vocals of Dejan Vučetić. The band cooperated with a number of musicians—most notably prominent jazz musicians Vasil Hadžimanov and Bisera Veletanlić—and composed scores for several films and theatre plays. The group released eight studio albums before disbanding in 2017.
The band had their first live appearances at the Belgrade Students' Cultural Centre in May 1991. During the same year, the band released their first recordings, the tracks "Veliki duh" ("The Great Spirit") and "Srećna glava" ("Happy Head"), on the Nova Aleksandrija record label various artists compilation Želim jahati do ekstaze ( I Want to Ride to Ecstasy), also featuring the bands Presing, Kazna Za Uši, Klajberi and Euforija. The release immediately became a rarity since all the records were printed in Zagreb where, due to the outbreak of the Yugoslav Wars, remained to be sold in Croatia only.
In May 1996 the band released their second album, U nedogled ( Into the Indefinite), produced by the band themselves and released by B92 Records. The album featured vocal versions of the tracks recorded for Package Arrangement. Plejboj member Dušan Petrović appeared as guest on the album, playing saxophone and upright bass. Having precisely formed their musical expression, the band got positive reactions from both the critics and the audience. The tracks "Treći Vavilon" ("The Third Babylon"), "Imamo situaciju" ("We Have a Situation"), "Hej! Gringo" ("Hey! Gringo") and the title track were widely praised. On this album the band introduced sampling in their work, with some of the tracks featuring samples from Aswad and Lee Scratch Perry songs. The album was pronounced the album of the year 1996 by a number of the Serbian music critics, and after the album release, for the first time, the band went on a promotional tour.
In 1997 the band recorded music for the play Trainspotting, based on the Irvine Welsh novel of the same name, performed at the BITEF theatre and directed by Đorđe Marjanović. The recorded material was released on the album entitled simply Darkwood Dub, which also featured five remixes made by Chiq Toxiq, Velja Mijanović and Boris Krstajić. The tracks like "Sila" ("Force"), "Strategija bumerang" ("Boomerang Strategy") and "Sistem" ("System") featured the band experimenting with Dub music and drum and bass.
In 2002 the band released their fifth studio album, Život počinje u 30-oj ( Life Begins at 30), produced by Saša Janković and featuring guest appearance by Presing vocalist Zoran Radović "Kiza". Život počinje u 30-oj was pronounced one of the best albums of the year by the webzine Popboks critics. During the year the band also recorded the soundtrack for the film Ogledalo ( Mirror), directed by Dejan Kovačević. The following year, the album U nedogled was remastered and reissued on CD, featuring bonus material consisting of the track "Smak" ("The End of the World") and demo version of the track "Filadelfija" ("Philadelphia"). During the same year, the band also participated in the Milan Mladenović tribute album Kao da je bilo nekad... (Posvećeno Milanu Mladenoviću) ( As if It Had Happened Sometime... (Dedicated to Milan Mladenović)) with the track "Geto" ("Ghetto") originally released on the album Katarina II.
Their sixth studio album, O danima ( About the Days), produced by the band themselves and released in 2004, featured nine tracks, including "Laka radost" ("Easy Joy") and the title track for which as guest vocalist appeared Veliki Prezir vocalist Vladimir Kolarić "Kole", and the track "Centrala" ("Central Station"), featuring Lira Vega member Vladimir Đorđević on lead vocals. The album was recorded under the work title Melos, but was eventually renamed due to the usage of the phrase in turbo folk music. During the same year, the band performed live in the play Rat/Sećanja ( War/Memories), co-directed by Đorđe Marjanović and writer Putu Wijaya and performed in Atelje 212 theatre. In 2006 the band performed as the opening act for Morrissey on his concert in Zagreb.
In 2008 the band released the album Jedinstvo ( Unity). The guitarist Vladimir Jerić had left the band prior to the album release, and after the album release the vacant spot was filled with a keyboard player, Vasil Hadžimanov, who had already gained prominence as a jazz musician. At the end of the year the track "Ženeva" ("Geneva") was voted the sixth most popular single in 2008 at B92 and the fifth at the same list on Studio B. In 2009 Darkwood Dub was nominated for the best MTV Adria regional act at the Awards. During the same year, on the webzine Popboks annual lists, the single from Jedinstvo "Šećer" ("Sugar") was voted the tenth most popular single in 2009 and the music video for the track "Robot" appeared at the sixth place at the Music Video of the Year Award. The track "130" appeared on the first place of the Jelen Top 10 list for two weeks in March 2010.
In April 2011, the band released the song "Nešto sasvim izvesno" ("Something Quite for Certain"), featuring the famous jazz singer Bisera Veletanlić, for free music download through the Exit Music online record label. The single was announcing their eight studio album. In June of the same year the band released yet another single promoting the upcoming studio release, "Kraj oktobra" ("The End of October"). In July the band released their eight studio album, Vidimo se ( See You) for free digital download thorough Exit Music, as well as on compact disc through Odličan Hrčak. The compact disc edition featured two songs not included on the download edition, the album title track and the song "Tama" ("Darkness"). "Oduvek volimo da eksperimentišemo", Blic.rs In autumn of 2012 Darkwood Dub and Bisera Veletanlić started a tour across Serbia, with performance at the Belgrade Jazz Festival as the first one. Just before the beginning of the tour, the band and Veletlanić released new versions of Veletanlić's old hit "Milo moje" ("My Dear") "Darkwood Dub & Bisera "Milo Moje"", b92.net and "Ručak za dvoje" ("Lunch for Two"), originally released as the B-side for "Milo moje" single. The concerts on the tour were performed mostly in theaters and similar venues. In 2013 Hadžimanov left the band and Darkwood Dub continued as a quartet.
In the summer of 2014 Ristić stated that the band is working on a new studio album. "Novi album sastava Darkwood Dub stiže na jesen", b92.net However, Darkwood Dub ended their activity in 2017 due to lasting disagreements within the band. "Dejan Vučetić Vuča (Minilinija): I dalje verujem u moć muzike", Balkanrock.com
In 2006, the song "Kolotečina" ("The Rut") was ranked No. 33, and the song "Treći Vavilon" was ranked No. 35 on the B92 Top 100 Domestic Songs list. The B92 Top 100 Domestic Songs list at B92 official site
The "Zapremina tela" lyrics were featured in Petar Janjatović's book ( Songs of Brotherhood, Childhood & Progeny: Anthology of Ex YU Rock Poetry 1967 - 2007).
Based on Darkwood Dub song "Usamljeni hašišar" ("The Lonesome Hashish Eater"), which appeared on the band's debut, Đorđe Marjanović and Nikola Majdak Junior recorded an animated movie of the same name, which got the Yugoslav ASIFA reward for animation.
| 2009 | MTV Europe Music Awards | Best Adriatic Act |
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