Today Balkan Express will do some required reading. Or listening, as it were. Croatian pop punk band Psihomodo Pop are an institution unto themselves and as such deserve a place in the pantheon of Balkan rock and roll

Psihomodo pop came about way back in 1983 on burnt remains of a band called Nero or Neron in Croatian. Formed by Tigran Kalebota-Tigi and Smiljan Paradiš-Šparka, they coopted Neven Kepeski – Kepa and Davor Gobac. And when Kepeski left, to be replaced Saša Novak Radulović – Sale in 1985, the band hit the dirt in earnest.

Psihomodo Pop headcount increased by one in 1987, when Vlatko Čavar – Brada joined the outfit. And a year later, full five years after its formation, the band finally released their first album. Titled Godina Zmaja / The Year of the Dragon, it won popular and critical acclaim, propelling the group to early stardom.

Somewhat uncharacteristically for Balkan bands, Psihomodo pop won international praise early on, as they appeared at a Dutch rock festival and then – crucially – their early hit Ja volim samo sebe / I Only Love Myself got airplay on MTV. Which, as senior citizens will remember, was the holy grail of music industry at the time.

Late 80s were as fruitful as they could be for Psihomodo Pop, including a wildly successful tour of the Soviet Union, which at the time still existed. And then, closer to home, the band opened for the Ramones on their tour of Slovenia and Croatia

Remarkably, Psihomodo Pop are still very much active. Over the years, they released eleven studio albums, two of which hold a special place in the band’s discography. Both Srebrne Svinje (Silver Pigs) and Debakl / Debacle won numerous awards and are generally thought to be the pinnacle of their artistic expression. Their latest is titled Digitalno nebo / Digital Sky and was released in 2019.

The band’s longevity and energy often draw comparisons to the Rolling Stones, even though they are much more punk than the Charlie Watts Quartet. Be that as it may, not unlike the Stones, Psihomodo Pop provided several rock anthems that transcended time and space and came to define rock music of the Balkans.

And that’s all the time we have for today. Check out Psihomodo Pop on YouTube, Spotify and wherever you get your music from and Balkan Express will be back next week.

—

Balkan Express brings you the latest and/or the greatest in music from the Balkans. On air every Tuesday at 11am on Ara City Radio, it is hosted by Aljaž aka @pengovsky who once did the world a solid and vowed never to sing again in public. Which is how he ended up doing radio.