Tako (band)

Tako (Serbian Cyrillic: Тако, trans. That Way) was a former Yugoslav symphonic rock band from Belgrade.

History
Tako was formed in 1974 by Dušan "Dule" Ćućuz (bass guitar), Đorđe Ilijin (keyboards), Sava Bojić (guitar, vocals) and Milan "Mića Žorž" Lolić (drums). Previously, Dušan Ćućuz was a member of Džentlmeni and Plameni 6, he was one of the original Opus members, and in the first half of the 1970s he worked as YU grupa's sound engineer, Sava Bojić was one of the original Pop Mašina members, and Đorđe Ilijin worked as a music teacher and often appeared as a guest musician on other bands' album recordings. Initially, the band performed their own songs, as well as Jimi Hendrix Experience and Santana covers. During 1975, they made their first demo recordings, the songs "Čujem svoje misli" ("I Hear My Thoughts"), "Daždevnjak" ("Salamander"), "Lena" and "Čudan grad" ("Strange Town"), in Radio Belgrade studios.

In 1977, guitarist and singer Miroslav Dukić (a former Koren member ) and drummer Slobodan Felekatović replaced Bojić and Lolić. Tako became an opening band on a Bijelo Dugme tour, performing on Bijelo Dugme's concert at Hajdučka česma. In November 1977, Tako and progressive/acoustic rock band S Vremena Na Vreme organized a quadraphonic sound concert in Belgrade Youth Center. Tako also had a successful appearance at the 1978 Novi Sad BOOM festival. After they were refused as "non-commercial" by several major record labels, they signed for ZKP RTLJ after their performance at the Youth Festival in Subotica. The band released their debut self-titled album in 1978. The album featured symphonic rock-oriented songs with jazz elements. The song "Lena" featured S Vremena Na Vreme member Asim Sarvan on vocals. The song "Minijatura" ("Miniature") was a tribute to the band Jethro Tull. The band promoted the album with a free concert held at Kalemegdan. After another quadraphonic sound concert organized with S Vremena Na Vreme in Belgrade Youth Center, Tako went on hiatus in 1979 because Ilijin got arthritis and Miroslav Dukić left the band.

A year later, the band continued their activity. Their second album, U vreći za spavanje (In a Sleeping Bag), was released in September 1980 through PGP-RTB. Every song on the album was produced by the member of the band who wrote it. The band went on a tour, however, due to the departure of Slobodan Felekatović, who left the band due to his army obligations, and due to the great popularity of New Wave bands, Tako disbanded. They held their farewell concert at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy at the beginning of 1981.

Post breakup
After the disbandment, Dukić became a studio musician, while Ćućuz worked as a sound engineer for hard rock bands Kerber and Divlje Jagode. Ilijin dedicated himself to music education and archaeology, but he also produced albums by several bands. In 1983, he released the solo album Zabranjeno prisluškivanje (Eavesdropping Forbidden) on which he sung and played all the instruments except drums (which were played by Vladimir "Furda" Furduj, a former Elipse, Siluete and Korni Grupa member).

In 1993, German record label Kalemegdan Disk reissued both Tako albums on vinyl. Both albums featured new luxurious covers designed by Momčilo Rajin. Tako reissue featured "Put na jug" ("Journey to the South"), and U vreći za spavanje reissue featured "Izgubljeno ništa" ("Lost Nothing") and "Horde mira" ("Hordes of Peace") as bonus tracks. All of these tracks were recorded during the 1975—1981 period, but were previously unreleased. In 1994, the song "U vreći za spavanje" was released on Komuna compilation album Plima: Progresvna muzika (Tide: Progressive Music), which featured songs by former Yugoslav progressive rock acts. In 1996, Brazilian record label Rocksymphony reissued both Tako and U vreći za spavanje on compact disc.

In 2010 Miroslav Dukić, under the name D Mirro, rerecorded old Tako songs, releasing them on the album Tako Reloaded.

Band members

 * Dušan Ćućuz - bass guitar, vocals (1974—1981)
 * Đorđe Ilijin - keyboards, harmonica, flute, harp, vocals (1974—1981)
 * Sava Bojić - guitar, vocals (1974—1977)
 * Milan Lolić - drums (1974—1977)
 * Miroslav Dukić - guitar, vocals (1977—1981)
 * Slobodan Felekatović - drums (1977—1981)

Studio albums

 * Tako (1978)
 * U vreći za spavanje (1980)