Igra Staklenih Perli (; trans. The Glass Bead Game) was a Yugoslav progressive/psychedelic rock band formed in Belgrade in 1976.
The band was formed by keyboardist Zoran LakiÃÂ, guitarist Vojkan Rakiàand percussionist Predrag Vukoviàand was later joined by bass guitarist and vocalist Draà ¡ko Nikodijeviàand drummer Dejan à  oÃÂ. After the release of their debut self-titled album in 1978, Nikodijeviàwas replaced by Slobodan TrbojeviÃÂ. The band released one more studio album, Vrt svetlosti in 1980, before disbanding in 1985. In 2011, the band reunited for two concerts, after which Nikodijeviàand Vukoviàrecorded an album with a group of younger musicians under the name Igra Staklenih Perli The Next Generation.
The band was formed in 1976 by old school friends, Zoran Lakià"à  vaba" (keyboards) Vojkan Rakià(guitar) and Predrag Vukovià(percussion). The band chose their name after Hermann Hesse's book The Glass Bead Game and were musically influenced by early Pink Floyd, Can, Tangerine Dream, Hawkwind and Jimi Hendrix. Until the arrival of the bass guitarist and vocalist Draà ¡ko "Drak" NikodijeviÃÂ, the band did not appear live.
Their first live appearances were at the amateur theatre festival Tokovi (Streams) at Voà ¾dovac and in the Dadov Theatre. In autumn of 1977 they were joined by drummer Dragan à  oÃÂ. Having played numerous free concerts at Belgrade's Students' Cultural Center and in the open in New Belgrade's Block 45, the band established a cult status and was offered a record contract by the PGP-RTB record label. In August 1978 they entered the studio and recorded their debut, self-titled album which featured the tracks "Guà ¡terov trg" ("Lizard Square"), "Solarni modus" ("Solar Modus"), "Putovanje u plavo" ("Voyage into Blue"), "PeÃÂurka" ("Mushroom") and "Majestetski kraj" ("Majestic End"). Most of the songs featured English language lyrics, with only "Putovanje u plavo" featuring lyrics in Serbo-Croatian. The track "PeÃÂurka" was recorded as a tribute to the band Can. The album cover was designed by VukoviÃÂ, who held a university degree in art history. In the interviews following the album release, the band described their music as "the music of the stream of consciousness". By then the group was appearing live with Goran CvetiÃÂ, a disk jockey and a journalist, who was in charge of the light show, slide shows and film projections during the performance. Their appearance at the Belgrade Faculty of Dental Medicine was bootlegged by Cvetiàon a simple tape recorder for his personal archive. These recordings would later be released on the live album Soft Explosion Live.
Prior to the recording of the second album, Draà ¡ko Nikodijeviàleft the band and was replaced by Slobodan TrbojeviÃÂ, who was at the time the bass guitarist for the jazz band Ptica (Bird) and Dà ¾uboks music magazine correspondent. The second album, entitled Vrt svetlosti (The Garden Of Light), was recorded from August 1979 until January 1980. The album was produced by Aleksandar Pilipenko. It featured five fantasy- and science fiction-inspired tracks: "IgraÃÂ" ("Dancer"), "ÃÂarobnjaci" ("Wizards"), "Vrt svetlosti" ("The Garden of Light"), "Lunarni Modus" ("Lunar Modus") and "Sanjaà ¡" ("You Are Dreaming"). The album featured female vocalist Dragana à  ariÃÂ, who would later start a successful solo career under the name Bebi Dol. Cover art was designed by Vukoviàand designer Dejan Popov, but the original version of the cover was refused by PGP-RTB as "unprofessionally designed", although it was likely refused as overly psychedelic. The album was promoted at a fashion show in Beko hall in Belgrade. In 1980 Rakiàwas replaced by guitarist Ivan PajeviÃÂ, and Nikodijeviàreturned to the band. In 1982 director Stanko Crnobrnja made a short film about the band entitled Na svoj naÃÂin (In Their Own Way).
The band's last live appearance was in 1985, in the Sava Center concert hall in Belgrade, on the celebration concert dedicated to the anniversary of the youth magazine ITD. On this show the band performed with musician and music critics Aleksandar à ½ikiàon guitar. Recordings for the third album with the working title ISP III were never officially released, but later appeared on the band's official MySpace page.
During the 1970s and the 1980s, many Belgrade musicians played with the band as guests. Out of the official members, the following took part: guitar players Goran Vejvoda, Aleksandar à ½ikiàand Bojan Kveder, keyboard player Zoran ZagorÃÂià(of ElektriÃÂni Orgazam), and drummer Ivica VdoviàVd (of à  arlo Akrobata).
In 1983, Nikodijeviàformed the post-punk band White Rabbit Band with the female drummer Snow White. The band was originally formed to appear in the avant-garde play Alisa u zemlji ÃÂuda (Alice in Wonderland), directed by Ià ¡tvan LaliÃÂ. Although the production eventually got cancelled, the band continued to perform, featuring Rakiàon guitar and Svetolik Trifunovià"Trile" on bass guitar. The recordings made by the band during the mid-1980s appeared in 2000 on the album 1986. In 1987, Nikodijeviàmoved to New York, where he formed the band Go Ask Alice with a group of local musicians, and later he started White Rabbit CVLT project with former Luna and Pekinà ¡ka Patka guitarist Zoran "Bale" BulatoviÃÂ. In 1999, White Rabbit CVLT self-released the album ...And the Gods Made Wars, thematically inspired by the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. After the album recording, Nikodijeviàand Bulatoviàformed the band Collateral Damage with former Ekatarina Velika drummer Ivan Fece "Firchie", former ElektriÃÂni Orgazam keyboardist Ljubomir ÃÂukiàand former Bezobrazno Zeleno guitarist Vojislav Beà ¡ià"Beà ¡ke".
During summer 1991, German record label Kalemegdan Disk released three Igra Stalkenih Perli LPs. The first one, Soft Explosion Live, featured CvetiÃÂ's recording of the concert at the Belgrade Faculty of Dental Medicine. In 1993, the album was remixed and re-released, with some of the tracks shortened and the track "Majestic End" replaced by the final part of the song "Soft Explosion". The next release was Inner Flow which featured unreleased material recorded during the 1976-1979 period. The third Kalemegdan Disk release was Drives, which featured recordings from a four-hours session recorded in April 1977, backed with re-recordings made by RakiÃÂ, VukoviÃÂ and keyboard player Zoran ZagorÃÂiÃÂ from the band Du Du A. Most of the artwork for these releases was designed by VukoviÃÂ.
In 2005, Austrian record label Atlantide reissued both Igra Staklenih Perli and Vrt Svetlosti on vinyl. In 2007, remastered editions of both Igra Staklenih Perli studio albums appeared in Serbia and Germany. PGP-RTS edition Retrologija (Retrology), dedicated to remastered albums, featured both studio albums on one CD entitled Igra Svetlosti (The Game Of Light). German label Second Harvest remastered and expanded both albums on separate CDs. Igra Staklenih Perli was expanded with live tracks from Soft Explosion Live, while Vrt svetlosti was expanded with the recordings from Inner Flow.
Igra Staklenih Perli reunited in 2011, featuring old members Draà ¡ko Nikodijevià(bass guitar, vocals), Zoran Lakià(keyboards, vocals) and Predrag Vukovià(percussion, vocals), and young musicians Ivan Stankovià(guitar, vocals) and Sinister Borg (drums). After two concerts in Belgrade club à ½ica, Draà ¡ko NikodijeviÃÂ, Predrag Vukoviàand Ivan Stankoviàcontinued to work under the name Igra Staklenih Perli The Next Generation, with Vlada Funtek on drums and Spomenka Miliàon vocals and keyboards. In November 2012, the group released the studio album Apokaliptus. The album was available for free download through Exit Music. The album, produced by Duà ¡an Kojià"Koja" (of Disciplina KiÃÂme) and recorded by Boris Mladenovià(of Jarboli, Veliki Prezir and Sila), featured guest appearances by Dejan Utvar on drums and Ljubomir ÃÂukiàof ElektriÃÂni Orgazam on keyboards and vocals. Shortly after the album release, Nikodijeviàreformed the White Rabbit Band with Andrija Babovià(guitar, vocals) and Borko Petrovià(drums).
Vojkan Rakiàdied in Belgrade on 21 July 2019. Draà ¡ko Nikodijeviàdied in Belgrade on 1 August 2021. Before his death Nikodijeviàfinished the recording of White Rabbit Band's first official studio album, entitled Ek-A-Tattwa. The album was released posthumously in 2022.