Supernaut () is a Serbian alternative rock band from Belgrade.
Having performed as DDT, formed in 1989 by former à  arlo Akrobata member Ivan Vdovià"VD" (drums, rhythm machine), with SrÃÂan Markovià"ÃÂile" (vocals) and Miodrag Stojanovià"ÃÂeza" (rhythm machine), the band changed the name to Supernaut, after VdoviÃÂ's death in 1992. Influenced by the band Suicide, the rest of the band continued working in the same musical direction as on their previous efforts with DDT, explained by the band members as the "social art and its reflections on theatre, painting, film, and rock music". At the time, the band became a support for the Sonja Saviàalternative theatre troupe, performing at various alternative theater festivals.
The debut studio album, BuduÃÂnost sada (The Future Now), released in 1993 by the independent record label Zvono Records, featured an experimental form of industrial rock, crossed with diverse musical influences, including the 1960s acid rock acts such as the 13th Floor Elevators. The album, available on compact cassette only, featuring the prominent tracks "Ja sam jedini" ("I Am The Only One") and "ÃÂaj" ("Tea"), provided the band with the title "the most non-commercial band in Belgrade". The cover for the album was designed by MarkoviÃÂ, which was also the case with all their later releases.
The next release was the Live in Zombietown, a live album released in 1995 and recorded at the BITEF theatre on September 7, 1995, during the Zombietown movie premier, in a new lineup, featuring the new bassist Saà ¡a RadiÃÂ, who previously worked with Kazimirov Kazneni Korpus, presenting the band's minimalist music live intensity. The album was released by the independent record label Urbazona Trotorock, founded by the Belgrade underground painter Momir Grujià"Fleka", in collaboration with Radio B92 in 300 copies only, but free of copyright limitations, thus available for free copying and broadcasting. After the album release, Stojanoviàleft the band.
On mid-1997, the band changed the lineup which, beside Markovià(guitar, vocals) and Radià(bass), featured Svetolik Trifunovià"Trile" (rhythm machine). Together, they recorded Nià ¾e nego ljudski (Less Than Human), recorded at the Triling studio during the Summer of 1997, and released in 1998. The album featured the band's first hit song "Tata Roll" ("Papa Roll"). Most of the tracks from the album already appeared on Live in Zombietown, however, the song arrangements were changed with the inclusion of MarkoviÃÂ's guitar sections, moving towards psychobilly, blues and hard rock, making a fusion of rock & roll and electronic music. Having left the band, Trifunoviàformed the experimental music duo Tron, with the Presing frontman Zoran Radovià"Kiza", performing improvised instrumental music.
The new lineup, featuring backing vocalists Aleksandra Arizanoviàand Dejana JovanoviÃÂ, recorded the album Raj na nebu, pakao na Zemlji (Heaven in the Sky, Hell on Earth), released by the independent record label Beograund in 2000. The album featured cover versions of the Kraftwerk single "Das Model", with lyrics in Serbian entitled "Model", for which a promotional video was recorded, and Dr. Feelgood song "Because You're Mine". The song "Superzao" ("Superevil"), which appeared on the album, was written and performed by Markoviàduring the period with DDT. After the album release, the band went on hiatus, reactivating in 2005, in the lineup SrÃÂan Markovià(vocals, guitar, sequencing) and Saà ¡a Radià(bass, rhythm machine).
After a six-year discography break, the band recorded the album Eli (short for Eli Eli lama sabachthani, trans. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?), released by Automatik Records in 2006. The album, featuring guest appearance by the former Urbana Gerila and Laibach drummer Dragoslav Radojkovià"Draà ¾a", included cover versions of Atomsko Sklonià ¡te song "Pakleni vozaÃÂi" ("Hell Drivers"), The Stooges song "No Fun", and The Cramps' "Human Fly". The album appeared on the fifth place on the annual webzine Popboks list of the best albums released in 2006. Promotional videos were recorded for the tracks "à  ifra" ("Password") and "Oh mili (Neupokojeni)" ("Oh, Dear Ones (The Undead)"), both directed by Joca Backulja. After the album release, the band lineup had included an additional guitar player, Vlada BuriÃÂ, with whom the band appeared on the RTS 2 television show Bunt (Rebellion), and performed at the 2006 Jelen Pivo Live festival on December 16, 2006, however, the lineup did not last long and the band remained a duo.
In 2008, the band finished the recording sessions for the new studio album, with the working title Supernaut 6. Announcing the album, recorded at the Master Blaster studio, MarkoviÃÂ stated that it was musically a followup of the previous two albums, but with more complex guitar arrangements and production. In order to retain an authentic sound, the material, written and arranged by MarkoviÃÂ and RadiÃÂ, featured a fifteen-year-old rhythm machine and twice as older guitar and bass guitar. Despite the announcement that Automatik Records was to release the album, the band was looking for a record label to release the new album for the following two years. Also, bassist RadiÃÂ announced that the band was looking for the original tapes from the first three albums, available only on compact cassette, in order to rerelease them on CD.
In April 2010, the band independently released the fifth studio album, Pobuna maà ¡ina (Rebellion of the Machines), thus completing the trilogy of albums which started with Raj na nebu, pakao na Zemlji and Eli. The album, consisting of ten songs, presented the band's final collaboration with the deceased producer Goran à ½ivkoviÃÂ, who also produced BuduÃÂnost sada and Eli. The album featured two previously released songs, "ÃÂavo pod maskom" ("Devil in Disguise"), originally recorded and released in 1987 on the various artists compilation Beogradski grafiti - Bad Boy Rock (Belgrade Graffiti - Bad Boy Rock) by Markoviàwith his former band PlaÃÂenici, also featuring Partibrejkers guitarist Nebojà ¡a Antonijevià"Anton" and Miodrag Stojanovià"ÃÂeza", and the title track, first released on Live in Zombietown, as well as the cover version of the Roky Erickson track "Nothing In Return", with lyrics in Serbian entitled "Nià ¡ta zauzvrat". After the album release, on July 18, 2010, the band performed on BELEF, the Belgrade Summer festival.
The following year, on January 28, Pobuna maà ¡ina appeared on the 13th place of the Popboks list for the best domestic album in 2010. The following month, the critics of Popboks made a list of the best domestic albums released in the previous decade on which the album Eli appeared on the 41st place. At the time, VujiÃÂiàKolekcija released the monograph Nià ¾e nego ljudski: SrÃÂan ÃÂile Markoviài andergraund figuracija (Less Than Human: SrÃÂan ÃÂile Markoviàand the Underground Figuration) by Nikola DediÃÂ, featuring MarkoviÃÂ's works from 1987 until 2011, promoted with an exhibition of MarkoviÃÂ's works as well as the projection of the film Superstvarnost (Superreality), recorded by Supernaut and Sonja SaviÃÂ, and Supernaut music videos. In May of the same year, at the Belgrade Mixer festival, the Serbian alternative rock band NeoÃÂekivana Sila Koja Se Iznenada Pojavljuje i Reà ¡ava Stvar performed the album Live in Zombietown in its entirety, with the whole performance being broadcast on Radio B92.
With the actress Sonja SaviÃÂ, the band worked on the theater pieces Ubistvo na ivici grada (A Murder on the Edge of Town), Superstvarnost (Superreality) and Play, for the former two the band recorded alternative film versions, directed by Sonja SaviÃÂ. The latter two were turned into films, Superstvarnost, a 55-minute film, dealing with 300,000 intellectuals who had left Yugoslavia in order avoid the Yugoslav wars, and Play, a computer-animated movie featuring MarkoviÃÂ's animations, dealing with the 1997 student protests in Belgrade.
Beside the two films, the troupe appeared in a musical semi-documentary Filmska akademija SuperNaut-BelgradeUnderground (The SuperNaut-BelgradeUnderground Movie Academy). The film soundtracks were entirely recorded by the band themselves. The three plays were also presented to the London audience at the Tate Gallery. After the performance of the piece Play, in 1997, the band stopped collaborating with Sonja SaviÃÂ.
In March 1996, the band participated the International Alternative Theatre Festival FIAT, and the following year, at the Novi Sad Spens Sports Center organized the VeÃÂe Supernauta (A Supernaut Evening), which featured a rock concert, a theater play, and an art exhibition. During the same year, the band appeared as performers in the film Geto (Ghetto), starring the ElektriÃÂni Orgazam drummer Goran ÃÂavajda "ÃÂavke". They also wrote the plays Masovna narkomanija (Massive Drug Addiction), Superstvarnost II (Kosmogonija) (Superreality II (Cosmogony)), and Pobuna maà ¡ina (Rebellion of the Machines), the later being co-written with the painter Miomir Grujià"Fleka".