Presing

Band formed in Belgrade, Serbia, in the end of 1990 The founder and the leader of the band is Zoran Radović aka Kiza, the bass-player of the extremely interesting Belgrade band Pasmaters , the distant relative of the New York no wave band James Chance & Contortions. The person who mediated the creation of the band is Miki Ristić, the bass player of another Belgrade band of the same generation, Darkwood Dub, who used to play in the high school punk-rock band together with Kraka(Vladimir Marković), and who recommended Kiza this guitar player as an intriguing alternative for the new band of his. The only problem was that Kraka used to live in London at that time.

After hearing from Miki about new band plans, Kraka comes back to Belgrade almost immediately. The first rehearsal was held in the end of November 1990 in the basement of SKC, the birthplace of the whole 1980’s Belgrade new wave scene. It proved immediately that the junction of the Kiza’s and Kraka’s vibrations is very fruitful. The first line up was a trio, as Kiza used to play the bass guitar, but in the first half of 1991, Kiza wants to be hands free to concentrate on singing, and the new bass player comes to the band, Roman, at that time the bass player of Euphoria. The band was given the name “Pressing”, meaning pressure defence in basketball, the sport Kraka used to practice in high school.

The band remained attached to the post new wave guitar sound as a dominant for all the years of its career, with influences ranging from the psychedelic soul of Sly&The Family Stone, free jazz of Mingus and Coltrane, minimal pop experiments of the early Kraftwerk, Can, Pere Ubu, Red Krayolla and Captain Beefheart, post new wave of The Fall, Cocteau Twins, David Sylvian, Dali’s Car, Gun Club, and many others. The lyrics of Kiza’s, by many relevant opinions the biggest living Serbian post-punk poet, joined to the unusual way of guitar playing of Kraka’s create the specific aesthetics of the band which is constantly tending to mutate and move the previously heard matrix off the edge, inside of the still solid song construction.

The first record contract the band got when in the spring of 1991, right before the war began, the owner of the pioneer of independent record publishing in ex-Yugoslavia, Zdenko Franjic, came to Belgrade and heard two bands practicing in the same basement room in SKC, Pressing and Darkwood Dub. He offered them first the single then the LP record with each band on one side, and the final song was supposed to be the cover of each other. Then by the end of the year both bands were supposed to release albums on Zdenko’s Zagreb based “Listen Loudest” label, and to tour major cities of former Yugoslavia. Out of the entire plan, they got to complete the single “Macho” / “Oboye”, that appeared on the compilation LP of Belgrade bands “I wanna ride till the ecstasy” (“Listen Loudest” / “Nova Aleksandrija” 1991).

In the end of June 1991 war began and members of Pressing spread in various European countries, boycotting the mobilization. In the spring of 1992 war seemed to be over, and Pressing gathered again in Belgrade, finishing its first album, “The Story of Totem, Spirit-That-Walks, Dog and Disappointed Woman”. The album was released in Zagreb – the material being sent through some channels in Hungary, as all the communication between Serbia and Croatia was torn and it took significant dose of courage to release such thing due to hostile atmosphere on the both sides. The album was rated as #2 album of the year by the prestigious music magazine “Ritam”, and also as #2 album on the annual list of ex-Yugoslav rockandroll albums made by Italian Radio Udine, behind “Laibach”.

In 1993 band started recording the single for its second album, and the song recorded then, “Mammoth Hills”, remains the biggest success in the band’s career, reaching #1 chart in all the most important radios in the country, being included to the soundtrack of the movie “Ghetto” by Ivan Markov, and the compilation CD “Radio Utopia” by B’92, the 5th anniversary CD of the MTV award winner radio. However, the already prepared album was not recorded, due to the serious health problems Kiza suffered for couple of years.

It lead to a 3 years break, during which period Kraka released an album with his band Tornado Birds.

In the end of 1996, Pressing reunited, recruiting Tornado Birds bass player Rac, and by the spring 1997, the new album was ready. B’92 showed serious interest in publishing it but before the talks were over, Crack was unexpectedly drafted by the Yugoslav Army and sent for a year long service.

The album “Sixth Heaven” was recorded in December 1999, but then, due to the conceptual misunderstanding with the label “Beoground” that produced it, the release was delayed for another two and half years. The label insisted on serious computer editing interventions that were not acceptable for the band, as they were changing the structure of songs. The release of the album was legally banned until the problem was solved by agreement. Finally the band found the new publisher and the album appeared as it is, on Belgrade based “Square” label, in May 2002.

By the end of June the first single video taken from the album, “Rhythm That You Stay In”, reached #1 in all the relevant Serbian charts, starting from the most prestigious local lists at TV B’92 and Studio B Television, to all the other relevant TV and radio stations and magazines. The album itself moves from #2 to #1 position in the number of sold copies in the country’s largest IPS Music Store chain list.

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Bend nastao u Beogradu, krajem 1990. Osnivac i vodja benda je Kiza Radovic, dotadasnji basista beogradske grupe Pasmaters, izuzetno zanimljivog beogradskog pandana njujorskog no wave sastava James Chance & Contortions. Nastanku Presinga kumovao je basista sastava Darkwood Dub, Miki Ristic, koji je par godina ranije svirao u srednjoskolskom pank bendu sa Krakom, i koji je Kizi preporucio ovog gitaristu kao zanimljivo resenje za njegov novonastajuci bend. Jedini problem bilo je to sto je Kraka (Vladimir Markovic) u to vreme ziveo u Londonu.

Saznavsi iz telefonskog razgovora sa Mikijem da je Kiza zainteresovan da osnuje bend s njim, Kraka istog trenutka pakuje kofere i dolazi u Beograd. Par dana nakon povratka, zakazana je prva proba u podrumu SKC-a, i pokazalo se da je spoj Kizine i Krakine vibracije veoma plodonosan. Bend je nastao. Prvu postavu cine Kiza – bas i vokal, Kraka – gitara i Boban Asanovic – bubnjevi. Nakon nekoliko meseci Kiza zeli da se usredsredi samo na pevanje i u bend dolazi basista iz ”Euforija”, Roman Gorsek.

Prvi period rada Presinga vezan je za saradnju i intenzivno druzenje sa Darkwood Dub-om. Bendovi dele istu prostoriju za vezbe, prvi nastupi i jednog i drugog benda su zajednicki, clanovi bendova takodje rotiraju i/ili gostuju jedni kod drugih. U prolece 1991 Zdenko Franjic, vlasnik pionirske nezavisne izdavacke kuce u bivsoj Jugoslaviji, ”Slusaj najglasnije!” iz Zagreba ima ideju da izda LP sa Presingom na jednoj i Darkwood Dub na drugoj strani ploce; po jedna pesma na svakoj strani trebalo je da bude uzajamna obrada (Darkwood Dub ce kasnije tu obradu Presinga svirati na koncertima, bila je to numera ”Zabava”). Vec je bila odredjena i dinamika izdavanja, najpre je bio na redu singl koji ce se naci na kompilaciji ”Zelim jahati do ekstaze”, zajednickom izdanju beogradske ”Nove Aleksandrije” i zagrebackog ”Slusaj najglasnije” (kljucni kompilacijaski album beogradske scene s pocetaka 90-tih: Presing, Darkwood Dub, Klajberi, Euforija, KZU – LP odstampan 1991, objavljen tek 2000), zatim split album Darkwood Dub i Presinga sredinom jula, i do kraja godine zasebni albumi oba benda, eventualna zajednicka turneja po zapadnim ex-Yu predelima…

Pocetak rata pomeo je ove planove, i od svega toga ostvarilo se samo snimanje kompilacije ”Zelim jahati do ekstaze,” koja je jos iste godine odstampana u ”Jugotonu” da bi se tek 2000. godine nasla na trzistu. Sklanjajuci se od mobilizacije clanovi benda odlaze u Nemacku (Boban i Roman) i Svedsku (Kraka).

Po zavrsetku rata u Hrvatskoj, Kraka i Roman vracaju se u Beograd i Presing nastavlja sa radom. Boban se nije vratio, i umesto njega u bend dolazi dotadasnji bubnjar Klajbera, Misko Radivojevic. Bend zavrsava snimanje albuma krajem maja 1992, i album se pojavljuje krajem iste godine u Zagrebu, na etiketi ”Slusaj najglasnije”: u jeku rata materijal je poslat Franjicu preko Madjarske i on je bio dovoljno hrabar da to objavi. Pocetkom 1993 i u Srbiji izlazi album Presinga naslovljen ”Prica o totemu, duhu koji hoda, psu i razocaranoj zeni” (Sorabia Disk). Album dobija nepodeljene odlicne kritike i nalazi se na drugom mestu godisnje liste albuma casopisa ”Ritam” za 1993 (iza Boye), kao i na drugom mestu godisnje liste albuma sa ex-Yu prostora italijanskog Radija Udine, iza Laibacha.

Pred sam izlazak albuma, Misko i Roman odlaze iz benda i osnivaju Plejboj; oni objavljuju u medijima da Presing vise ne postoji; stvara se utisak da je ”Plejboj novi Presing,” tim pre sto novi bend zvuci jako slicno Presingu, cemu doprinosi i saksofon Duleta Petrovica, koji je prethodno svirao na albumu Presinga. Upravo u to vreme Kiza dozivljava ozbiljan zdravstveni problem za vreme snimanja filma ”Crni bombarder,” zbog kojeg je proveo sve u svemu oko dve godine na lecenju izvan Beograda. Zbog svega toga, album je prosao prakticno bez ikakve promocije.

Krajem 1993 izdavacka kuca ”Take it or leave it” uvodi bend u studio radi snimanja pilot singla za novi album. Snimljeni singl “Mamutska brda” postaje najveci hit koji je bend stvorio, i nalazi se na CD-u ”Radio utopija” u izdanju B’92 (1994) i u spici filma “Geto - tajni zivot grada” autora Ivana Markova. Snimanje albuma nije nastavljeno. Kompletan materijal za drugi album otisao je “niz vodu”, a bend privremeno prestaje sa radom sve do Kizinog oporavka.

Nastaje trogodisnja pauza u radu Presinga. Za to vreme, Kraka saradjuje na rege projektu ”Human Roots” sa Racom, Oliverom i Stevanom iz Kande Kodze i Nebojse, Mikijem iz Darkvuda, reziserem Mladenom Sevicem – Pablom kao vokalom, a od te saradnje ostaje zabelezena Krakina kompozicija ”Stastopojo” na drugom albumu KKN. U to vreme nastaje i bend Tornado Ptice u kom sviraju Kraka i Rac, koji je izdao album ”Prozracno poslepodne” (Automatik 1995).

Presing nastavlja sa radom krajem 1996, u postavi su pored Kize i Krake jos i Rac na basu i Misko na bubnjevima. Vec na prolece 1997 spreman je novi album, B’92 najavljuje izdavanje istog ali dok su pregovori jos u toku desava se novi peh: Kraka odlazi u vojsku u sezoni 1997/98. Po njegovom povratku iz vojske, bend ponovo pocinje od nule i u jesen 1999 izdavac ”Beograund” uvodi bend u studio da za ekspresno kratko vreme, 50-tak sati, snimi album ”600 nebo”.

Dolazi do koncepcijskog nesporazuma sa izdavacem koji dodatno odgadja pojavljivanje albuma: ”Beograund” u najboljoj nameri zeli da kompjuterski edituje materijal, ali pritom se znacajno menja struktura i atmosfera pesama i to prestaje da zvuci kao Presing, tako da i pored moralne obaveze prema izdavacu koji je omogucio snimanje albuma, Presing biva prinudjen je da prekine saradnju.

Septembra 2000. dolazi do nove izmene u sastavu benda, novi bubnjar je Dejan Utvar (ex KZU, KKN, Eyesburn, Sila). Avgusta 2001 bend snima nove cetiri pesme (”Koren snova”, ”U nepovrat”, ”Jednim krilom ljubav” i ”Dan je dovoljan”) kao najavu sledeceg, 3. studijskog albuma. Holandska video umetnica Olga Mink poznatija pod pseudonimom VJ Oxigen snima video spot na instrumental Presinga ”Prozor”. Maja 2002 album ”600 nebo” objavljen je u svojoj izvornoj, needitovanoj verziji, na novonastaloj nezavisnoj etiketi ”Skver”. Aprila i maja 2002 snimljen je propratni dokumentarni film – trejler o Presingu u trajanju od 15 minuta.