City of Split, favourite summer destination in the Mediterranean and beloved place of Ultra Festival pilgrims is known as Croatian capital of San Remo influenced music and relaxed lifestyle. But that will change soon, when deluxe limited edition vinyl LP and world-wide digital premiere of the unpublished Nenad Vilovic’s lost synth-masterpiece Prizma hits the stores. This new release on Fox & His Friends Records label marks its most unexpected find, a true game changer in the history of socialist Yugoslavia music. Miha Kralj, Laza Ristovski, Igor Savin and Kornelije Kovac now have company in the field of complex analogue synthesizer concept albums, with this one being finally released after 37 years of being shelved in Nenad Vilovic studio.
Every instrument on this album (almost 40 of them!) has been played by Vilovic himself. He also recorded it, produced it and mixed it too. The Yugoslavian and Croatian disco and pop chart-maker and once a Split International Music Festival headman (also in groups Grupa ST, Mladi Batali, etc.), producer of Dino Dvornik, Ambasadori, Oliver Dragojevic, Meri Cetinic, Ana Sasso, Leo Martin and many more, recorded this Adriatic space-prog-electronica album in complete secrecy. But the big record labels Jugoton, PGP RTB and Suzy expected another disco hit from Vilovic; they did not like it and refused to publish Prizma for “being too experimental and electronic”. Nenad Vilovic continued his career in pop music successfully, but he knew that Prizma tapes would sometime in the future find their way out.
Fox & His Friends label owners Leri Ahel & Zeljko Luketic visited him in his studio in Split few years ago to give him his copy of critically acclaimed ‘Socialist Disco. Dancing Behind Yugoslavia’s Velvet Curtain 1977-1987’ compilation. Three songs from that album were Nenad Vilovic productions, and the label was happy to work with its unsung hero of production and dance music composition from 1980s. The first listening of original Prizma tapes was a definite confirmation of his talent in electronic, ambient and downtempo instrumental music, with strong drops of ethnic and Mediterranean sound. He kept his track length frame from the pop word, but the result is something completely different: a record of 12 thickly layered songs, rhythmical yet relaxing pieces that can be played everywhere while enjoying a glass of red Dalmatian wine.
Prizma has finally found out its way to the world via this exclusive piece of vinyl, cut by Pauler Acoustics and lavishly mastered from the original master tapes by Antony Ryan. Extensive liner notes and the artwork with cover design by Eric Adrian Lee who drew his inspiration in Nenad Vilovic’s music, is a must for all collectors of Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze visuals and sounds.
Release Date: 20/11/2022
Grab your copy here