Atheist Rap

Atheist Rap
Atheist Rap performing live in 2007
Background information
Also known as	Božidara Starog Punk, Električni Jurica, Ateist Rep
Origin	Novi Sad, Serbia
Genres	Punk rock, hardcore punk, pop punk
Years active	1989 – present
Labels	GBB Tapes, Scorned Records, Take It Or Leave It, PGP-RTS, Hi-Fi Centar, Multimedia Records, SKCNS, B Pop Založba
Associated acts	Luna, La Strada, Obojeni Program, Love Hunters, Ritam Nereda, Boye, Generacija Bez Budućnosti
Website	www.atheistrap.net
Members	Aleksandar Popov Vladimir Radusinović Zoran Lekić Aleksandar Milovanov
Past members	Dušan Ječmenica Slobodan Fekete Stevan Gojkov Vladimir Kozbašić Zoran Zarić

Atheist Rap is a punk rock band from Novi Sad, Serbia, formed in 1989, which has released six studio albums, one compilation album and one live DVD. Their music is often characterized as "fun punk" due to its cheerful music and vocals. Their lyrics are usually critical of society and politics and are often humorous accounts of everyday events. They were an active anti-war band in the 1990s and the first band from Serbia to play in Bosnia and Croatia after Yugoslav Wars. They are one of the rare bands from south-east Europe that played in Great Britain. They performed at Rebellion festival in Blackpool and at the famous club Barfly in Camden, London in 2011.

The idea of forming Atheist Rap came to vocalists Aleksandar Popov (also known as Dr. Pop) and Vladimir Kozbašić (also known as Pećinko) at the Rambo Amadeus concert, which took place on November 29, 1988 at the local club Mašinac. They merged with members of Fluorel Tatchkash, Vladimir Radusinović (also known as Radule) on guitar and Zoran Zarić (also known as Zare) on bass, and Stevan Gojkov (also knowns as Goja) (from Kapetan Leshi, Fear Of Dog, A Better Life Zine) took hold of the drums. The first live appearance was just a few days after the band was officially formed, at the Petrovaradin Fortress gate called Beogradska kapija on May 22, 1989, with several local acts. Before the appearance,with the repertoire consisting of two songs, the whole band wrote the song "O.R.A.", which was performed by Popov on vocals, Kozbašić on backing vocals, with the band improvising to the lyrics. The performance provided the band a cult status, despite not having any recordings released. The band also got invitations to perform at several Novi Sad clubs, while writing new material. At the time, the band had rehearsals and partially lived at the Žuta Kuća in Novi Sad, until it was bulldozed by the local authorities.

In January 1990, the band performed at the alternative music festival called Bolje uživo nego u mrtvo (Better Live Than Dead), and made first recordings in June 1990, but the beginning of the Yugoslav wars at the beginning of the 1990s stopped the band from releasing the first CD release in the region. It was a four-song EP, recorded at the Barba studio in Bukovac, entitled Compact Disc, consisting of the songs "Gusti sok", "Stomak eliminator", "Novosadski vašar" and "Gril 13", that Croatian label Jugoton never put out of press, and, as a result, the material was never released in this format. One of the songs from the EP, "Gusti sok", appeared on the various artists compilation Novi Sad Vol. 2. The EP was also to be released by the Novi Sad record label Start Today Records. Despite the EP not being released, the band promoted the recordings through radio and television broadcasts, which increased their popularity. At the end of 1990, Flourel Tatchkash and Elba drummer Aleksandar Milanov "Atzke" joined the group with Gojkov switching to guitar, and the new lineup had the first live appearance at the KUD Sonja Marinković.