Pop Mašina

Pop Mašina
The 1972 - 1976 Pop Mašina lineup: Robert Nemeček, Zoran Božinović and Mihajlo Popović
Background information
Origin	Belgrade, Serbia, Yugoslavia
Genres	Progressive rock, hard rock, blues rock, psychedelic rock, acid rock Jazz rock (late period)
Years active	1972 – 1978
Labels	PGP-RTB, ZKP RTLJ, ITMM, MCF Records, Internut Music, Multimedia Records
Associated acts	Rok Mašina, Džentlmeni, Tako, YU grupa, Siluete, Generacija 5, Dah, Zebra, Opus, Riblja Čorba, Bajaga i Instruktori, Zona B
Website	www.popmasina.com
Past members	Robert Nemeček Svetozar Božinović Ratislav Đelmaš Sava Bojić Mihajlo Popović Oliver Mandić Dušan Petrović Dušan Đukić Vidoja Božinović Miroslav Cvetković

Pop Mašina (Serbian Cyrillic: Поп Машина; trans. Pop Machine) was a former Yugoslav progressive rock band from Belgrade. Pop Mašina was formed in 1972, and released two studio albums and one live album before disbanding in 1978. After Pop Mašina disbanded, the band's former members formed a short-lasting hard rock band Rok Mašina.

The band was formed in Belgrade in 1972 by Robert Nemeček (a former Dogovor Iz 1804, Džentlmeni, and Intro member, bass guitar, vocals), Zoran Božinović (a former Excellent, Rokeri, Džentlmeni, and Intro member, guitar, vocals), Ratislav Đelmaš (drums), and Sava Bojić (guitar, vocals). Bojić soon left the band (he would join the band Tako in 1974), and soon after Đelmaš also left (and joined YU grupa). Đelmaš was replaced by a former Intro and Siluete member Mihajlo "Bata" Popović, and Pop Mašina continued as a trio.

Pop Mašina was one of the first bands on the former Yugoslav rock scene that moved from the 1960s rhythm and blues towards harder sound. They often organized free concerts, and in 1972 they organized a free open-air concert at Hajdučka česma. The concert also featured bands S Vremena Na Vreme, Porodična Manufaktura Crnog Hleba, and others. In May 1973, they organized another free concert at Hajdučka česma, which featured bands Jutro, Grupa 220, Med, Vlada i Bajka, and others. In 1973, the band released their debut album Kiselina (Acid). The album featured hard rock sound, but also featured psychedelic and acid rock elements. The album also featured several acoustic songs composed by Nemeček. Kiselina featured Sloba Marković on keyboards, and three songs featured Miša Aleksić (at the time member of SOS) on bass guitar. The album also featured S Vremena Na Vreme members Ljuba Ninković and Vojislav Đukić, Drago Mlinarec, and DAG members on backing vocals. Pop Mašina and S Vremena Na Vreme continued to cooperate in studio and on live appearances, and in 1975 Nemeček would appeare as a guest on S Vremena Na Vreme debut self-titled album. After Kiselina was released, Pop Mašina held a large number of concerts. They often performed in Belgrade Sports' Hall. These concerts were organized with the help of Aleksandar Tijanić, at the time a journalism student, and other Yugoslav progressive rock bands were often invited to perform. Pop Mašina had an attractive on-stage appearance: Božinović was one of the first former Yugoslav guitarists that played long guitar solos, played guitar with a bow and behind his back.