Epitaph

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Published on Friday, 03 July 2015 23:48

"Miracle" Pushing the Boundaries

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Published on Thursday, 21 February 2013 16:08

We are happy to announce that the song "Miracle (Flower)" that started Gruvlend's big project "Planet Gruvlend!" found approval with authors of previous versions of the song "Les Fleur" which it is based on.

Makers of 2001 version 4Hero, whose arrangement we used as blueprint, published the song on their Facebook profile with their commendations to numerous positive reactions from around the world - http://www.facebook.com/4hero?fref=ts.

We are especially pleased that the author of the original music and lyrics, Richard Rudolph, husband of late Minnie Riperton who first sang "Les Fleur" in 1970, and who became great supporter of  Gruvlend in the meantime, expressed his sincere delight with the song through the following email endorsement:

"I just wanted to state for the record how delighted I am with the Planet Gruvend recording of Les Fleur... translated title: Miracle (Flower). Actually “delighted” is not a strong enough word to describe how excited I am about your version of this song that I wrote with the late, great Charles Stepney many moons ago. It is a very special song for me and I am so happy to report that you and your amazing collection of brilliant and soulful singers and musicians really captured and expressed the universality that lives at the heart of Les Fleur.

I also think it sounds truly great in Serbo-Croatian, which just serves to further demonstrate the power of music to cross all boundaries and reach the hearts of people everywhere no matter the language. Everyone I have played it for absolutely flips over it but also understands the feeling and love conveyed in the music.

I am also completely blown away by the depth of talent in the Serbian musical universe demonstrated in this recording!  I only hope we can find a way to collaborate on many more projects together in the near future. 

Thank you for this beautiful recording. 

Musically yours,

Richard Rudolph"

In the two months of being published song "Miracle/Flower" by various artists of project "Planet Gruvlend!" was viewed more than 50,000 times on our Youtube channel and was downloaded over 4,000 times. The song hit all relevant music charts locally and got attention of many news media.

Song "Miracle/Flower" will be available for free download on our website until the end of February only due to impending strategic changes in the project. Hurry up and get your free copy while you can!

Happy New Era!

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Published on Monday, 31 December 2012 16:51

Year 2012, although now we can say was just another year in which the Apocalypse did not come, was still turbulent in many respects. We witnessed many a breakdown, human ups and downs, social and political upheavals, all of it topped with a growing lack of everyone's best friend - hard cash. 

To remind ourselves, at five minutes to midnight on December 31 of last year, after five long winter nights spent in the editing room with legendary Yugoslavian filmmaker Jovan Joca Jovanović, Gruvlend published the video for the song "U opasnosti", the fifth and final single of Zemlja gruva, using material from the feature film "Mlad i zdrav kao ruža", and ended the year with the quote from the song lyrics "… do something to make this world a better place, now!"

Still, not a lot was actually done, since the second year is coming to a close without any new releases from the band Zemlja gruva, which created tension and ultimately led to irreconcilable differences about managing the band and other production activities. After months of turmoil, speculation, unfounded rumors and sometimes malicious gossip, all of it resulted in Zemlja gruva deciding not to participate in the project "Planet Gruvlend!", definitively ending the many years of collaboration between the group and its publisher Gruvlend. The band continued on their own, under new management and with changing lineups, while Gruvlend turned to a new, very ambitious project - "Planet Gruvlend!"

We use this opportunity to thank the band Zemlja gruva on our collaboration which resulted in publishing the album "WTF is Gruvlend?". We believe that this is a seminal release since it represents the effort of a critical mass of right people, good energy, skill and talent, as well as many a sleepless night at the studio, which all will be difficult to replicate any time soon. We too are eager to hear new material by Zemlja gruva, and we wish well to all the band members and many hit records in the time to come. However, any further material of Zemlja gruva will not be a release of "Gruvlend!" label, nor will we be associated with or responsible in any way for it in the future. For all booking information and updates on activities of the band please go to their web presentation or their Facebook page.

We, on the other hand, in our on-going quest for groove, awaited the end of this year with the lyrics of the song "Miracle (Flower)", the first and most important single off of the album "Planet Gruvlend!" currently in the making and which will put together many artists on the music scene in new collaborations that will take place for the first time. We declared the End of the World to be - The New Beginning and we boldly stepped into the New Era, with new challenges to successfully overcome, with your help and support.

Let's end the review of the still current, year 2012, and wish you a very happy New Year 2013 with the words of Belgrade's genuis, poet Duško Radović (paraphrased):

Endings wear out, beginnings always last.

Beginning - that is what comes last.

Long Live Gruvlend!

Song "Miracle" Available for Free Download at gruvlend.net

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Published on Monday, 24 December 2012 12:54

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Project "Planet Gruvlend!" is being launched with the release of the song and video "Miracle" featuring more than twenty artists of all generations on the music scene. 

Video for the song "Miracle" is posted at Gruvlend's Youtube channel and can be seen here  

"Miracle" at Božidarac

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Published on Thursday, 13 December 2012 14:52

Culture Organization Božidarac and Gruvlend! invite you to a big dance party to mark project "Planet Gruvlend!“ launch, Friday December 21 at 20h in Božidarac, 3 Radoslava Grujića.

Program:

20:00 - Audio/Video mix "From Inception of Groove to the End of the World”

21:00 - Official premiere of the the song and video "Miracle”

21:30 - Laura 2000 

22:00 - Gruvlend All Star Band

23:00 - DJ Funky Junkie

And for all those who could not attend the event, this is what Gruvlend All Star Band sounded like. We thank Aleksandar Zec for the video. http://www.youtube.com/user/zecaleksandar

Project "Planet Gruvlend!“ will officially start with the premiere of the song and video "Miracle“ which features more than twenty names of the music scene (Bisera Veletanlić, Leo Martin, Bebi Dol, Oliver Nektarijević, Bojana Stamenov, Bane Lalić, Emilja Đonin, Vukašin Marković, Dana Gašić, Marčelo and Struka, children choir "Kolibri", Miša Blam, Stjepko Gut, Vasil Hadžimanov, Momčilo Bajagić Bajaga, Rambo Amadeus, Zvonimir Đukić Đule, Marko Stojanović Maraqya and Goran Čaki Savić).

To mark the occasion, with the support of the Municipality of Vračar, entertainment and dance program will be provided by Laura 2000 with special guest Leo Martin, Gruvlend All Star band (put together from members of groups MVP, Maraqya, Svi na pod and Drum'n'Jazz) and DJ Funky Junkie, author of compilations Idi igraj vol. 1-3 (funk, soul, jazz and disco tracks from ex-Yu 1969-1987)

All participants of the "Planet Gruvlend!" project are invited to attend the event on December 21 in Božidarac to celebrate together the Holiday of Groove and instead of the End of the World await the New Beginning! 

teaser trailer 

Project Pilot - Single "Miracle (Flower)"

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Published on Friday, 07 December 2012 19:08

Single "Miracle (Flower)" represents the first and most important song off of the album "Planet Gruvlend!" the release of which marks the beginning of the namesake project. Official release of the song and the accompanying music video is scheduled for 21/12/2012, the day of the alleged Apocalypse and Great Galactic Alignment. Although this date has many negative connotations, within the mythology of our project it is a symbol of the new beginning rather than the end of the world. The idea behind the project managed to gather together, in one song, biggest names on the music scene from its beginning until the present, which these days truly is - a miracle in itself.

The song "Miracle (Flower)" is based on a 1970 Minnie Riperton number "Les Fleur" that was licensed to Gruvlend by Warner Music, and our arrangment adaptation is based on the 2001 version by the British band 4hero.

Video for the song "Miracle (Flower)" was shot in the recording studio on secret location where for twelve intense days all singers and musicians along with the children choir ran the production mill. All these good spirits who flashed in sequence contributed to making the miracle really - happen. Then, cameras went outside and about town to capture culture warriors of trades other than music who each individually, on locations they selected themselves, all together stood behind this appeal for awakening planetary consciousness and a new beginning. 

WTF is Planet Gruvlend?

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Published on Thursday, 06 December 2012 19:08

"Planet Gruvlend!" is a unique phenomenon on our music scene in which its most prominent representatives from the late sixties to today are presented to wide audiences in a series of interdisciplinary events over six months, starting on the alleged day of the Apocalypse 21/12/2012 and culminating with a music spectacle scheduled for 21/06/2013, the World Music Day.

The basic idea of project "Planet Gruvlend!" is exchange of experience of established aces of the scene with the energy of younger, up and coming artists, captured on the concept album of the same name, which calls for awakening of planetary consciousness and a new way of thinking.

Artwork by Mladen Penev - www.mladenpenev.net

Through the prism of various music genres that represent the world's musical heritage, this project follows the development of our culture and society over time, and every song on the album reflects a certain epoch and is a product of collaboration of artists performing together for the first time.

In addition to being motivational, this project has broad cultural significance because it tells the story of development of popular music, as well as society in Serbia and the region, specifically Belgrade as its center. Underlying music thread of this entire project is groove, a unique danceable element in popular music, and as such, fundamental criterion that each participant must meet.

Long Live Gruvlend! New Website is up!

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Published on Monday, 12 November 2012 00:17

Dear visitors, welcome to Gruvlend 2.0.

This is our new internet platform, from now on in blog format and new outfit. We tried to reanimate our spot on the web, and as we all know - it is a long process. That is why we decided to start with small quantities of infromation but to never stop incrementally adding it. We are preparing all sorts of surprises for our accidental as well as regular guests in the form of yet unreleased content and new exciting projects still in early stages of development. From now on our standard is high definition so let your stay here be in HD! (-;

Long Live Gruvlend!

CD "WTF is Gruvlend?"

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Published on Friday, 15 June 2012 23:32

First release Gruvlend GR001 Zemlja Gruva "WTF is Gruvlend?"
Limited release, mastered, + 2 bonus tracks + lyrics  

After two and a half years of free download from gruvlend.net over 40,000 mp3 versions of Zemlja gruva's debut album went to computers, smart phones, digital players and memory sticks! We close the chapter of history of Gruvlend as the first label to offer free download of the entire release in Serbia.

VIDEO "Zemlja gruva - U opasnosti (final cut)" in HD

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Published on Saturday, 31 December 2011 23:55

Written, directed and edited by: Jovan Joca Jovanović

U opasnosti - final single from the debut album "WTF is Gruvlend?" by Belgrade's band Zemlja gruva represents simultaneously their New Year's Greeting. The message of the song is not in the usual spirit of Chrismas, but rather in the spirit of the times ahead of us, the year marked as Apocalyptic, and also election year in Serbia.

The video was made in collaboration with Jovan Joca Jovanović, legendary Yugoslavian and Serbian film director. The video was made using sequences from the film "Mlad i zdrav kao ruža" and was edited by the author himself to the music and lyrics of Zemlja gruva. The video and song combined to create new context and depth. 

Jovan Joca Jovanović, "enfant terrible" of Yugoslav cinematography with only one feature film managed to break all the taboos of socialist society and show that it is possible to make a brave and sincere work of art that pushes boundaries even in the authoritarian system. The film that, according to critics, represents "a slap in the face of conventions", Joca Jovanović depicts the underworld in the seventies and builds the portrait of antihero who becomes the model for everything that we had to live through during the nineties and the consequences of which we still feel today.

This Greeting comes in the very last moment, 5 minutes to midnight of the last day of the year in which we celebrate 40 years since the film was released and which highlights the message:
"... do something to make this world a better place, now!"

Gruvlend!Sessions - Flyer Selection

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Published on Thursday, 10 November 2011 16:28

Selection of flyers for some of more than 70 Gruvlend!Sessions in the past two years.

Gruvlend!Sessions Summer Special 2011

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Published on Thursday, 07 July 2011 22:08

Gruvlend!Sessions Mixtape Summer Special 2011, for hot and humid summer days dedicated to Mother Africa. Eat it, drink it with ice, or just shake your booty to it, like it's on fire. If you like it, we have a version to go.

Download link

Season Two - The Rise and Fall of Radio Gruvlend on B92

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Published on Friday, 13 May 2011 21:24

http://fm.b92.net/channel/Radio+Gruvlend/chrono.html

In just eight episodes (out of which number seven was never recorded or was deleted from archives, while the last one, number eight, was just a tracklist) radio Gruvlend crew with Silent Niche who speechlessly watched over social networks during the show, and the rest from band Zemlja Gruva who helped him select tracks and chattered about light topics, and who were later on further joined by Moustache Nesh, did their second season 2010/11 of the radio show, this time not in the form of a radio drama but a standard afternoon talk-radio. How popular was the show is probably best described by the length of time it ran on radio B92 airwaves, nevertheless leaving indelible mark on the quest for groove and its definition that Radio Gruvlend started in its first season on internet radio NRBG. Check it out, particularly - the music selection.  

Gruvlend! Sessions - Best of 2010

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Published on Monday, 03 January 2011 13:04

Selection of most prominent achievements in the groove department for 2010, handpicked by Gruvlend. Enjoy!

Gruvlend!Sessions - The Beginning

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Published on Friday, 19 November 2010 21:21

Gruvlend!Sessions is a series of events that was born from the need to move music selection of Gruvlend crew to clubs around town and share it with the public. The idea of Gruvlend!Sessions came from Niche who recruited Zoe Kida, singer of Zemlja Gruva, to co-host the many resident DJ nights during the first season.

These sessions became legendary and Friday nights at the small club Kućica near the Temple of St. Sava on Vračar rocked week in week out. Gruvlend!Sessions became a brand in itself and toured the many night clubs of the capital while becoming synonymous with fresh grooves and good times till the wee hours of the morning.

Season One - Radio Gruvlend NRBG Beginnings

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Published on Sunday, 15 November 2009 23:32

Radio Gruvlend was conceived as a little team building exercise Nesh came up with to organize band members of Zemlja Gruva who were working on their debut album to try and start finishing things up. What they managed to finish up every week became an hour-long radio show in the form of a radio drama where the only subject was groove and its elusive definition. Gruvlend declared independence and seceded from the rest of the world and mandated visas for entry. There was only one qualifying condition - that the invited guest's work has - groove.

The newly formed banana state soon got its functionaries - Zoe Kida became Minister of Groove, Konstrakta - Mother of Groove, MC Milovan took the role of President of Gruvlend, Perica became President's Assistant (and left hand), Shobaya - Prime Minister of Gruvlend's puppet Government, Niche naturally took on the role of Chief of Propaganda while Nesh, recently arrived from afar, was left with the position of High Commissioner for Gruvlend.

Sessions of the expanded Government of Gruvlend, as they were internally referred to, were recorded and turned into radio shows that for three months during winter of 2009/10 entertained listeners Thursdays at midnight on internet radio New Radio BelGrade. Additionally, every participant put together their 60 minute long playlist to complement the show and the DJ/selector was rotated every week. That is how Radio Gruvlend phenomenon came to be, ran its first season on the internet and then moved to terrestrial radio B92 in the next season.