Koya of Disciplin A Kitschme
By Rada Djurica

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But somehow music itself, despite all the organizational problems that exist with labels, the media, promoters and distributors, is by far the best part of the local scene. Yugoslavia in the '70s and '80s used to be the country best known for rock 'n' roll of all the ex-communist countries. Rock 'n' roll was a way of life!!!!! When I was 12, I used to listen to David Bowie, the Eurhythmics and Sting on the radio. That was back around the time of London Live Aid.

However, in the mid-'90s, children of that age were instead listening to so-called folk stars with pornographic, cocaine-addict eyes, eyes telling stories about how many men she'd shagged and for what amount of money. Meanwhile, the eyes of good old rock 'n' roll were shuttered by tears for something that will never, ever be back.

Most members of bands that were present on the Serbian scene have quite a long 'ex' history, but other bands were founded after the war began. The '90s brought economic instability, and a few original bands had enough strength and luck to succeed despite all the problems.

But apart from hardworking individuals, things are bad. There are only a few places left to play. The media covers only the most persistent bands. There are almost no distributors. A new mainstream has formed. Mostly bad artists survive in the media and clubs; music is left to itself and to several pirates. Most of the labels and promoters are thieves. There is no organized scene. There was never enough time and circumstances for one to be created. Progressive rock 'n' roll has left the country, to London or New York. Some of them ended up in Australia, or died from overdoses on New Zealand. Ex-Yugoslavia lost the most talented and most promising musicians ever.

Koya left. too. He went to London. In London, he gathered British musicians and producers to keep going, with the basic idea of playing the music — his music, our music — in different London holes, clubs and pubs. Hardly any musician coming from Serbia made it that far. The rest of them just died.

Discipline A Kitchme is the name of Koya's band. His "Green Tooth on The Planet of Boredom" album from the '80s was Koya's legendary ex-Yu album. Somehow, the green tooth fairy showed mercy to this unique man, giving him the chance to keep doing what he came to London to do. Being a national cultural treasure doesn't includes international glory. But Koya doesn't care! He is a green tooth fairy. He doesn't need someone else to grant his wishes.

During the '80s they became established as "the best Yugo band of all time" with a strange sound, a mix of noise, jazz, funk and rock, with NO GUITAR. People from the industry always say, "We never heard anything like that before." The leader of Discipline, Koya, is now in London and has reformed the band with a new line up. I think Discipline is the first ever Yu band that was played on MTV — is that a compliment? — somewhere in the late 80's to early 90's.

In the context of the music, it's easy to hear how they fit in with the big picture. A
number of things were happening to rock, even while the psychedelic age was mushrooming. In 1982, Koya introduced a funk-punk sound produced only by bass guitar and drums. He played in a less mainstream format and allowed rock fans to appreciate it. Later on, the band added a brass section, which created a "James Brown on acid" flavour. And yes, the '90s and 21st Century is primarily about techno, an area where this band with its minimalistic approach felt comfortable, but commercialization was not something that Disciplin A Kitschme wanted in the first place.

The Discipline A Kitschme CD "Heavy Bass Blues," was published by the London label Babaroga Records and licenced by Belgrade's Tom Tom Music Serbia and Montenegro music label. Changing his name from Green Tooth to Black Tooth, Koya, now with a British accent, put together a collaboration with singer Gofie Bebe, always a variation of music containing exciting rhythm.

Maybe that's what Hendrix would be doing if he were alive today! Koya's music is like Hendrix, plus various technical additions, creating the impression of heavy mainstream music. Further experimentation is expected where Koya is concerned. The Monty Python catch phrase "And now for something completely different" could describe what Koya and Discipline A Kitchme will offer. Always changing, always different, yet with hints of the '70 and '80s.