Otadžbina

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Otadžbina (Serbian Cyrillic: Отаџбина, lit. "Fatherland") is the debut album of Slaviša Guja - Slaja, released in 1992, by VBC. It is highly regarded for its rarity and production.

Отаџбина
Otadžbina-j-card-front-RA20K.jpg
Cover of reissue.
Studio album by
Released1992
GenreNovokompovana
Length34:57
LabelVBC
Славиша Гуја Слаја chronology
Отаџбина
(1992)
Судбина
(1993)

Background

The songs for the album were written during Slaja's service in Sarajevo and Žepa in 1992. The songs "Naša zemlja", "Drina", "Moj grad" and another song were written in one night.[1]

Unlike other war-related albums produced at the time, the album is more rock-oriented with elements of contemporary rock and blues. When writing each song, Slaja ensured that despite the patriotic theming, anti war elements were incorporated which was rarely seen from other works published at the time.[1] The album is also unique for being a two-man production rather than a studio production.

Release

Otadžbina was released in 1992. While there is a label attached to the album: VBC, it is unknown if the company existed or not. With amateurish label design reminiscent of a standard label printer, handwritten serial numbers, a simplistic cover, and a two-man production team, it is speculated that the production was in-house with VBC being a placeholder/front. Initial prints have serial numbers on them and the cover slightly cropped. Reissues of the album are more evenly spaced but do not have a number sticker and is duplicated at a faster speed.

In 1993, Renome would produce a VHS for the album with a new track and an extended version of "Naša zemlja", though "Majke" would not be featured in the compilation. The reason for its exclusion is unknown and remains to be lost media.

According to a 2017 interview, the song "Moj grad" was one of the most popular songs Slaja made during his career in the 90's and its message was so universal, Herceg-Bosnian television would play the song. Like most artists who produced music during war time, Slaja is not very public about his war work, but it [Otadžbina] still has a special place in his heart.[1]

In present day, Slaja does not wish to have Otadžbina or any other war-related media he produced public as in 2019, uploads of the VHS were taken down from the channel Naša Srpska Arhiva with the reason as being that Slaja did not want to have a bad image to foreigners.[2] While uploads of the VHS pre-2019 still exist and Generacide's restoration has been reinstated after a temporary takedown, it is advised to not upload Slaja's patriotic works. The YouTube user RandomAtribute20K made a video stating that while they are in possession of the tape, they would not upload its contents out of respect for Slaja.

Track listing

All songs written by Славиша Гуја.

Side B
No.TitleLength
1."Дрина (мојој Зорани)"4:21
2."Наша земља"2:55
3."Зашто"3:17
4."Мајке"3:16
5."Свјетлани"3:59
Total length:34:57

Personnel

Writing

  • Славиша Гуја - Музика, програмрали, свирали, пјева
  • Нешо - Програмрали, свирали, пјева

Production

  • НИКША - Београд- Снимано у студиу

Miscellaneous

Пјесме су написане на сарајевском ратишту и црној Жепи, ратне 92.

Variants

VBC reissue (Year unknown)
Notes
  • Good audio quality
  • B1 is badly duped
  • Audio is duped at a slightly faster speed
  • Elements of the cover are more evenly spaced out
  • No serial number
  • Brown tape instead of black

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 СЛАВИША ГУЈА: РЕЦЕПТ ЗА ГАРУ ЈОШ НИКО НИЈЕ СКИНУО. Frontal.rs. 4 November 2017. Archived from the original on 28 August 2023.
  2. Slavisa Guja Slaja - Moj Grad (Best Available Quality). Generacide. 31 December 2018. Archived from the original on 28 December 2023.