Smak (Serbian Cyrillic: Смак; trans. End of the world) was a Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band, with strong jazz fusion and blues undertones. It was formed by guitar player Radomir "Točak" Mihailović in Kragujevac, in 1971. The group was, with some breaks, active during the 1970s, 1980s and the 1990s. Their music has always been rhythmically and harmonically advanced. Interesting points about their compositions include the abundant use of odd rhythms, vocal improvisations (scat singing), lengthy improvisations from all of the musicians, and uniquely-styled lyrics using mostly very short words due to the relative difficulty of using complex Serbian words in singing. Many of the lyrics were written by bohemian-minded poets and artists who were in friendly relations with the band.
Smak was formed in 1971 in Kragujevac, SR Serbia (present-day Serbia), by guitar virtuoso Radomir Mihailović, nicknamed "Točak" ("the Wheel"). The first stable line-up, in late 1974, included Točak, drummer Slobodan Stojanović Kepa, bass guitarist Zoran Milanović, singer Boris Arandjelović, and keyboardist Laza Ristovski. They released 3 SP from 1974-1975, on which appeared their hit single Ulazak u Harem (Entrance to the Harem) and they appeared as an opening act for the Deep Purple concert in Belgrade 1975. After a successful hit single and an excellent concert with Deep Purple they released their first LP called Smak 1975 and it was one of the best debut albums of all time in ex-Yugoslavia. It consisted of 5 tracks, including a 20 minutes long instrumental, "Biska 20", the dramatically good "Blues in the park", the inventive and infamous "Biska 2", "Dark Minor" (Mračni mol) and the Hendrix-styled "Pearls".
