Kiselina

Concept

In a 2011 interview, the band's former leader, Robert Nemeček, stated that the album's main theme is an LSD experience, and that he wrote the original lyrics for the album after some inscriptions he made while being under the influence of LSD.

Nemeček stated that the band's intention was to cover up the concept in some way, because they knew that "once it [the concept] was realized, we would be banned", so the band made numerous changes to the songs, and the original track listing was changed. The original album cover was designed by Jugoslav Vlahović, who was aware of the concept, but as the cover, in Nemeček's words, "reminded of LSD portraits of The Beatles too much", it was changed with a simple photo of the band members, made only several days before the album's official release.

Recording

The album was recorded from September 19 to September 30, 1973 in PGP-RTB's studio X. It featured numerous guests: Sloba Marković on keyboards, Miša Aleksić (at the time member of SOS) on bass guitar, Raša Đelmaš (the band's former member, at the time of album recording a member of YU grupa) on drums, Branimir Malkoč (a former Porodična Manufaktura Crnog Hleba member) on flute, as well as S Vremena Na Vreme members Ljuba Ninković and Vojislav Đukić, Drago Mlinarec, and DAG members on backing vocals.

Personnel

Additional personnel

Reissues

In 1994, a remastered version of the album, remastered in Laza Ristovski's Digital Music Studio during the same year, was released on CD by Serbian record label ITVMM. In 2000, the album was reissued on CD by Polish record label Wydawnictwo 21, in a limited number of 500 copies and featuring four bonus tracks. In 2005, the album was reissued on vinyl by Austrian record label Atlantide.

In 2007, in order to celebrate thirty-five years since the release of the album, Nemeček, in cooperation with Serbian label MCG records, released the CD Originalna Kiselina - 35 godina kasnije (Original Acid - 35 Years Later) in a limited number of 999 copies. The release featured original track listing and original song mixes. Nemeček stated that the release "is not a reissue of Kieslina. It is basically what Kiselina should have looked like."

Legacy

The album was polled in 1998 as the 60th on the list of 100 greatest Yugoslav rock and pop albums in the book YU 100: najbolji albumi jugoslovenske rok i pop muzike (YU 100: The Best Albums of Yugoslav Rock and Pop Music).

Serbian critic Dimitrije Vojnov named Kiselina one of ten most important albums in the history of Yugoslav rock music, stating that "Pop Mašina is a band you can always name when talking how Yugoslav rock before Yugoslav New Wave wasn't negligible". He also stated that "Kiselina was the beginning of a genre that was never groomed to the end here [in Yugoslavia]".

Serbian critic Nenad Pejović called Kiselina a "pivot album in the history of Serbian rock", stating that "even today Kiselina can be an example of a modern rock album".

In 1982, Ljuba Ninković (at the time a member of Tunel) named Kiselina one of his ten most favourite albums.