NE ZELIM TVOJU LJUBAV

In January 1969 INDEXI signed a new record deal with Jugoton, thus abandoning their previous label PGP RTB. Although their most recent EP for RTB was yet to be released in March, the band already in early February prepared two new songs for their premier 7" single on Jugoton label. At this juncture, the band was still a sextet consisting of old members: vocalist Davorin Popovic, rhythm guitarist Ismet Arnautalic, lead guitarist Slobodan A. Kovacevic, bassist Fadil Redzic, and drummer Miroslav Saranovic. The only newcomer was classically-trained keyboardist Djordje Novkovic, who replaced the former member Kornelije Kovac. Novkovic also, as if anticipating that his tenure with the band was to be short (he left during the spring of 1969), made a strong mark on this record by proving himself as a complete author of music, lyrics and arrangements for both of these songs. They were recorded at the Radio Sarajevo studio with the help of Radio Sarajevo staff engineers, their long-time collaborators Antun Markovic and Esad Arnautalic.

The A-side track "Ne zelim tvoju ljubav" (I Don't Want Your Loving) was recorded on March 14, and performed live on March 22 during the "Zagreb 69" pop festival. INDEXI were backed by RTV Zagreb Revue Orchestra, conducted by renowned Miljenko Prohaska. The song is arranged in several parts making it a sort of mini-suite in four minutes. A brief intro contains the orchestra backing the electric organ and guitar. Following a short organ solo, the main theme with vocal verse is performed with a strong beat. Orchestral strings then take the lead while Kovacevic's guitar keeps utilising the sound distortion effects all the time. The chorus contains a vocal melody reflecting a typical schlager expression, the one Novkovic would frequently use with his future pop band PRO ARTE. Instruments of INDEXI seemingly retrieve to the background, allowing the orchestra to lead. Here, a percussive sound of strings played pizzicato is pronounced. The bridge consists of complex arrangements with orchestra, guitar and drums playing in unison, wherefrom the composition goes into a slower tempo section marked by "dreamy" Popovic's vocals. Within this rather psychedelic part, his vocals are nicely backed by a flute and a lead guitar with its obligatory use of a wah-wah pedal. Following a short break, the composition returns to the main theme in beat style and ends with a chorus. We can hear that this song "Ne zelim tvoju ljubav" actually introduced a template that the band would frequently use in the future - verses and bridges contain complex arrangements in a progressive rock style, while the chorus exemplifies a typical pop-schlager hook for mass audience. This stylistic format, in a lack of better words, may be called "progressive schlager".

The B-side title "Sabn-dabn-sabn-du-bajo" was recorded earlier, on January 15. Despite its nonsensical title, suggesting it's a sort of light pop tune in the vein of the BEATLES' "Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da", it is really a song sticking to the then trendy psychedelic style of the band. The first few bars, with lots of fuzz effects of guitar and bass played in unison, remind of a heavy rock in the style of CREAM, while the song continues in a beat manner, with touches of soul music. Besides piano, which rhythmically carries the theme, the bridge features echo/reverb-treated vocals, including falseto vocalise (most probably Redzic's) and laughter, while the lead guitar continuously enriches the theme with its wah-wah effects. When interviewed for Novi Dzuboks magazine issue of February 3, 1969, singer Popovic said about this song: "The title means nothing, but we are sure it will be easily memorised given that the melody is catchy too. There was a lot of laughter during the recording session, and the effects we used were unheard of in Yugoslavia previously."

Yet, for various reasons, this single remained relatively less-known, and these songs never achieved hit status in spite of their quality. They were still too experimental and psychedelic for larger audience, while Jugoton notoriously pushed them to come up with more pop-oriented material. Thus, they were deemed not enough commercial so they are not to be included on future compilation albums released by Jugoton. This single was released in April 1969 with a "psychedelic" sleeve depicting a dreamy, ghost-like nude female figure as seen through a bush or grass.