Orthodox Celts

Orthodox Celts is a Serbian band formed in Belgrade in 1992 which plays Irish folk music combined with rock elements. Despite their uncharacteristic genre in their home country, the band has been one of the top acts of the Serbian rock scene since their formation, and has influenced a number of younger Serbian bands, most notably Irish Stew of Sindidun and Tir na n'Og.

The band started their career performing traditional Irish songs and, gradually, introduced more and more of their own material (lyrics mostly written by the band's frontman Aleksandar "Aca Seltik" Petrović, music mostly written by band's violinist Ana Đokić). All their lyrics are in English, but the group has composed some purely instrumental songs as well. They traditionally celebrate St. Patrick's Day with a large concert in Belgrade. The group has released six studio albums to date.

Band history

1990s

During the mid-1980s, Dušan Živanović, drummer of the pub rock band Roze Poze (Pink Poses), wanted to form a band which would perform cover versions of Irish folk songs. Even though he had partially managed to fulfill this idea through some of the songs recorded by Roze Poze, in 1992 he took up playing the accordion and, with Ana Đokić (violin) and Dejan Lalić (mandolin, banjo, tin whistles), formed Orthodox Celts, which initially gathered occasionally for club performances. The band had their first official public appearance on Saint Patrick's day in 1992, at the British Council in Belgrade. Soon the band completed the lineup with the arrival of guitarist Vladan Jovković and bassit Dejan Jevtović, with Živanović switching back to drums, also playing bodhrán on the band's performances. and one of them being a cover of the Thin Lizzy song "Sarah". Unlike the band's previous releases, for which most of the band's songs were composed by Ana Đokić, songs for One, Two... Five were composed mostly by Dejan Grujić. On 12 July 2013, the band performed at the 47th Montreux Jazz Festival. and "One / Milk & Honey", released in March 2015. The album featured seven songs authored by the band and six covers of traditional Irish songs. The album artwork was designed by Italian comic book artist Walter Venturi and inspired by Venturi's work on Zagor.

2020s

In 2023, the remastered edition of the album One, Two... Five! was released on green vinyl. In February 2024, the band appeared in the non-competitive part of Pesma za Evroviziju '24, the Radio Television of Serbia-organized contest for Serbian entry for the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest, performing a cover of "Does Your Mother Know" as a part of ABBA medley.

Legacy

In 2021, the band's album Green Roses was polled 57th and the album A Moment Like the Longest Day was polled 91st on the list of 100 Best Serbian Albums Since the Breakup of SFR Yugoslavia. The list was published in the book Kako (ni)je propao rokenrol u Srbiji (How Rock 'n' Roll in Serbia (Didn't) Came to an End).

Members

Current members

Aleksandar Petrović - vocals (1993–present)
Dejan Lalić - octave mandola, mandolin, banjo, backing vocals (1992–present)
Nikola Stanojević - violin (2009–present)
Vladan Jovković - acoustic guitars, backing vocals (1993–present)
Dejan Grujić - bass guitar, backing vocals (2001–present)
Dušan Živanović - drums, bodhran (1992–present)
Dragan Gnjatović - tin whistles (2016–present)

Past members

Ana Đokić - violin (1992–2009)
Dejan Jevtović - bass guitar (1993–2001)
Dejan Popin - tin whistles (1997–2012)
Bojan Petrović - tin whistles (2012–2016)

Discography

Studio albums

Orthodox Celts (1994)
The Celts Strike Again (1997)
Green Roses (1999)
A Moment Like the Longest Day (2002)
One, Two... Five (2007)
Many Mouths Shut! (2017)