Belgrade-based band Kanda, Kodža i Nebojša, one of the most important acts on the regional alternative music scene, will be guests at the jubilee 20th edition of the Herceg Novi Comic Festival. KKN will perform on September 7 at 10 PM, on the 28. oktobra Steps, next to Got Pub and L’etege Café, in a concert that will showcase their distinctive blend of rock, reggae, jazz, funk, soul and psychedelic influences.
KKN was formed in Belgrade in 1991, at a time when the Yugoslav cultural scene was falling apart and a new musical expression was searching for space between rock, dub, reggae and alternative music. Their debut album, Guarda Toma!, was released in 1996 and combined studio and live recordings. From the very beginning, the band demonstrated what would remain one of its defining characteristics – the energy of its live performances. The song “Priroda” (“Nature”), in particular, stood out from the album and went on to become one of their signature tracks.
Their second album, Igračka plačka, released in 1998, brought a darker and more socially engaged sound. Songs such as “Šafl”, “S.A.T.”, “Right Direction”, “Mediteran” and “Proći će i njihovo” further established KKN at the forefront of the alternative scene at the time, while the album is often cited among the significant Serbian rock releases of the 1990s.
With the 2000 album Become, the band pushed the boundaries of its sound even further, drawing on reggae and acid-jazz influences. After a hiatus and subsequent reunion, KKN returned with the 2005 album Prekidi stvarnosti. Once again, the band demonstrated how little importance it attached to genre boundaries: rock, reggae, jazz, blues and elements of heavier music function as different parts of the same artistic language. Songs that marked this period include “Najsvetliji dan”, “Kad oživimo”, “Ton po ton”, “Plaše dečake” and “Danas nebo silazi u grad”.
In the years that followed, KKN released the albums Deveti život, Manifest, Volja za noć, Uskoro and Beton, reaffirming their status as a band that has never been content simply to repeat its own formula. Among their best-known songs are “Deveti život”, “Džo Stramere”, “Godine ćutanja”, “Odlazak”, “Nitro”, “Izlazim” and “Prekidi stvarnosti”. The band remains active, and in March 2026 released the EP Što pre, featuring four new songs, including “Da lelujam”, “Noć” and “Tvoj smeh”.
Throughout the changes in lineup and musical eras, much of KKN’s distinctive identity has rested on Oliver Nektarijević, whose voice and artistic sensibility have been among the band’s constants from the very beginning. His distinctive vocal delivery, together with the rhythmically playful music and lyrics that range from the personal and intimate to the social and political, has given KKN a unique position on the regional scene.
KKN has, above all, always been a live band. Their music works best in direct contact with an audience, which makes the steps next to Got a natural setting for this encounter. Instead of a large festival stage, the audience will hear the band right in the heart of the city, up close and without the distance that usually separates performers from their audience.
From “Priroda” and “Šafl”, through “Mediteran”, “Kad oživimo” and “Prekidi stvarnosti”, to “Deveti život” and their new songs, Kanda, Kodža i Nebojša have spent more than three decades building one of the most distinctive stories in the regional alternative rock scene.
