Nikola Pejaković Kolja was born in 1966 in Banja Luka. He studied theatre and radio directing at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade. In addition to theatre directing, he works as a screenwriter for movies and television series and as a film actor. Among other, he took part in screenwriting for the movies Pretty Village, Pretty Flame, Bare Ground, Redemption Street and television series Brothers in Harmony and The Storks Will Return.
His debut as a composer was back in the 1980s on a Riki Lukonjić album. He became known to the general public with his song Lilac-colored dress, first recorded as a duet with singer Lola. He went on to perform as a guest guitarist in concerts with the band Zabranjeno pušenje (No Smoking), and as a co-author and studio musician on two tracks on their album I’m not from around ‘ere.
He composed the music for the movie Normal People by Oleg Novković. After the instrumental album, with a group of studio musicians under the name of Kolja i Smak Bijelog dugmeta he released the album Mother do not cry in 2001, containing tracks composed over the preceding fifteen years. The author described the specific mixture of musical styles and the curious, black comedy lyrics as “pornsoul”. Although the album was not accompanied by music videos or concerts, it found its way to the audience.
The next album Kolja followed a similar path, comprising tracks from the following phase of the creative work by Pejaković.
The fourth album by Pejaković, Grobovlasnici, was released in 2013. Under a new name it brought together the standard group of musicians who had taken part on the previous albums. The guitarist Voja Aralica was also the producer of all albums released by Nikola Pejaković. The keyboard player Ivan Aleksijević – Pančevac is also a regular contributor, as well as Dejan Momčilović, the drummer. Furthermore, Grobovlasnici features bass player Nikola Usanović and Dado Gajić on the acoustic guitar. After a spectacular concert in Belgrade’s Dom Sindikata on March 21, 2015, Grobovlasnici have been on tour. They usually describe their music as blues.