nEUrosis

Balkanizacija of Music

April 20th, 2007 by Viktor Dimitrov

You might have noticed that one of our correspondents in Brussels has very positive feelings about Balkan music – he has been to Esma Redzepova’s gig in Brussels, and followed Goran Bregovic to Barcelona with sheer enthusiasm. He said that the concerts were sold out and everybody loved the performances, which is really cool. In general, my view is that music and other forms of art are among the best ways to promote a positive cultural image, needed by all Balkan countries. People gradually realise that we can’t be that bad – after all, music is a form of expression typical to artsy guys with no bad intentions whatsoever (with the obvious exceptions of Sid Vicious and the rockstar-in-a-hotel phenomenon, of course). Anyway, that is not exactly what I was trying to say. Last night I was sitting on my couch, compiling a long Winamp playlist with my favourite music from Bulgaria and other Balkan countries. I realised that much of this music is absolutely brilliant and the fact that they haven’t made tons of money is only due to the fact that they are shooting for a distinctly niche market and the fact that they never sell anything outside the region. Why is that? Honestly, I don’t really care. What matters is that this music is great. Esma, Bregovic and all the ethno stuff are not bad but let’s see what other interesting things can be found on my playlist.

Bulgaria. Babyface Clan were a real hit in the end of the 90s, mixing electro and alternative. The leader, Nasso Ruskov was a bit obsessed about the idea to move to London and form a band there so they are now all but a fond memory from my teenage years. Today is the big day though – Babyface Clan are having a reunion concert in Sofia, and I am so so rry I can’t be there. Wickeda made a big name by fusing ska and urban reality from Sofia. One of the all time favourite songs is about the most romantic story ever – a guy meets the love of his life on the bus, and ‘Mariana, I love you so much!’. We all love Mariana and we always hope to meet her on the bus to the outskirts of Sofia. My playlist also includes Animacionerite – surreal lyrics, computer-programmed music and space suits on stage – I have never figured out why, but intuitively I feel it is top-quality. I am not going to talk about Gravity Co because they made it big on the MTV.

Across the Danube, in Romania we find some real jems of modern music, and it is not the disgusting O-Zone that took over Europe a few summers ago. We are talking about the magnificent Sukar Groove Collective: three gypsy guys, Tamango, Napoleon and Clasic, part-time singers and full-time dancing bear owners, backed by Drum & Bass. If sometimes you ask yourself whether the gypsy niche in music will ever be exhausted, the answer is ‘NO’. Maybe Boban Markovic and Goran Bregovic have got a bit boring by now, so innovation is more than welcome.

We now take a left turn and end up in Belgrade, the hotbed of Balkan rock, punk, ska, with huge traditions long before we got rid of the iron curtain. Yugoslavia fell apart but its greatest bands are still alive and kicking. You might say whatever you want about ethnic tension but it is made to look irrelevant and obscure by Bijelo Dugme, Babe, Azra, Rokeri s Moravu, Ladno Pivo and many others. And it is very funny when someone like me who has never spent more than 2 hours in Belgrade gets emotional on songs about the city’s streets, a bit wet after a morning drizzle. Take the highway from Belgrade to Skopje and meet another all-Yugoslavian favourite – Leb i Sol. It turns out that Macedonian folklore, electric guitars and jazz can be a very good combination.

If you mix everything together, you get the magnificent Balkan Horses – ethno-jazz performed by people from Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, Greece, Romania, and Croatia. Now this is real stereotype-demolition for those who have invented or use the cool word “balkanizacija”, meaning basically that people in this region have a certain tendency to split into smaller and smaller pieces until they are alone and hate everybody. And the music is absolutely brilliant, you should check it out. Also, if you have the chance to go to see Babyface Clan tonight, don’t sit here reading silly blogs but go and get yourself a ticket.

Bookmark to: