Turbo-folk
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| Turbo-folk | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | 1990s, FR Yugoslavia |
Turbo-folk is a subgenre of contemporary South Slavic pop music that initially developed in Serbia during the 1990s as a fusion of techno and folk. The term was an invention of the Montenegrin singer Rambo Amadeus, who jokingly described his aggressive, satirical style of music as "turbo folk".[1] While primarily associated with Serbia, this style is also popular in other former Yugoslav republics.
Croatia
[edit]Turbo-folk grew in Croatia in part due to the popularity of the Croatian singer Severina's fusion of turbo-folk in her music. Turbo-folk is purportedly seen as a "part of everyday life in Croatia and serves a means of social release and reaction to the effects of globalisation in Croatia" according to contemporary art professor Urosh Cvoro of UNSW Sydney.[2]
Upon introduction of Billboard Croatia Songs chart on 15 February 2022, it became apparent that mainstream music from Serbia and other former Yugoslav republics (which is all described as turbo-folk or by a derogatory term "cajka" (plural: cajke) by its critics in Croatia[3]) dominated the music taste of the people of Croatia, as the only Croatian artists featured on the chart were Eni Jurišić, Matija Cvek, 30zona, Kuku$ Klan, Jelena Rozga and Grše, and the only Western artists featured on the chart were Glass Animals and Red Hot Chili Peppers.[4][5]
Central Europe
[edit]Turbo-folk can be heard in Balkan clubs and Ex-Yu-style discos in parts of Switzerland that speak German. Reports of turbo-folk from 2023 describe the music used for diasporic youth in these areas to "socialise and live out the culture of their country of origin" according to Dr Müller-Suleymanova of ZHAW.[6]
Criticism
[edit]
Critics of turbo-folk alleged that it was a promotional instrument of Serbia's political ideology during Milošević rule.[7] This liberal section of Serbian and Croatian society explicitly viewed this music as vulgar, almost pornographic kitsch, glorifying crime, moral corruption and nationalist xenophobia. In addition to making a connection between turbofolk and "war profiteering, crime & weapons cult, rule of force and violence", in her book Smrtonosni sjaj (Deadly Splendor) Belgrade media theorist Ivana Kronja refers to its look as "aggressive, sadistic and pornographically eroticised iconography".[8][9] Along the same lines, British culture theorist Alexei Monroe calls the phenomenon "porno-nationalism".[10] However, turbo-folk was equally popular amongst the South Slavic peoples during the Yugoslav Wars.[9]
As long as I am the mayor, there will be no nightclub-singers of [cajke] or turbo-folk parades in a single municipal hall.
The resilience of a turbo-folk culture and musical genre, often referred to as the "soundtrack to Serbia’s wars",[12] was and to a certain extent still is, actively promoted and exploited by pro-government commercial TV stations, most notably on Pink and Palma TV-channels, which devote significant amount of their broadcasting schedule to turbo-folk shows and music videos.
Others, however, feel that this neglects the specific social and political context that brought about turbo-folk, which was, they say, entirely different from the context of contemporary western popular culture. In their opinion, turbo-folk served as a dominant paradigm of the "militant nationalist" regime of Slobodan Milošević, "fully controlled by regime media managers".[13] John Fiske feels that during that period, turbo-folk and its close counterpart, Serbian Eurodance, had the monopoly over the officially permitted popular culture, while, according to him, in contrast, Western mass media culture of the time provided a variety of music genre, youth styles, and consequently ideological positions.[14]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ Rambo Amadeus, eurovision.tv, 2012 Eurovision Song Contest participant profile
- ^ Cvoro, Urosh (2016). Turbo-folk Music and Cultural Representations of National Identity in Former Yugoslavia. Taylor and Francis. ISBN 978-1317006060.
- ^ Marina Radoš, Narodnjaci, ćirilica i turbofolk: Što su to uopće cajke?
- ^ "Croatia Songs (Week of February 19, 2022)". Billboard. 15 February 2022. Archived from the original on 17 February 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
- ^ Marjanović, Hrvoje (18 February 2022). "Billboard Croatia nikad neće biti Билборд Кроејша". Index.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- ^ Müller-Suleymanova, Dilyara (2023). "Shadows of the past : violent conflict and its repercussions for second-generation Bosnians in the diaspora". Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. 49 (7): 1786–1802. doi:10.1080/1369183X.2021.1973392. hdl:11475/23217.
- ^ "In These Times 25/07 -- Serbia's New New Wave". Inthesetimes.com. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ "Film Criticism". Filmcriticism.allegheny.edu. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
- ^ a b "Komentari". Nspm.rs. Retrieved 23 April 2017.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Central Europe Review - Balkan Hardcore". Ce-review.org. Archived from the original on 16 August 2000. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Catherine Baker, "The concept of turbofolk in Croatia: inclusion/exclusion in the construction of national musical identity"" (PDF). Eprints.soton.ac.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
- ^ Gordana Andric (15 June 2011). "Turbo-folk Keeps Pace with New Rivals". Balkaninsight.com. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
- ^ "Explore Taylor & Francis Online". Maney.co.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
- ^ John Fiske, Television Culture, February 1988, ISBN 0-415-03934-7
References
[edit]- Collin, Matthew (2004) [2001]. This Is Serbia Calling (2nd ed.). London: Serpent's Tail. pp. 78–84. ISBN 1-85242-776-0.
- Gordy, Eric (1999). "The Destruction of Musical Alternatives". The Culture of Power in Serbia. Penn State Press. ISBN 978-0-271-01958-1.
- Uroš Čvoro (2016) [2014]. Turbo-folk Music and Cultural Representations of National Identity in Former Yugoslavia. Ashgate; Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-317-00606-0.
- Sabina Mihelj, "The Media and the Symbolic Geographies of Europe: The Case of Yugoslavia", 2007.
- William Uricchio, We Europeans?: media, representations, identities, Intellect Books, 2008, p. 168-9
External links
[edit]- Balkania Fanzine - Turbo-Folk and Balkan Music Video Culture Blog
- Report about turbo-folk, ceca and politics
- Muzika u vestima dana
