Turbo-folk is a subgenre of contemporary South Slavic pop music that initially developed in

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

during the 1990s as a fusion of

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

and

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

. The term was an invention of the Montenegrin singer Rambo Amadeus, who jokingly described the aggressive, satirical style of music as "turbo folk". While primarily associated with Serbia, this style is also popular in other former Yugoslav republics.

Croatia

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 Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

professor Urosh Cvoro of

UNSW Sydney The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

. 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 "" (plural: ''cajke'') by its critics in Croatia) dominated the music taste of the

people of Croatia The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

, 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 Glass Animals are a British indie rock band formed in Oxford, England in 2010. The band's line-up consists of Dave Bayley (vocals, guitar, keyboards, drums, songwriting), Drew MacFarlane (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Edmund Irwin-Singe ...

and

Red Hot Chili Peppers The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1982, consisting of Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Flea (musician), Flea (bass), John Frusciante (guitar), and Chad Smith (drums). Their music incorporates elements of a ...

Central Europe

Turbo-folk can be heard in Balkan clubs and Ex-Yu-style discos in parts of

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. 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.

Criticism

Critics of turbo-folk alleged that it was a promotional instrument of Serbia's political ideology during Milošević rule. This liberal section of Serbian and Croatian society explicitly viewed this music as vulgar, almost pornographic

kitsch ''Kitsch'' ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as Naivety, naïve imitation, overly eccentric, gratuitous or of banal Taste (sociology), taste. The modern avant-garde traditionally opposed kitsch ...

, glorifying crime, moral corruption and

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

xenophobia Xenophobia (from (), 'strange, foreign, or alien', and (), 'fear') is the fear or dislike of anything that is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression that is based on the perception that a conflict exists between an in-gr ...

. In addition to making a connection between turbofolk and "

war profiteering A war profiteer is any person or organization that derives unreasonable profit (economics), profit from warfare or by selling weapons and other goods to parties at war. The term typically carries strong negative connotations. General profiteerin ...

, 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 Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...

". Along the same lines, British culture theorist Alexei Monroe calls the phenomenon "porno-nationalism". However, turbo-folk was equally popular amongst the South Slavic peoples during the

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place from 1991 to 2001 in what had been the Socialist Federal Republic of ...

. The resilience of a turbo-folk culture and musical genre, often referred to as the ''"soundtrack to Serbia’s wars"'', was and to a certain extent still is, actively promoted and exploited by pro-government commercial TV stations, most notably on

Pink Pink is a pale tint of red, the color of the Dianthus plumarius, pink flower. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, p ...

and Palma TV-channels, which devote significant amount of their broadcasting schedule to turbo-folk shows and

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

s. 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

" regime of

Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević ( sr-Cyrl, Слободан Милошевић, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the President of Serbia between 1989 and 1997 and President of the Federal Republic of Yugos ...

, "fully controlled by regime media managers". John Fiske feels that during that period, turbo-folk and its close counterpart, Serbian

Eurodance Eurodance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of Hip-hop, rap, techno and Eurodisco. This genre of music is heavily influenced by the use ...

, had the monopoly over the officially permitted popular culture, while, according to him, in contrast, Western mass

media culture In cultural studies, media culture refers to the current Western capitalist society that emerged and developed during the 20th century under the influence of mass media.Thomas (2012p.30quotation: The term highlights the extensive impact and inte ...

of the time provided a variety of music genre, youth styles, and consequently

ideological An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...

positions.John Fiske, ''Television Culture'', February 1988,

References

External links

Balkania Fanzine
- Turbo-Folk and Balkan Music Video Culture Blog
Report about turbo-folk, ceca and politics

Muzika u vestima dana
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turbo-Folk Serbian styles of music Music of Serbia Folk music genres

Croatia

Central Europe

Criticism

See also

References

Further reading

External links