Brkic,+Jovan

**__Music Sub-Genre: Yugoslavian Turbo-Folk__ by Jovan Brkic, Student # 994081881 [[image:Map_Yogoslavia.jpg width="368" height="339" align="center"]]**
__**What is it?**__

Turbo Folk is a popular musical sub-genre that was established in the Balkans in the early 1990s. By taking elements from traditional songs of the former Yugoslavia, and intertwining them with powerful, lively dance beats, this form of music became very popular within the region, and is popular to this day (Answers.Com).

The term //Turbo Folk// itself was coined in the 1980s. When asked to describe his music that combined various styles and sounds, Yugoslavian rock star, Rambo Amadeus, jokingly referred to it as "turbo folk". This was purely out of jest, as the idea of "turbo", or modern music being combined with "folk" music (which, in Yugoslavia, is rooted in hundreds of years of conservative tradition) was humourous. However, this term stuck, and is now the official term used to describe this musical sub-genre (Answers.Com).
 * __Origins and Diffusion__**

In the early 1990s, Yugoslavian pop artists had begun diversifying their musical styles by incorporating elements of traditional folk music in their songs. Meanwhile, many folk artists were making a push to commercialize their music from the villages and small towns of Yugoslavia to the mainstream market of the Balkans. Turbo Folk music was derived from balancing out these two sub-genres (Etsbor.Edu). During this time, though, the former Yugoslavia was embroiled in a bitter civil war. Along with the great death and destruction came economic hardships. For many, music was their only escape from their nightmarish-reality. These people found solace in the gripping sounds of Turbo Folk (Answers.Com).

During Turbo Folk's rapid rise in popularity, it took its commercial appeal to the next level. Singers re-invented their images to fit with a hedonistic, flippant attitude that has come to define the genre. Male artists have usually been known to surround themselves with beautiful, scantily-clad dancers in music videos and live performances, while playing up a "play boy" image. Female artists push their sex appeal to the maximum by constantly dressing provocotively and implementing suggestive dance moves into live performances (Answers.Com). These antics have brought high viewership rates for television stations all over the former Yugoslavia (Answers.Com). While these images are not far from what can be seen in our society, its diffusion in Yugoslavian society was groundbreaking, as live media to that point had always been conservative (Answers.Com).

Two groundbreaking songs responsible for the rapid spread in Turbo Folk's popularity are "Ne Moze Nam Niko Nista" by Mitar Miric (translates to "Nobody Can Do Anything To Us"), and "200 Na Sat" by Ivan Gavrilovic ("200 Kilometres Per Hour"). Miric's song is about a couple defiantly celebrating their love against all odds. When released, it not only was a hit in the country, but especially garnered many Serbian fans who felt isolated by international sanctions against their country. Gavrilovic's song was a party song about speed and sports cars. This song made waves all over the Balkans, not just in Yugoslavia (Answers.Com).

__**Other Influences**__

Turbo Folk has expanded its musical horizons, with many songs today taking samples from Roma music (gypsy), Middle Eastern melodies and beats, Serbian Brass Band music, Turkish and Greek pop music, and electronica dance samplings. This makes Turbo Folk more modern sounding than ever before (Answers.Com). This sub-genre has also emulated global-wide trends in fashion, as female singers wear nothing but the latest designer name clothes, while male singers often dress up formally in a dress or semi-dress-up attire (Answers.Com).





__**Current Trends**__

Turbo Folk's constant portrayal of sexuality remains a pertinent topic. More than ever, female singers are flaunting their bodies, and even publicizing their sexual escapades off the stage to generate a "buzz". Male performers seem more comfortable than ever about using suggestive lyrics, which usually focus on women (Answers.Com). While it is not unique to have these trends occur, it is noteworthy that a genre rooted in traditional folk music could morph into what it is today (Etsbor.Edu).



Many Yugoslavian pop artists have made waves into sampling Turbo Folk elements into their songs to generate wider appeal to audiences (Etsbor.Edu). For example, Zeljko Samardzic, a noted musician whose music is a mixture of pop and soft rock, used folk elements in his song Devet Hiljada Metara (9,000 Miles) in 2004 to make it one of the year's biggest hit songs throughout the former Yugoslavia.

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__**Turbo Folk Today**__

Left-wing opponents of this sub-genre believe that Turbo Folk is a microcosm of the unethical values brought forth by war. They consider this sub-genre to be vulgar and promote corruption, which both often were part of life in many parts of the former Yugoslavia during the 1990s civil war (Answers.Com). British culture theorist Alexei Monroe calls Turbo Folk "porno nationalism", while the prominent Serbian feminist, Ivana Kronja, refers to it as "aggressive, sadistic, and pornographically eroticized". She also takes the stand that Turbo Folk is directly connected to a war-time culture of violence, crime and war-profiteering (Answers.Com). Right-wing opponents have criticized the often "Turkish" or "Middle Eastern" musical sounds that sometimes get incorporated into songs. In their eyes, this represents an undesirable "Tehranization of Serbia", and is "un-European" (Answers.Com). Meanwhile, non-ideological opponents point out Turbo Folk's commercialization of inappropriate social stereotypes, such as having women sexually objectified, while men have to appear macho, and flaunt their money (Answers.Com). Media outlets in the former Yugoslavia defend their broadcasting of such entertainment by highlighting this sub-genre's roots as reflecting common cultural sentiments, and providing the citizens of country with entertainment to occupy their minds during difficult times in their war-torn homeland (Answers.Com).

Despite the oppositon, Turbo Folk remains as popular as ever. It is a sub-genre that has widespread appeal in the Balkans on account of its diverse sound, and of its entertaining style and portrayal of a culture. And, as artists continue to modernize its sound, Turbo Folk is constantly making a transition the more commercial styel of Westernized pop music (Etsbor.Edu). A successful transition in this regard would only enhance the international appeal of this music. Whatever the future holds though, Turbo Folk will always remain a part of pop culture in the former Yugoslavia as an entertaining, energizing distraction to the economic and political hardships of the past two decades.

__**Some Famous Artists:**__

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 * Ceca**

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 * Mile Kitic**

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 * Haris Dzinovic**

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 * Viki Miljkovic**

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 * Mitar Miric**

__**Bibliography**__

"Sta U Stvari Znaci Turbo Folk?" __Etsbor.Edu__. 2005. 1 Nov. 2006 .

"Turbo Folk." __Answers.Com__. 2006. 30 Oct. 2006 .


 * __Images__**

__Ceca Raznatovic__. __Wikipedia__. 3 Nov. 2006 .

__Dara Bubamara__. __Nachtwerk__. 2 Nov. 2006 .

__Indira Radic__. __Serbian Cafe__. 5 Nov. 2006 .

__Nedeljko Bajic Baja__. __Nedeljko Bajic Baja.Com__. 6 Nov. 2006 .

__Saban Saulic__. __Balkan Media__. 4 Nov. 2006 .

__Seka Aleksic__. __Zurke.Org__. 6 Nov. 2006 .

__Sinan Sakic__. __Wikipedia__. 3 Nov. 2006 .

__Yugoslavia. Binghamton.Edu__. 10 Nov. 2006 

__Laze Mjesec__. Perf. Haris Dzinovic. 2003. __YouTube__. 7 Nov. 2006 .

__Nemoze Nam Niko Nista__. Perf. Mitar Miric. __YouTube__. 10 Nov. 2006 .

__Pazi Skime Spavas__. Perf. Ceca. 2004. __YouTube__. 12 Nov. 2006 .

__Sampanjac__. Perf. Mile Kitic. 2005. __YouTube__. 8 Nov. 2006 .

=**WORK DONE BY JOVAN BRKIC**=