Post by petrolino on Feb 14, 2021 2:36:11 GMT
Balkan Banzai : Enter The Slovenian Gateway
It seems logical to surmise that Slovenia was the punk capital of Old Yugoslavia due to its westward, geographical positioning, giving it borders with Hungary and Austria, as well as Croatia, the gateway to ancient Italy. Inevitably, punk music in Yugoslavia was prone to being heavily politicised, due to the outlandish reign of President Josip Broz Tito, the deep economic crisis of the 1980s and the prolonged destruction of the nation during the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s.
The punk scenes that drew international attention were located in the Socialist Republic of Slovenia, on the Adriatic Coast of the Socialist Republic of Croatia, and in the war-torn city of Belgrade, the capital of the Socialist Republic of Serbia. Belgrade was also the capital city of Yugoslavia from its creation in 1918 to its dissolution in 2006.
Yugoslavia has been described as "a state concept among the South Slavic intelligentsia", which is significant. Its brazen punk politics have been filtered through the lens of the nation's complex politics, similar to the interpretation of punk dissidence in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), and that of her chief allies, such as Romania and Bulgaria.
Among the Yugoslav bands that broke through were KBO!, KUD Idijoti, Niet, Pankrti, Paraf, Patareni, Pekinska Patka, and my personal favourite, Boye, who formed in Serbia in 1981.
"It seems completely unfair from today’s perspective that Novi Sad’s Boye were not the ones rewarded with the first record for a Yugoslav all-women band. Starting in 1981 as a quartet and going strong until the late 1990s, Boye have probably been the most influential and inspirational all-female band in the region, even though they, after mid-80s, regularly kept company with one or two male musicians. After their synth phase, which resulted in several brilliant, yet obviously unreleased demos, and after their f*ck off to the Jugoton label that had wanted to turn them into a sleazy pop group, Boye’s first single from 1987 brought forward their rockish indie side. The cover announcement read “The First True Female Sound” and – as it still feels – rightfully so."
- Gregor Bulc, 'Boye, Oh Ye(s)! A Rough Guide To (Post-)Yugoslav All-Female Bands'
Boye
'Kafe Na Dnu Okeana' - Boye