Yugoslav Turbo-folk

As far as i could remember Turbo-folk music was played in our house. Its the music i grew up on and its the music most meaningful to me. Turbo-Folk originated from former Yugoslavia, Serbia and Bosnia mostly, in the early 80s not the early 90s as most sources on the net state. It is a commercial pop-folk style of music that’s as its hinted by its very name, ‘Turbo-Folk’, a conglomeration of traditional music and modern electronica and pop music. Pop-folk are also musical styles in Bulgaria, Albania, Romania and Greece. Turbo-Folk’s a style usually confined to the former Yugoslav nations of Serbia and Bosnia, it is a sub genre within Pop-Folk nevertheless. The musical style was publicly sold as Turbo-Folk from the early 90s in Serbia and Bosnia, a time when both nations were in the midst of a horrific war. Its during the early 90s that Turbo-Folk truly became the staple of commercial music, the genre became fused to the very identity of the region. To this day its still a very successful genre in Serbia and Bosnia, though other musical genres are also gaining popularity in the further ‘Europinised’ balkans. Personally i dismiss any musical genre other than Folk, or Turbo-Folk as Serbian or Bosnian music. Its why i never watch Eurovision, as its a music contest based upon westernised music and thus excluding Serbian and Bosnian Turbo-Folk. I believe that any semi-popular Turbo-Folk singer can out do through musical excellence, any competitor on the Eurovision contest.

If you grew up on Turbo-Folk, or had listened to the music extensively,  and your ears had attuned to the powerful sound, and the great lyricism, all other music pales in comparison. Especially western pop music. Western pop music music lacks the rhythm, soul, and audial atmosphere that’s produced by Serbian and Bosnian Turbo-Folk. Also very rarely you’d hear any western singer that carries any semblance of purity and power in their voice, as is the case in Turbo-Folk. To my ears most westernised genres sound very monotone in their lyrics, the music is also very two dimensional. Northern European Heavy Metal and American Rnb are the only two facets of western music that allow the instruments and vocals to achieve sufficient emotional response, a strong melody and a three dimensional feel to the music. The music needs to not only captivate your hearing and thinking, but also your very soul as the listener. Turbo-Folk plays with your feelings, its music may sound upbeat but the lyrics would be sad. This allows the music to play on your emotions. This is something you rarely get from any western musical genre, and i grew up in an Americanised western nation.