I went to a concert two days ago.

Laibach

It's about time I post in this thread. The last time I did I promised to write something about two Slovenian bands, Laibach and Borghesia. I see that Scissorman posted one Laibach song, but I would like to focus on their earlier period when, it can be said, they were a Slovenian and Yugoslavian band as opposed to international and European like later in their career.

I've already mentioned that Laibach was the most radical band to come out of ex-Yugoslavia. Formed in 1980. they were also a part of a larger cultural collective NSK (Neue Slowenische Kunst) which incorporated, beside music, film and video, visual art and, how should I say, political/philosophical part that produced all those art and political manifestos. With the use of different totalitarian and state symbols and images they were very controversial, especially when they were contrasting fascist and communist symbols. Needless to say, communist Yugoslavia was shocked, like looking itself in the mirror. The name 'Laibach' was especially problematic and thus banned, because it was the name of Slovenian capital Ljubljana, in German, during Nazi occupation, which was still pretty fresh in collective memory. That's when that recognizable cross symbol was formed to represent the group instead of the name.

Throughout the years the audience was wondering what are the true political convictions of Laibach. Are they an extreme right wing or extreme left wing, fascists or communists? They weren't really eager to explain. In the public, they were the perfect actors, always in the characters and always talking in proclamations. Their interviews were actually artistic and political manifestos. So wtf is Laibach all about? We just have to listen to their manifestos, it's all there. They weren't really interested in promoting any specific political ideology, be it fascism, communism or western democracy and liberalism (yes those are ideologies too). They were interested in exploring the phenomenon of ideologies as such and how they create collective thinking, depersonalization and losing of individuality. They were also interested in juxtaposing artistic and political means of manipulation. I find this especially interesting. So, in fact, they were a socially engaged artistic act, political as long as we see all art as such, and also commentators, challengers and maybe parodists. I mean, it's really hard for me not to see the humor in their over the top monumentality and seriousness, very often dangerously close to parody. Just look at this clip:

'Država' (The State) from the first album Laibach (1985)


Musically, Laibach was an avant-garde industrial band using heavy percussions, militaristic, monumental rhythms perfectly going with those totalitarian images. This is especially evident on their first few releases: Rekapitulacija 1980-1984 (a compilation of early work), Laibach (1985) (the first album containing some of the songs from Rekapitulacija in slightly different versions), Nova akropola (1985).

'Brat moj' (My Brother)

'Nova Akropola' (New Acropolis)


There is a great documentary Laibach and NSK made (I think) in 1988. called Victory Under the Sun, about the band history and the social and political environment from which they arose. It's referred to as "Laibachian" history and I must say, I like this term. This film is very interesting overall, especially for understanding Laibach. Here are youtube links for those interested in watching it (with English subtitles):
YouTube - Laibach - Victory Under the Sun (1988) Part 1
YouTube - Laibach - Victory Under the Sun (1988) Part 2
YouTube - Laibach - Victory Under the Sun (1988) Part 3
YouTube - Laibach - Victory Under the Sun (1988) Part 4
YouTube - Laibach - Victory Under the Sun (1988) Part 5
YouTube - Laibach - Victory Under the Sun (1988) Part 6 Final


OK, since this post turned out to be much longer than I expected, I'll write about Borghesia some other time, maybe tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Thank you for that, dankrsta. I've been trying to connect with music on this thread for a while and Laibach finally did it for me (no offense, Scissorman, a lot of the music you posted is interesting to say the least). I've got Serbian roots on my mother's side so between that and recent devastating wars there I'm always interested to learn more about ex-Yugoslavia.

I'm through about half of the documentary you posted and I'm liking it very much so thanks again.

^^I'm glad you liked it Engine. If you want to learn more about ex-Yugoslavia through art, I believe films from that period would be more helpful. They were generally of much higher quality than music overall, I feel.

Borghesia is another great band from Slovenia formed in 1982. They were also a part of a larger collective this time theatrical. Musically they were an electro-industrial band, EBM (electro body music) similar to those well known European acts such as D.A.F., Clock DVA, Front 242 etc. They were exploring themes of domination and submission, be it sexual or political. Very good band overall.

From the first album Ljubav je hladnija od smrti, 1985 (which means: Love is colder than death)


Video is a bit explicit in parts, so I don't know, maybe I should put it in spoilers


Noćne šetnje (Night Walks)

I like some music in some movies and TV series of ex-Yugoslavia. But I can not remember their titles.

I know that this isn't one of the most popular bands, but I thought that I should update it just in case someone is interested.

Now, this is the person that I hate more than anyone, yet for some reason she is the most popular singer in Serbia. Which is why I'm posting it.


JELENA KARLEUSA [feat. Teca] | KRIMI RAD | OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO - YouTube



For some reason, I find this really entertaining :)

I'm going to bump this thread now.
What I don't get, though, is why the OP would post the crappy modern-day pop and turbo-folk when there's so much great rock music that was made during the existence of Yugoslavia, and that wasn't mentioned yet. Bijelo dugme, Smak, Galija, Pop mašina, Rok mašina, Divlje jagode, Riblja čorba, Osmi putnik, Atomsko sklonište, Korni grupa, Time, Drago Mlinarec/Grupa 220, Pro arte, Gordi, Kerber, Indexi, Vatreni poljubac, Generacija 5, Crna udovica, Griva, Karizma, Osvajači (who appeared in the early '90s, though)...Just to name a few.