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JJ's Bizarre Blog #48 - The Lion of the Balkans, the Crossroads of the World
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А добре сте дошли, скъпи гости! Come in, sit by the fire, make yourself at home. Here in my humble abode, I’ve prepared quite the feast for you this time. You know, I’ve said many time that I love travelling but when I do travel, I always feel like the journey is never complete until I make it back home and have some time to rest and reflect on the experience. Only then can I appreciate it all. Through the Bizarre blogs and mainly the country focused ones, we’ve already visited countless places all around the world, but now it’s that time to bring it all back home. I welcome you to my homeland and will show you around the rich musical legacy we have left behind and how that has formed and preserved our culture. In light of the joyous occasion on March 1st and our recent national holiday on March 3rd, welcome to the most important country blog I’ll ever make. Welcome to Bulgaria!
The land where we are today is one of the oldest inhabited areas on Earth and is rich with history dating back millennia. Lots of different cultures have left their mark here and being a crossroads between Europe, Asia and Africa means it was always of historical significance. It was in the year 681 that our legendary founder Khan Asparuh brought our nomadic ancestors the Bulgars (or Old Bulgarians) from Central Asia to this land and declared “Here shall be Bulgaria!”. Some mingling with the Slavs that were also in the area and several centuries of ethnogenesis later and modern Bulgarians are born! We’re a varied and proud people and our land has even more variety to offer. From steep, imposing mountains to sprawling plains, from endless fields to the majestic coast, scorching heat to frigid snow, we have a little bit of everything. We have a long and rich history, having been founded before any other European country around today. We’re the only European country to never change its name. And we’ve never lost a flag in battle! This rich legacy and varied nature has all left a deep imprint on our music, so let’s dive right in. Айде!
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Our oldest musically legacy is with our folk music of course. Known for powerful singing that can echo over mountains, characteristic vocal techniques and use of instruments like the kaval and kaba gaida (bagpipes), Bulgarian folk music is a huge cultural phenomenon alive and well today. Famously, the iconic song “Излел е Дельо хайдутин” (Come forth Delyo the Hajduk) by Valya Balkanska is one of the songs on the golden record aboard the Voyager spacecrafts that have now gone beyond even the Solar System! It’s an apt choice, because the singing is simply otherworldly! A lot of these tunes also frequently paired with the well known horo and ruchenitsa folk dances that use lots of fast and sometimes complex steps and energetic jumps and hops. The former is also most often done by a large group of people joined hand in hand. While I can’t perform these to save my life, I can’t deny the appeal and the togetherness they bring!
The iconic folk songs also inspired many of our early classical composes that started to showcase their work right as the 20th century kicked off. Likewise, the rich vocal techniques helped many of our singers become massive names in the realms of opera, becoming stars on the biggest stages all over the globe!
As the 50s and 60s rolled in the fires of conflict cooled down, the first popular music started to be recorded and the Bulgarian musical industry took its first cautious steps. It didn’t take long for the success to come though, as many iconic singers like the angelic Emil Dimitrov rose to the occasion and provided some of the most anthemic songs ever heard, ones that are deeply cherished by all of us to this day!
This would give rise to the so called “estrada” movement. Somewhat comparable to “arena rock”, these are oldschool pop songs recognized by their massive presence designed for the big stage, memorable choruses and flowing danceable melodies, taking heavy inspiration from the similar movement in Italy. In fact, the Italian songs themselves are hugely popular here too as I’ve mentioned before. The Bulgarian artists of this generation are household names to this day and when the language barrier could be overcome, many of them have found massive international success as well!
Thus the base of Bulgarian pop was formed, a tradition that stays strong to this day! Now, with the complete embrace of modern recording techniques and influences from foreign genres, the variety of sounds is even greater than before and there are many excellent gems to be found.
Speaking of outside influences, Bulgarian hip-hop came about in the modern age too, bringing a distinct bite to the mix, taking the in-your-face attitude of American rap and making it more relateable. BG rap is known for often brutally honest, off-colour lyrics that are never shy to point at the issues in our society but also never forgot how to have fun. All night parties and political parties, you can find it all.
Right, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. When you talk about Bulgarian pop, you can’t forget to mention the so called pop-folk genre, also known abroad as “turbofolk” or “chalga” as we like to call it. While I think the label is quite a misnomer, it’s essentially very popular songs that have a strong mix from folk music with lots of horn instruments and synths, catchy beats, characteristic “curly” vocals and party fueled lyrics. Or “songs for a table” as we like to say. It’s a divisive topic this one, but its popularity is undeniable and even I can’t lie, some of the songs, especially the older ones, are really catchy. Some may claim that they don’t listen to chalga, but if there’s enough rakia on the table and you put a microphone in their hand, you’ll see them know all the lyrics by heart. So throw some napkins, smash some dishes and have fun!
Among this phenomenon, one massively important name is our well known musician, TV host, politician and walking sequoia Slavi Trifonov and his accompanying Ku-Ku Band. Playing a more catchy and straightforward sound drawing mainly from pop-folk while also mixing in elements or rock and other genres for a truly potent mix. Sometimes they even perform full of folklore songs, for that extra bit of patriotism. Say what you will about the guy but no party over here is complete without his songs and they just really get you pumped every time. I know my school years wouldn’t have been the same otherwise.
Speaking of rock, Bulgaria was an early adopter of rock music in the Eastern bloc. Even though rock music and other genres associated with the West were banned during communist times, a lot of the classic records still made their way over here and inspired many to pursue similar approaches, both as a musical endeavor and an act of rebellion. These songs may sound soft and calm by today's standards, but they were symbols of freedom when they were new. And they are amazing songs too, I guarantee you some of these would’ve been as well known and respected as “Stairway to Heaven” or “Wish you Were Here” if it weren’t for the language barrier and ban of exports. This didn’t stop them from captivating the hearts at home though.
The rock movement would continue to this day and in the 90s as the Iron Curtain fell and Western music and technology was embraced, it allowed our rock stars to become more accepted in the mainstream and go above and beyond with free spirited songwriting and liberal use of modern tech. The results speak for themselves!
One of the biggest names of the more modern rock movement would be personal favourite of mine B.T.R (short for Bending the Rules, the name of their first album). From slow, romantic and emotional ballads to energetic rock anthems, they have a storied career with lots of variety and have been the torchbearers of Bulgarian rock for many years. Their rich, masterful instrumentation combined with their poetic, memorable lyrics are something magical to behold!
To the modern day, we still have bubbling rock scene with countless bands, now freely experimenting with different styles, influences, genres and themes. There’s too many to list and the bands are too varied to be put into one umbrella but rest assured, there’s something for everyone here and the exploration of the scene is a thoroughly enjoyable one. These Cool Den lads in particular, I know nothing about them, but they seem nice. Reminds me of fish.
Rock has a tendency to quickly be smelted into metal and this happen here too, with many classic bands arising back in the 80s and taking on the task of bringing this new heavy sound to our free spirited generations. Often they were epic and emotional love declarations, but plenty of bands also showed something that is typical of a lot of our music – humorous lyrics that present the woes of daily existence in an honest yet sarcastic manner. Fun factor and social commentary all in one!
I would like to give a special shoutout to the absolute legends, the patriots from Ahat. Their debut album Походът (The March) is, in my humble opinion, the greatest metal album to ever come out of Bulgaria! An epic assault of classic heavy metal with a distinctly power metal leaning. With frontman Zvezdi’s fantastic soaring voice, amazing guitar work, flawless instrumentation and tasteful symphonic elements, they truly had a lighting in a bottle album. Not to mention the grand, story-driven lyrics dealing with important moments from our history and the essence of who we are. The main single Черната Овца (The Black Sheep) has become the official anthem of Bulgarian metalheads and of everyone who considers themselves an outcast!
With such a foundation, many other classic heavy and power metal bands have sprung up to bring that tasteful epicness to our scene! Many of them also keep a strong patriotic feel that keeps the pride of our nation strong!
Another important aspect of our music scene and a vital aspect of our culture is punk, folk punk in particular. The Balkans as a whole are a massive hotbed for punk, now even more than the countries where the genre first spawned, and Bulgaria is no exception. Rebellious, hard hitting punk fits perfectly with our rambunctious nature and we truly made it our own by mixing in lots of folk instruments as well as elements of ska. The lyrics of Bulgarian punk standout with their unfiltered honesty, sense of humour and jabs at social norms. Like I said, this kind of stuff is a recurring theme in our music and punk is where this is in its purest form. The punk movement remains massive to this day and is a foundational influence on countless other parts of the scene!
With the fire of passion lit by classic metal and punk, Bulgaria has become a powerhouse in the modern metal scene. While most of our bands remain pretty underground, they have branched out internationally and present some of the finest tunes in all kinds of popular genres like metalcore, melodeath, groove metal, djent and more. I’ve been immersed in all of this for over a decade now and with all these awesome young bands about, I’m calm that the future of the scene is in good hands!
Easily the biggest star of this are the might Odd Crew! These four childhood friends started as a classic metalcore band with groovy riffs and brutal breakdowns before evolving into a more emotional and progressive sound with powerful introspective lyrics. Their discography has become impressively rich with the constant being the awesome guitar work, tight rhythm section and empowering vocals. They are truly Bulgaria’s best musical export and a sensation to see live. I only got four words left to say: STRENGTH, PRIDE, RESPECT, FAMILY!
Going into specific genres, there’s plenty to choose from. Death metal has grown increasingly popular, with tons of clubs and festivals hosting countless bands that bring on the heaviness in all kinds of forms. Whichever subflavour of extremeness you’re looking for, we got you covered.
Black metal has been absolutely massive too. Our glorious mountains and mystical forests are the perfect backdrop for this kind of sound and once more our long history and breadth of dramatic moments in it are the ideal inspiration.
And since it’s been such a recurring theme throughout everything we talked about here, it’s only natural that we have a strong folk metal scene too! After all, you’ve seen how folk music continues to play an important role to this day and it seems to permeate through popular music too, so folk metal stands as the purest modernization of the style. Reviving ancient tales, preserving the mastery of traditional instruments and promoting national clothing are just some of the things achieved, beyond just being crazy catchy song to have an absolute blast to! I mean, who doesn’t want to mosh to bagpipes, flutes and fiddles?
All of this and more await you in our scene! And this is without mentioning the multitude of bands that cannot reliably be put into any one category and embrace experimentation, genre fusion and uniqueness. Mixtures of electronic, goth, doom, stoner, prog and more are common and just like around the world, young bands are straying from traditional genre definitions and exploring new sonic territories.
Let's not forget the many neo-folk bands that combine our own music with ska, reggae, latino and many other sounds to craft a dancey and fun backdrop for the sarcastic and hilarious lyrics that have become a Bulgarian trademark! Probably no other bands encapsulate everything we and our music are all about better than these.
So there you have it! I sincerely hope you enjoyed this in-depth journey into the music of my country! You can probably tell that this one means a lot to me and I hope I’ve been able to do it all justice. Those of you reading this that are from smaller countries know that it’s quite rare to get any international recognition, so it always feels special when we get noticed and referenced in a positive light. Thankfully, we’ve been able to do that, especially in music where if you look deeper, you can see Bulgarian music’s subtle influence on many works worldwide. We sometimes even coerce foreigners into writing songs about us directly!
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In any case, I hope you enjoyed this adventure. I’ve been engrossed with all this music all my life, so it feels really good to give it its due respects in this way. It’s also cathartic that after all these blogs I’m not talking about “they”, but “we” instead. For every non-Bulgarian reading this, most of this is probably new to you, so I hope I managed to inspire you to explore our culture and all the awesome stuff we’ve put out there. If you do enjoy it, also consider visiting, our hospitality is world renowned! Благодаря ви от сърце, take care and see you again soon!
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