Kultur Shock — Kultura-Diktatura

A couple of weeks back I went to see band Kultur Shock perform in my hometown. I only heard a few samples at their site that didn't convince me, but tickled me enough to make me go out and see them, because I figured it might work live. Well, it did! As soon as the first Bulgarian theme on two guitars and saxophone hit off I was sold.

The band consists of Bulgarian and Bosnian immigrants of the US who, along with Americans and a Japanese bassplayer, make a very lively mix of rock and themes from their homelands. Songs are traditional Bosnian, Serbian, Bulgarian and Macedonian, others are penned by themselves and besides the Turkish influence on all of these songs also rock, funk and ska are added to the mix. Singer Srđan Jevđević reportedly had a career in former Yugoslavia under the name Gino Banana and in Kultur Shock he's the star running around in a kilt with a strapped on darbuka. The others focus a little more on playing but all with great enthousiasm.

After the show I bought the first CD and their labelboss Billy Gould (yeah, him) was nice enough to provide me with the promo of their new record Kultura-Diktatura. It's hard to catch the energy on stage on record and live the energy can make up for things that might be a nuissance when listening at home. Based on the samples that heard on their site I thought this was the case with this band. Gino's vocals seemed a bit over the top and I hadn't heard those great folkthemes on steroids. After playing the disc a couple of times I can say that Gino's vocals are no problem after all: he's pretty good singer, it's just that he's so full of energy that he sometimes gets a bit off the tracks. In a very charming way that is, but that's easier to understand once you've seen him on stage. The band are excellent musicians: the Bosnian/Bulgarian guitar tandem, Amy Denio's saxophone and occasional vocals and the Japanese/American rhythm section can 'hold it down'. And keep it up, I might add, although the tempo's don't reach the insanity found in Bulgarian weddingmusic.

The blend of Balkan-music and Western rock is really starting to catch on these days. From the East as well as the West the globalisation is starting to work and more fair than in business. It's nice to see that people from war-torn places like the former Yugoslavia (and an entire Balkan still very much under the influence of all kinds of ethnic tensions) still can have this great, non-purist attitude. Music is certainly not a guaranteed peacemaker, I don't believe in this 'universal language' crap, music is often used to promote hatred (and I'm not even meaning black metal here). Kultur Shock shows that culture clashes can be used for better purposes. If you ever felt like moshing to a ćoćek, here's your chance.