In the minds of many foreigners, Slovenian

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

means a form of polka that is still popular today, especially among expatriates and their descendants. However, there are many styles of Slovenian folk music beyond polka and

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wa ...

. , , , and are a few of the traditional music styles and dances.

Prehistory

The

Divje Babe flute The Divje Babe flute is a cave bear femur pierced by spaced holes that was unearthed in 1995 during systematic archaeological excavations led by the Institute of Archaeology of the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, at ...

, an artifact found in a cave near

Cerkno Cerkno (; it, Circhina; ger, Kirchheim) is a small town in the Littoral region of Slovenia. It has around 2,000 inhabitants and is the administrative centre of the Cerkno Hills. It is the seat of the Municipality of Cerkno. Cerkno is a small ...

, Slovenia, is possibly the oldest known musical instrument ever. Its age is estimated at approximately 55,000 years. The history of modern Slovenian music can be traced back to the 5th century, when Christianity spread in Carantania. Liturgical

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

s (''kyrie Eleison'') were introduced, and became the first

plainchant Plainsong or plainchant (calque from the French ''plain-chant''; la, cantus planus) is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in Latin text ...

to make a connection to the peoples' language.

Classical music

Medieval

During the medieval era, secular music was as popular as church music, including wandering

minnesinger (; "love song") was a tradition of lyric- and song-writing in Germany and Austria that flourished in the Middle High German period. This period of medieval German literature began in the 12th century and continued into the 14th. People who wr ...

Jurij Slatkonja Jurij Slatkonja (german: Georg von Slatkonia, also ''Jurij Chrysippus,'' Slovenian: ''Jurij Slatkonja''; 21 March 1456 – 26 April 1522) was a Carniolan choirmaster and the first residential Bishop of Vienna. He was also the first owner of an e ...

, a Carniolan conductor and composer from

Novo Mesto Novo Mesto (; sl, Novo mesto; also known by other alternative names) is a city on a bend of the Krka River in the City Municipality of Novo Mesto in southeastern Slovenia, close to the border with Croatia. The town is traditionally considered ...

, became the director of the

Vienna Boys' Choir The Vienna Boys' Choir (german: Wiener Sängerknaben) is a choir of boy sopranos and altos based in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the best known boys' choirs in the world. The boys are selected mainly from Austria, but also from many other count ...

in 1498. By the time of

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

in the 16th century, music was used to proselytize in Carniola. The first Slovenian hymnal, ''

Eni Psalmi Eni S.p.A. () is an Italian multinational energy company headquartered in Rome. Considered one of the seven " supermajor" oil companies in the world, it has operations in 69 countries with a market capitalization of US$54.08 billion, as of 11 A ...

'', was published in 1567. This period saw the rise of

Renaissance music Renaissance music is traditionally understood to cover European music of the 15th and 16th centuries, later than the Renaissance era as it is understood in other disciplines. Rather than starting from the early 14th-century '' ars nova'', the Tr ...

ians like Jacobus Gallus. Italy was an important musical influence of the period, especially in sacred music, such as that of

Antonio Tarsia (composer) :''To be distinguished from Antonio Tarsia (sculptor) (Venice 1662–1739), an Italian sculptor.'' Antonio Tarsia (July 28, 1643 – 1722) was an Italian composer. Tarsia was born in Koper, Slovenia. He was the major composer of the early Baroq ...

Koper Koper (; it, Capodistria, hr, Kopar) is the fifth largest city in Slovenia. Located in the Istrian region in the southwestern part of the country, approximately five kilometres () south of the border with Italy and 20 kilometres () from Triest ...

, in

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

and opera. A ''Commedia'' was performed in Ljubljana in 1660, and an opera in 1700 in the family palace of the Auerspergs.

Enlightenment

In 1701,

Johann Berthold von Höffer Johann Berthold von Höffer (born in Ljubljana on 24 July 1667 - died 1718) was a nobleman from Ljubljana, and an amateur Slovenian composer. He founded ''The Academia Philharmonicorum'', Ljubljana in 1701, and primarily composed Latin oratorios. ...

(1667–1718), a nobleman and amateur composer from Ljubljana, founded the

Academia Philharmonicorum Labacensis An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...

based on Italian models. and the Ljubljana branch of the Roman

Academy of Arcadia The Accademia degli Arcadi or Accademia dell'Arcadia, "Academy of Arcadia" or "Academy of the Arcadians", was an Italian literary academy founded in Rome in 1690. The full Italian official name was Pontificia Accademia degli Arcadi. History F ...

was founded a few years later in 1709. Apart from Höffer, the Cathedral provost Michael Omerza was also noted for his oratorios. The first major Slovenian opera was performed in 1732, ''Il Tamerlano'' by ''

abbate Abbate and L'Abbate is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Allison Abbate (born 1965), American film producer * Anthony Abbate, American former Chicago police officer and criminal * Carlo Abbate (c. 1600–before 1640), It ...

'' Giuseppe Clemente de Bonomi, maestro di Capella, in the palace of the Carniolan vice-regent, the duke Francesco Antonio Sigifrid Della Torre e Valassina. Beginning in 1768, German theatre companies arrived and became very popular. The 1794 formation of the Philharmonische Gesellschaft was important because it was one of the first such orchestras in Central Europe.

19th century

The 19th century saw the growth of a distinctively Slovenian classical music sound based on

romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

, while the German minority continued to push for a stronger Germanic identity. The

Ljubljana opera house The Ljubljana Opera House ( sl, Opera, or ) is an opera house in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. The seat of the national opera and ballet company, the Ljubljana Slovene National Theatre Opera and Ballet, it serves as the national opera buildin ...

(1892) was shared by Slovene and German opera companies. Composers of Slovenian Lieder and art songs include Emil Adamič (1877–1936), Fran Gerbič (1840–1917),

Alojz Geržinič Alojz Geržinič (11 June 1915 – 26 March 2008) is a Slovenian composer. Many of his compositions are for voice. A native of Ljubljana, he lived and worked in Buenos Aires, Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ...

(1915–2008), Benjamin Ipavec (1829–1908),

Davorin Jenko Davorin Jenko (born Martin Jenko; 9 November 1835 – 25 November 1914) was a Slovene composer. He is sometimes considered the father of Slovenian national Romantic music. Among other songs, he composed the melody for the Serbian national anthem " ...

(1835–1914),

Anton Lajovic image:Anton Lajovic 1918.jpg, Anton Lajovic Anton Lajovic (1878 in Vače – 1960 in Ljubljana) was a Slovenian composer. He was noted for his Lieder and was influenced by the late-romantic French school.Jim Samson ''The Late romantic era: from ...

(1878–1960), Kamilo Mašek (1831–1859),

Josip Pavčič Josip Pavčič ( Velike Lašče 18 July 1870 - Ljubljana 24 September 1949) was a Slovenian composer and organist.Dragotin Cvetko ''Slovene music in its European setting'' 1991 He was popular with choral societies, and for his art songs. His fath ...

(1870–1949),

Zorko Prelovec Zorko Prelovec was a Slovene composer, well known for his choral works and Lieder In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term ...

(1887–1939), and

Lucijan Marija Škerjanc Lucijan Marija Škerjanc (December 17, 1900 – February 27, 1973) was a Slovene composer, music pedagogue, conductor, musician, and writer who was accomplished on and wrote for a number of musical instruments such as the piano, violin and ...

(1900–1973).

20th century

In the early 20th century,

impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

was spreading across Slovenia, which soon produced composers

Marij Kogoj Marij Kogoj Marij Julij Kogoj (Trieste, 20 September 1892 – Ljubljana, 25 February 1956) was a Slovenian composer. He was a pupil of Schoenberg and Franz Schreker, and immensely popular during the 1920s, culminating with his opera ''Črne mask ...

and

Slavko Osterc Slavko Osterc (17 June 1895 – 23 May 1941), was a Slovenian composer. Osterc was born in Veržej. He studied under Emerik Beran, who was a pupil of Leoš Janáček, in his youth before attending the Prague Conservatory from 1925 to 1927. ...

. Avant-garde

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

arose in Slovenia in the 1960s, largely due to the work of Uroš Krek, Dane Škerl,

Primož Ramovš Primož Ramovš (March 20, 1921 – January 10, 1999) was a Slovenian composer and librarian. Life Ramovš was born in Ljubljana, then the administrative centre of the Slovenian part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. He studied at ...

and Ivo Petrić, who also conducted the

Slavko Osterc Ensemble The Slavko Osterc Ensemble (''Ansambel Slavko Osterc'') was a Slovenian chamber orchestra formed under the direction of Ivo Petrič in 1962. Named after Slovenian composer Slavko Osterc, the ensemble toured throughout Europe performing works by mod ...

. Jakob Jež,

Darijan Božič Darijan ( fa, دريجان, also Romanized as Darījān) is a village in Howmeh Rural District, in the Central District of Bam County, Kerman Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, ...

Lojze Lebič Lojze Lebič (born 23 August 1934) is a Slovenian composer and conductor of choral and instrumental music. Life Lebič was born August 23, 1934 in Prevalje, in the Carinthia region of Slovenia (then part of Yugoslavia). He attended the Universi ...

and

Vinko Globokar Vinko Globokar (born 7 July 1934) is a French-Slovenian avant-garde composer and trombonist. Globokar's music uses unconventional and extended techniques, places great emphasis on spontaneity and creativity, and often relies on improvisation. Hi ...

have since composed enduring works, especially Globokar's ''

L'Armonia ''L'Armonia'' was an Italian language newspaper established in Turin in July 1848. It was established by a Catholic priest Giacomo Margotti and other priests. Margotti also edited it. It was ultra-conservative and Catholic in orientation. Its mis ...

'', an opera. In the 1950s, Božidar Kantušer was the most progressive of all, by dint of his atonality.

Contemporary

Contemporary classic music composers include Uroš Rojko, Tomaž Svete, Brina Jež-Brezavšček and

Aldo Kumar Aldo may refer to: * Aldo (given name), male given name ** Aldo (footballer, born 1977) ** Aldo (footballer, born 1988) * Aldo Group, a worldwide chain of shoe stores * Aldosterone Aldosterone is the main mineralocorticoid steroid hormone pr ...

. Kumar's ''Sonata z igro 12'' (''A sonata with a play 12''), a set of variations on a rising

chromatic scale The chromatic scale (or twelve-tone scale) is a set of twelve pitches (more completely, pitch classes) used in tonal music, with notes separated by the interval of a semitone. Chromatic instruments, such as the piano, are made to produce the ...

, is particularly notable.

Opera

The

Ljubljana Opera House The Ljubljana Opera House ( sl, Opera, or ) is an opera house in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. The seat of the national opera and ballet company, the Ljubljana Slovene National Theatre Opera and Ballet, it serves as the national opera buildin ...

serves as the national opera and ballet house. Mezzo-soprano

Marjana Lipovšek Marjana Lipovšek (born 3 December 1946) is a Slovenian opera and concert singer (mezzo-soprano). The daughter of composer Marijan Lipovšek, she was born in Ljubljana, Slovenia. She retired in 2017 and now lives in her family house in Ljubljana. ...

was born in Ljubljana.

Film music

The composer of

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

s for 170 films was

Bojan Adamič Bojan Adamič a.k.a. Master ( sl, Mojster; 9 August 1912 – 3 November 1995), Slovene Partisans nom de guerre Gregor, was a well-known Slovene composer of jazz, the Slovenian song festival music, and particularly film scores. He was also an avid ...

(1912–1995).

Folk music

Vocal

Rural

Harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...

singing is a deep rooted tradition in Slovenia, and is at least three-part singing (four voices), while in some regions even up to eight-part singing (nine voices). Slovenian folk songs, thus, usually resounds soft and harmonious, and are very seldom in minor.

Instrumental

Typical Slovenian folk music is performed on Styrian harmonica (the oldest type of accordion), fiddle, clarinet,

zithers Zithers (; , from the Greek word '' cithara'') are a class of stringed instruments. Historically, the name has been applied to any instrument of the psaltery family, or to an instrument consisting of many strings stretched across a thin, flat ...

, flute, and by brass bands of alpine type. In eastern Slovenia, fiddle and cimbalon bands are called velike goslarije. Traditional Slovenian music include various kinds of musical instruments such as: *

Steirische Harmonika The Steirische Harmonika () is a type of Accordion#Construction, bisonoric diatonic button accordion important to the Volksmusik, alpine folk music of Croatia (Hrvatsko Zagorje, Hrvatsko zagorje), Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Austria, the German s ...

Kontra , et, Kolmekeelne vioola , image= Haromhuros bracsa.png , image_capt=A ''kontra'' shown from the front and the side , background=string , hornbostel_sachs= , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= g – d – a , r ...

* Hammered dulcimer *

Cimbalon grande The cimbalom (; ) or concert cimbalom is a type of chordophone composed of a large, trapezoidal box on legs with metal strings stretched across its top and a damping pedal underneath. It was designed and created by József Schunda, V. Josef Sch ...

Drone zither Drone zithers or droned zithers are stringed instruments of the zither family that have few (sometimes only one) melodic strings and a greater number of drone strings. The oldest known form of drone zither is the Scheitholt. The Scheitholt deve ...

Violin zither The Violinzither or Violinharp is a string instrument of the zither family, invented in 1925 by ''Clemens Neuber'' in Klingenthal. The instrument is a cross between the fretless chord zither and a concert zither. History The instrument no ...

Zither Zithers (; , from the Greek word ''cithara'') are a class of stringed instruments. Historically, the name has been applied to any instrument of the psaltery family, or to an instrument consisting of many strings stretched across a thin, flat ...

Tamburica Tamburica ( or ) or tamboura ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", tamburica, тамбурица, little tamboura; hu, tambura; el, Ταμπουράς, Tampourás; sometimes written tamburrizza or tamburitza), refers to a family of long-necked lute ...

Fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

Carnian fiddle The Carnian (less commonly, Karnian) is the lowermost stage of the Upper Triassic Series (or earliest age of the Late Triassic Epoch). It lasted from 237 to 227 million years ago (Ma). The Carnian is preceded by the Ladinian and is followed by ...

Cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

* Brunkula cello *

Gaida A gaida is a bagpipe from Southeastern Europe. Southern European bagpipes known as ''gaida'' include: the , , (), () () or (), ''(')'', , also . Construction Bag Gaida bags are generally of sheep or goat hide. Different regions have ...

Brass instruments, such as baritone horn Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wit ...

Clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

* Jaw harp *

Clay pot bass Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay part ...

* Okarina * Akelêmb *

Klopotec A klopotec (pronounced ) is a wooden mechanical device on a high wooden pole, similar to a windmill. It is used as a bird scarer in the vineyards of traditional wine-growing landscapes of Slovenia, Austria, and Croatia. It is one of the symbols of ...

Panpipes A pan flute (also known as panpipes or syrinx) is a musical instrument based on the principle of the closed tube, consisting of multiple pipes of gradually increasing length (and occasionally girth). Multiple varieties of pan flutes have been ...

Wooden cross flutes of various sizes Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin tha ...

Psaltery A psaltery ( el, ψαλτήρι) (or sawtry, an archaic form) is a fretboard-less box zither (a simple chordophone) and is considered the archetype of the zither and dulcimer; the harp, virginal, harpsichord and clavichord were also inspired by ...

Tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

Folk music revivalists include

Volk Volk The German noun ''Volk'' () translates to :wikt:people, people, both uncountable in the sense of ''people'' as in a crowd, and countable (plural ''Völker'') in the sense of ''People, a people'' as in an ethnic group or nation (compare the E ...

, Kurja Koža,

Marko Banda Marko may refer to: * Marko (given name) * Marko (surname) * Márkó, a village in Hungary See also *Marco (disambiguation) *Markko (disambiguation) *Marka (disambiguation) *Markov Markov ( Bulgarian, russian: Марков), Markova, and Markof ...

, Katice,

Bogdana Herman Bogdana may refer to the Bogdana Monastery, an Orthodox Christian monastery in Rădăuți, Suceava County, Romania. Bogdana may also refer to several places in Romania: * Bogdana, Teleorman, a commune in Teleorman County * Bogdana, Vaslui, a comm ...

, Ljoba Jenče, Vruja, Trinajsto praše, Šavrinske pupe en ragacone, Musicante Istriani, and Tolovaj Mataj. One of the best Slovenian diatonic accordionists is

Nejc Pačnik Nejc Pačnik (born October 28, 1990) is a Slovenian diatonic button accordion A melodeon or diatonic button accordion is a member of the free-reed aerophone family of musical instruments. It is a type of button accordion on which the melody- ...

who won the accordion world-championship twice, in 2009 and 2015.

Slovenian pop-folk music

From 1952 on, the

Slavko Avsenik Slavko Avsenik (November 26, 1929 – July 2, 2015) was a Slovene composer and musician. Beginning in 1953 with the formation of the Avsenik Brothers Ensemble, Avsenik produced more than 1,000 songs and garnered success both in Slovenia and i ...

's band began to appear in broadcasts, movies, and concerts all over the

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, inventing the original "

Oberkrainer Upper Carniola ( sl, Gorenjska; it, Alta Carniola; german: Oberkrain) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the northern mountainous part of the larger Carniola region. The centre of the region is Kranj, while other urban centers include Jesenic ...

" sound that has become the primary vehicle of ethnic musical expression not only in Slovenia, but also in Germany,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, and in the

Benelux The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico-economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: B ...

, spawning hundreds of

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

orchestras in the process. The band produced nearly 1000 original compositions, an integral part of the

Slovenian-style polka Slovenian-style polka (also known as Cleveland Style polka) is an American style of polka in the Slovenian tradition. It is usually associated with Cleveland and other Midwestern cities. Instruments The Slovenian style polka band always include ...

legacy. Avsenik's most popular ''instrumental'' composition is the polka that is titled "Na Golici" (in Slovene), or "Trompetenecho" (in German), and "Trumpet Echoes" (in English).

music, which the Avsenik Ensemble popularized, is always a strong candidate for

pop-folk Turbo-folk (sometimes referred as pop-folk or popular folk) is subgenre of contemporary pop music with its origins in Serbia, that initially developed during the 1980s and 1990s, with similar music styles in Bulgaria ( chalga), Romania ( mane ...

music awards in Slovenia and Austria. Slavko and his brother, Vilko, are usually credited as the pioneers of Slovenian folk music, having solidified its style in the 1950s. Many musicians followed Avsenik's steps, one of the most famous being

Lojze Slak Lojze Slak (23 July 1932 – 29 September 2011) was a Slovenian musician. Slak was one of the pioneers of Slovene popular folk music, based on diatonic button accordion and author of several evergreen songs, performed by his Lojzeta Slaka Ansamb ...

Slovenian song festival

A similarly high standing in Slovene culture, like the

Sanremo Music Festival The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival () and commonly known as just (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It is the longest-running annual ...

has had in Italian culture, was attributed to the coastal Melodies of Sea and Sun (In Slovene: ) and

Slovenian song festival Slovenian song festival (In ) was a Slovenian music festival dedicated to a music genre known as Slovenian song ( sl, popevka) that was most popular during the 1960s and 1970s and had a similarly high standing in Slovene culture as did the Sanremo ...

(In Slovene: ), dedicated to a specific genre of popular Slovene music.

Popular music

Contemporary music

Among pop, rock, industrial, and indie musicians the most popular in Slovenia include

Laibach Laibach () is a Slovenian avant-garde music group associated with the industrial, martial, and neo-classical genres. Formed in the mining town of Trbovlje (at the time in Yugoslavia) in 1980, Laibach represents the musical wing of the Neue ...

, an early 1980s

industrial music Industrial music is a genre of music that draws on harsh, mechanical, transgressive or provocative sounds and themes. AllMusic defines industrial music as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music" that was "initiall ...

group, and most recently the Slovenian pop

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

band

Perpetuum Jazzile Perpetuum Jazzile is a Slovenian musical group best known for an a cappella version of Toto rock band's song Africa. The May 2009 video showing a live performance of this version has received close to 22 million views on YouTube. The group was ...

Pop, rock, metal, and indie music

With more than 15 million views for the official

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

" performance video since its publishing on YouTube in May 2009 until September 2013,Perpetuum Jazzile: Africa
YouTube. Accessed on 9 September 2013. that earned them kudos from the song's co-writer,

David Paich David Frank Paich (born June 25, 1954) is an American musician, best known as the co-founder, principal songwriter, keyboardist and singer of the rock band Toto since 1977. He wrote or co-wrote much of Toto's original material, including the ba ...

is the group from Slovenia that is internationally most listened online. Other popular bands, most largely unknown outside the country, include

Tabu Tabu may refer to: Cultural and legal concepts *Taboo (spelled ''tabu'' in earlier historical records), something that is unacceptable in society *Tapu (Polynesian culture) (also spelled ''tabu''), a Polynesian cultural concept from which the wor ...

, ManuElla, Društvo Mrtvih Pesnikov (

pop-rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, ear ...

), Siddharta, Rok 'n' Band,

Pop Design Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ...

, Fredi Miler,

Terrafolk 220px, Terrafolk in concert (2007) Terrafolk is a Slovenian folk band. Terrafolk were formed in 1999 at Festival Lent in Slovenia. They quickly rose to fame, performing at numerous festivals throughout Europe, including the Edinburgh Fringe and ...

Leaf Fat A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

(

screamo Screamo (also referred to as skramz) is an aggressive subgenre of emo that emerged in the early 1990s and emphasizes "willfully experimental dissonance and dynamics".Jason Heller, "Feast of Reason". ''Denver Westword'', June 20, 2002Access date: ...

), Amaya, Šank Rock,

Big Foot Mama Big Foot Mama is a rock band from Ljubljana, Slovenia. It is one of the most popular Slovenian pop rock bands of the 1990s. The group started their career in 1990. After their third album, ''Tretja dimenzija'' (The Third Dimension), they were a ...

Yogurt Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial Fermentation (food), fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in t ...

, Dan D,

Zablujena generacija Zablujena generacija (''Delusive'' or ''Stray generation'') is a Slovenes, Slovene "saloon" punk rock, punk - alternative Rock and roll, rock musical group from Idrija. The group started out in 1994. The original lineup, who took their lead from t ...

, Katalena, Devil Doll (

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...

Negligence (band) Negligence is a Slovenian thrash metal band, formed in 2000. The group was last signed to Metal Blade Records and has so far released two albums and an EP. History Negligence was founded by Jan Svigelj and Domen Justin in 2000. Initially formed ...

, Chateau, Čuki, Zaklonišče Prepeva, Psycho-Path, Dekadent (

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...

), and

Buldožer Buldožer (meaning " bulldozer"), was a Yugoslav-Slovenian progressive rock band from the 1970s and 1980s. They were one of the first bands in communist Yugoslavia that could be considered Avant-prog, and forefathers of the Yugoslav new wave ...

(

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

). The

deathcore Deathcore is an extreme metal subgenre that combines death metal with metalcore. The genre consists of death metal guitar riffs, blast beats, and metalcore breakdowns. While there are some precursors to the concept of death metal fused with me ...

band Within Destruction have released two-full-length albums and have partaken in several European tours; the band is based in

Jesenice Jesenice (, german: Aßling''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru'', vol. 6: Kranjsko. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 144.) is a Slovenian town and the seat of the Municipality of Jesenice on the ...

Singer-songwriters

Slovenian post-WWII singer-songwriters include

Frane Milčinski Frane Milčinski (pen name Ježek; 14 December 1914 – 27 February 1988) was a Slovene poet, satirist, humorist and comedian, actor, children's writer, and director. He is considered one of Slovenia's foremost 20th-century satirists and ente ...

(1914–1988),

Tomaž Pengov Tomaž Pengov (29 September 1949 – 10 February 2014) was a Slovenian singer-songwriter, guitarist, lutist, and poet.former Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...

Tomaž Domicelj Tomaž is the Slovene form of the male given name Thomas. People Bearers of these names include: * Tomaž Barada, Slovenian martial artist *Tomaž Čižman (born 1965), Slovenian alpine skier * Tomaž Humar (born 1969), Slovenian mountaineer * Ant ...

Marko Brecelj Marko may refer to: * Marko (given name) * Marko (surname) * Márkó, a village in Hungary See also *Marco (disambiguation) *Markko (disambiguation) *Marka (disambiguation) *Markov Markov ( Bulgarian, russian: Марков), Markova, and Markof ...

Andrej Šifrer Andrey, Andrej or Andrei (in Cyrillic script: Андрей, Андреј or Андрэй) is a form of Andreas/Ἀνδρέας in Slavic languages and Romanian. People with the name include: *Andrei of Polotsk ( – 1399), Lithuanian nobleman *An ...

Eva Sršen Eva Sršen (born 1951 in Ljubljana) is a Slovenian singer, who had a short career in Popular music in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav pop music in the first half of the 1970s. She first became well known by winning the nat ...

Neca Falk Marjetka "Neca" Falk (born 19 June 1950) is a Slovenian pop singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform musi ...

, and

Jani Kovačič Jani Kovačič (born 14 June 1992) is a Slovenian volleyball player who plays for ACH Volley and the Slovenian national team. With Slovenia, he competed at the 2015 European Championship. Sporting achievements Club * National championships ** ...

. After 1990,

Adi Smolar Adi Smolar (born 25 March 1959 in Slovenj Gradec, SR Slovenia, Yugoslavia) is a Slovenian singer-songwriter and composer. He made his first appearance in 1981 with a full repertoire of his own songs. He continued to perform for eight years befo ...

Iztok Mlakar Iztok Mlakar (born 21 June 1961) is a Slovenian singer-songwriter and theatre actor. Styled as the "bard of the Slovenian Littoral", he is best known for his ironic chansons in the Littoral dialect of Slovene. Together with Adi Smolar, Mlakar i ...

Vita Mavrič Vita Mavrič is a Slovene chansonnier. Career Vita Mavrič started her career at the Ljubljana City Theatre in a 1987 musical, titled "In the Slovene Mountains" (originally in Serbo-Croatian "U slovenačkim gorama"). Based on the poetry of ...

Vlado Kreslin Vlado Kreslin (born 29 November 1953) is a Slovenian singer-songwriter and folk rock musician. Life and work Kreslin was born in the village of Beltinci in the Prekmurje region of Slovenia, then part of Yugoslavia. He began his musical caree ...

Zoran Predin Zoran Predin (born 16 June 1958) is a Slovenian singer-songwriter from Maribor. In the 1980s, he was the front man of the new wave rock band ''Lačni Franz''. He also writes music for film, television, and theatre. In the late 1990s and early 20 ...

Peter Lovšin Peter "Pero" Lovšin (born June 27, 1955) is a Slovenian musician, songwriter and singer, best known as a frontman of the first Yugoslav punk rock group ''Pankrti''. After a period with Pankrti in the 1980s, he formed a successful rock band '' S ...

, and Magnifico have been popular in Slovenia, as well.

World music

The 1970s

Bratko Bibič Bratko Bibič (born 1957) is a Slovenian accordionist. Bibič first came to prominence as a rock musician, playing in the ensembles Begnagrad and Nimal in the 1980s; both groups blended Slavic folk music with art rock. Bratko Bibičat Allmusic. ...

's band Begnagrad is considered one of the direct influences on modern world music. Bibič's unique

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

style, often solo, with no accompaniment, has also made him a solo star.

Punk rock

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

was the center for punk rock in the

Titoist Titoism is a political philosophy most closely associated with Josip Broz Tito during the Cold War. It is characterized by a broad Yugoslav identity, workers' self-management, a political separation from the Soviet Union, and leadership in the ...

Yugoslavia. The most famous representatives of this genre were

Pankrti Pankrti (The ''Bastards'' in Slovene) are a punk rock band from Ljubljana, Slovenia, active in the late 1970s and 1980s. They were known for provocative and political songs. They billed themselves as ''The First Punk Band Behind The Iron Curtai ...

, Niet, Lublanski Psi, Kuzle, Čao Pičke,

Via Ofenziva Via or VIA may refer to the following: Science and technology * MOS Technology 6522, Versatile Interface Adapter * ''Via'' (moth), a genus of moths in the family Noctuidae * Via (electronics), a through-connection * VIA Technologies, a Taiwan ...

, Tožibabe, and

Otroci Socializma Otroci ( sr-Cyrl, отроци) is a Serbian word literally meaning 'children' ( sr, отрок, otrok, child). The meaning of the word implies a higher degree of dependence of this population category. They represented a category of dependent peo ...

Techno and tech-house

Slovenia has also produced two renowned DJs:

DJ Umek Uroš Umek (; born May 16, 1976), better known as DJ Umek or simply Umek, is a Slovenian dance music producer and DJ. Musically active since 1993, he is the owner of several techno record labels. In 1999 he founded Consumer Recreation and Recycle ...

and

Valentino Kanzyani Tine Kocjančič, better known as Valentino Kanzyani is a Slovene techno deejay and music producer. He has also released records under the name Recycled Loops, which is also the name of one of the record labels that he co-runs (with DJ Umek), th ...

. Specialising in a frantic brand of party techno and tech-house, the pair co-founded the label Recycled Loops as well as having many releases on labels such as Novamute, Primate, Intec and Bassethound Records.

Neue Slowenische Kunst

Neue Slowenische Kunst (a German phrase meaning "New Slovenian Art"), aka NSK, is a controversial political art collective that announced itself in

in 1984, when Slovenia was part of

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. NSK's name, being German, is compatible with a theme in NSK works: the complicated relationship

Slovenes The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( sl, Slovenci ), are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia, and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, culture, history and speak Slovene as their n ...

have had with

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

. The name of NSK's music wing, Laibach, is also the German name of the Slovene capital

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

, creating controversy through evoking memories of the Nazi occupation of Slovenia during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

=Composition

= NSK's best-known member is the musical group

. Other NSK member groups include

IRWIN Irwin may refer to: Places ;United States * Irwin, California * Irwin, Idaho * Irwin, Illinois * Irwin, Iowa * Irwin, Nebraska * Irwin, Ohio * Irwin, Pennsylvania * Irwin, South Carolina * Irwin County, Georgia * Irwin Township, Venango County ...

(visual art), Noordung (theater; originally named

Scipion Nasice Sisters Theatre The Scipion Nasice Sisters Theatre ( sl, Gledališče sester Scipion Nasice) was founded on 13 October 1983 in Ljubljana by Eda Čufer, Dragan Živadinov and Miran Mohar, three Slovenian students. The founders also wrote a manifesto ("The Sister ...

, also known as Red Pilot), New Collective Studio (graphics; also known as New Collectivism), Retrovision (film and video), and the Department of Pure and Applied Philosophy (theory).Anonymous. "State of Art: the new Slovene Avant Garde" (2004).

Northwest Film Forum The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

and Scala House, program for exhibit 18 – 24 November 2004 at Northwest Film Forum,

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

.Regina Hackett.
Slovenian art collective is adept at working politics and art
. ''

Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The newspaper was foun ...

'', 19 November 2004. The founding groups of the NSK were Laibach, IRWIN, and Scipion Našice Sisters Theater.

=Characteristics

= NSK art often draws on symbols drawn from

totalitarian Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and reg ...

or extreme

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

movements, often reappropriating totalitarian

kitsch Kitsch ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as naïve imitation, overly-eccentric, gratuitous, or of banal taste. The avant-garde opposed kitsch as melodramatic and superficial affiliation with ...

in a visual style reminiscent of

Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (Zurich), Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 192 ...

. NSK artists often

juxtapose Juxtaposition is an act or instance of placing two elements close together or side by side. This is often done in order to compare/contrast the two, to show similarities or differences, etc. Speech Juxtaposition in literary terms is the showin ...

symbols from different (and often incompatible) political

ideologies An ideology is a set of beliefs or philosophies attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely epistemic, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones." Formerly applied pri ...

. For example, a 1987 NSK-designed

poster A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both typography, textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or w ...

caused a scandal by winning a competition for the Yugoslavian

Youth Day National Youth Day is a holiday dedicated to the youths of a country. It is observed by 18 countries, on many dates throughout the year. The United Nations agreed on the date of 12 August in 1999 in South Africa. National Youth Day Internationa ...

Celebration. The poster appropriated a painting by

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

artist Richard Klein, replacing the

flag of Nazi Germany The flag of Nazi Germany, officially the flag of the German Reich, featured a red background with a black swastika on a white disc. This flag came into use initially as the banner of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) after its foundation. Following the ap ...

with the Yugoslav flag and the

German eagle The coat of arms of Germany displays a black eagle with a red beak, a red tongue and red feet on a golden field, which is blazoned: ''Or, an eagle displayed sable beaked langued and membered gules''. This is the (German for "Federal Eagle"), for ...

with a

dove Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

. Both IRWIN and Laibach are emphatic about their work being collective rather than individual. Laibach's original songs and arrangements are always credited to the group collectively; the individual artists are not named on their

album cover An album cover (also referred to as album art) is the front packaging art of a commercially released studio album or other audio recordings. The term can refer to either the printed paperboard covers typically used to package sets of and 78-r ...

s; at one point, there were even two separate Laibach groups touring at the same time, both with members of the original group. Similarly, the IRWIN artists never sign their work individually; instead, they are "signed" with a stamp or certificate indicating approval as a work from the IRWIN collective. The NSK were the subject of a 1996 documentary film written and directed by Michael Benson, entitled ''Prerokbe Ognja'' in

Slovenian Slovene or Slovenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe * Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia * Slovenes The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( sl, Sloven ...

, or ''

Predictions of Fire ''Predictions of Fire '' or ''Prerokbe ognja'' is a 1996 documentary film by American filmmaker Michael Benson about Neue Slowenische Kunst. Synopsis In 1991, SR Slovenia's violent secession from SFR Yugoslavia marked the first spark in the Yu ...

'' in English. Among those interviewed in the film is Slovenian intellectual Slavoj Žižek.

=NSK State

= Since 1991, NSK has claimed to constitute a

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

, a claim similar to that of

micronation A micronation is a political entity whose members claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state, but which lacks legal recognition by world governments or major international organizations. Micronations are classified se ...

s. They issue passports, have presented shows of their work in the guise of an embassy or even as a territory of their supposed state, and maintain

consulates A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth coun ...

in several cities including

Umag Umag (; it, Umago) is a coastal town in Istria, Croatia. Geography It is the westernmost town of Croatia, and it includes Bašanija, the westernmost point of Croatia. Population Umag has a population of 7,281, with a total municipal populatio ...

, Croatia. NSK have also issued postage stamps. Laibach, in 2006, recorded (some may say 'remixed') the NSK State National Anthem on the LP "Volk." The "anthem" adopts its melody from another Laibach song, "The Great Seal." Laibach's version of the NSK anthem includes a computer voice reciting an excerpt from

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

's famous "''

We shall fight them on the beaches "We shall fight on the beaches" is a common title given to a speech delivered by the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to the British House of Commons, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom on 4 June 1940. This was th ...

/We shall never surrender''" speech. The computer voice is clearly recognisable as the voice synthesiser

Macintalk PlainTalk is the collective name for several speech synthesis (MacinTalk) and speech recognition technologies developed by Apple Inc. In 1990, Apple invested a lot of work and money in speech recognition technology, hiring many researchers in th ...

, built into classic Mac OS, and uses the preset voice Ralph. The NSK passports are an art project and as such are not valid for travel. However, many desperate people have fallen for a scam in which they are issued a NSK passport. Most of these scams originate in Nigeria and Egypt.

=Laibach

= Laibach is a Slovenian

avant-garde music Avant-garde music is music that is considered to be at the forefront of innovation in its field, with the term "avant-garde" implying a critique of existing aesthetic conventions, rejection of the status quo in favor of unique or original elemen ...

group strongly associated with Nazism,

martial Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman poet from Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of ''Epigrams'', published in Rome between AD 86 and ...

, and neo-classical musical styles. Laibach formed 1 June 1980 in

Trbovlje Trbovlje (; german: Trifail''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 4: ''Štajersko''. 1904. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 58.) is Slovenia's tenth-largest town, and the seat of the Municipality ...

(then

). Laibach represents the music wing of the ''

Neue Slowenische Kunst Neue Slowenische Kunst (; NSK; German: "New Slovenian Art") is a political art collective that formed in Slovenia in 1984, when the Socialist Republic of Slovenia was part of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. NSK's name was chosen to refl ...

'' (NSK) art collective, of which it was a founding member in 1984. The name "Laibach" is the German name for Slovenia's capital city,

References

* Burton, Kim. "The Sound of Austro-Slavs". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), ''World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East'', pp 277–278.

Rough Guides Rough Guides Ltd is a British travel guide book and reference publisher, which has been owned by APA Publications since November 2017. In addition to publishing guidebooks, the company also provides a tailor-made trips service based on custome ...

Ltd, Penguin Books. * Klemenčič, Ivan, ''Slovenski godalni kvartet''. Ljubljana, Musicological Annual XXIV, 1988.

External links

*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Music Of Slovenia