Rustic obsessions: The role of Slovenian folk pop in the Slovenian national imaginary

Abstract

The article explores the relationship between Slovenian national identity and popular music. A substantial empirical research (150 interviewees from 4 different Slovenian regions) has been conducted to find out what kind of music Slovenians themselves perceive as typically Slovenian and what are for them the defining characteristics of these music acts or styles. The results show that the vast majority of interviewees understand as typically Slovenian just one music style, Slovenian folk pop (narodno-zabavna glasba). The key features that make Slovenian folk pop Slovenian are for them its content (beauties of Slovenia), its contribution to Slovenian national awareness, Slovenian lyrics, etc. Various possible reasons for such uniform and even self-referential answers are discussed. Among them are cultural re-traditionalisation of former Yugoslavian republics (now independent states) after the break-up of Yugoslavia in 1991, recent modernisation of Slovenian folk pop, and the need for a country as culturally, historically, geographically, etc. diverse as Slovenia to organise its symbolic imaginary around simple and understandable signifiers.