TURBOFOLK as part of the Malta Festival

From background music, it became a cultural, political, and social phenomenon. Turbofolk dug beneath the surface of rhythm and melody to tell a story about collective identity and shifting values. On stage, it wasn’t only music that resounded, but also questions that could not be ignored.

On June 23, 2017, Aula Artis in Poznań presented Turbofolk, a production that premiered in 2008 at the Croatian National Theatre in Rijeka. The performance immersed the audience in the complex world of a musical phenomenon originating in the countries of the former Yugoslavia — a genre born at the intersection of folklore, techno, and oriental influences, becoming a symbol of both mass aesthetics and political tension.

The play raised questions about the nature of contemporary fascination with turbofolk, about its unexpected vitality and impact on younger generations. The creators did not shy away from difficult themes: the connections between music and nationalism, the presence of violence in popular culture, or kitsch as a tool of expression and power.

The audience was confronted with music that, though marginalized by official cultural policy, continues to resonate — in clubs, on phones, and in the lifestyles of new elites. Turbofolk was not merely a stage presentation of a musical style — it was an analytical and artistic intervention into collective perceptions of culture. It revealed how easily the boundaries between the aesthetic and the political can dissolve — and how important it is to listen to what resounds loudly, even if not always seriously.