Chalga

Chalga is a form of Bulgarian popular music drawing from Balkan folk traditions and incorporating Arab, Turkish, Greek, and Roma (Gypsy) influences, as well as motifs from Balkan traditional music, flamenco and klezmer music.

Often indistinguishable from Bulgarian pop music, it remains popular with the "proletariat" as music played in dance clubs and pubs. It is denigrated as a second-rate musical genre originating from foreign sources, and is known for repetitious themes, sexually explicit lyrics, and hook-laden dance rhythms. Its commercial exploitation has resulted in a vibrant night scene, especially in Sofia (the capital of Bulgaria), as well as many televised videos featuring extravagantly glamorized singers. Azis, a cross-dressing Rom, epitomizes the deliciously cheap and addictive quality of the genre.

Chalga absorbs culturally diverse musical styles. Many chalga hits were Greek or Turkish hits, covered by Bulgarian singers, often in more complex musical arrangements.

History

The word chalga comes from the Turkish word çalga (pronounced "chal-guh"), which means "playing" or "music" and itself derives from Arabic. As the word suggests, the tradition came from the East and is not of Slavic origin. Indeed, the movement is derived from the art of the chalgazhia, a type of musician, normally a Rom, who could play virtually any type of music, but added his own distinctive beat or rhythm to the song. Often a chalgazhia would not be able to read music, but instead played from memory on his caval, (an end-blown flute). Playing in groups at festivals or weddings, these performers initiated the popularization of chalga.

Throughout the Communist years, this genre was in disfavor from the establishment, for many reasons. Such simple peasant music had no place in a forward-looking, modern socialist state, and when Zhivkov (the last communist leader of Bulgaria) decided in the 1980s to steer a more nationalistic tack, such Eastern-originated traditions were regarded as inferior to those with more purely Slavic roots. Chalga also came with a provocative hip-shaking dance and at times lewd lyrics, and thus its morality as well as its origins were dubious. It is also possible that, as an art form predominantly practiced and developed by the Roma, racial/ethnic discrimination perhaps played a part.

While discouraged in Bulgaria, Chalga flourished in neighbouring Yugoslavia, which operated a much more flexible form of socialism. Many Bulgarians listened to "pop-folk" on Serbian radio stations.

Throughout the Balkans, folk traditions modernized. In Greece, syrtaki became popular; it is a fusion of modern pop and Greek traditional dances and melodies, (of the like of "Zorba the Greek"). In Turkey, a similar situation emerged.

In 1989, when the Bulgarian Communist regime fell, restrictions were lifted and a new culture emerged. The "new" and "forbidden" were released from the underground. Chalga tunes swept the nation, now played openly and available on cheap pirated tapes and CDs. A new generation of scantily-clad and cheap, huge-breasted "superstars" grabbed the public spotlight, performing songs that might have led to official sanctions only a year before. Lyrics about sex, gun-running and gangsterism, were the order of the day, danced to across the nation in new folkteki, or folk discos.

Some fans consider the movement reached its peak around 1998-1999. Many chalga stars followed the "Mother of Chalga", Ruse-born Gloria, (Ruse is a central Bulgarian city on the Danube) onto the scene; pop-folk legends Desislava, Ivana, Anelia, Toni Dacheva and others all became household names. Several recording studios, headed by Payner and Planeta, pump out a steady stream of tracks every week on dedicated, hugely popular TV channels.

The current government has cracked down on CD piracy and tightened up copyright laws, of which chalga had always been a notorious offender.

By the 2000s, chalga's popularity waned, but it remains a vibrant genre. Its was partly replaced by Western pop music, more traditional Bulgarian music, and that of Bulgarian musicians exploring new avenues (most notably hip hop, led by the Dope Reach Squad of Dobrich), and musicians like Slavi Trifonov.

In the last decade, the style and topics of chalga songs and videos have changed a lot. Today, chalga is a huge industry with talented singers and musicians. It has come to be a growing business with high production values and interesting videos. Record companies work with partners from other European countries, making this Bulgarian music popular both at home and abroad.

See also

• Turbo-folk
• Manele
• Arabesque-pop music
• Laïkó