Dubioza Kolektiv - socially engaged Balkan music

Bosnian band Dubioza Kolektiv is an example of transforming local music into global. The band’s sound described as an extremely successful mix of reggae, dub, hip-hop, rock, hardcore and Balkan rhythms, has managed to lead the band from the small Sarajevo underground spaces to international festival scenes. But not only their music draws attention to the Balkan band. Тheir lyrics defend social justice, denounce racism and extreme nationalism and call for struggle against the power elites forcefully imposing the ruthless capital-based system. The team stands boldly behind the unification of the Federal Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, and proclaims the unity of the Balkan countries and the overcoming of their common dark and bloody past.

The band’s media presence has triggered interest because it doesn’t follow the traditional principles of distribution, i.e. popularity is not a function of mass media – it is a function of other alternative communication channels. The overall appearance of Dubioza Kolektiv gives us an idea of ​​the development of modern non-mainstream, not only Balkan, but also European music, and its media dimensions.

The band Dubioza Kolektiv was founded in 2003 in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was formed after the break-up of two bands, whose members embraced the idea of ​​forming a new group aimed at unification of young people, which would preserve their current sound, adding tangible Balkan presence. These musicians are Adis Zvekić, Almir Hasanbegović (from the town of Zenica) and Brano Jakubović and Vedran Mujagić (from Sarajevo). Later on the band was joined by guitarist Armin Bušatlić, drummer Senad Šuta, sound engineer Dragan Jakubović and percussionist Orhan Oha Maslo. Particularly strong is the presence of the only woman in the band - singer Adisa Zvekić.

In 2004, they released their first album, named after the band. The songs have entirely English lyrics; the sound is extremely diverse - from reggae and dub, rock and punk to pure electronic sound. This is the only album of the band that includes substantial electronic elements. The same year they released their EP Open Wide. It was recorded together with Benjamin Zephaniah and Mush Khan from Pakistani-UK band Fun-Da-Mental. Already with one album and one EP in 2005, Dubioza guest-staged at some of the most popular European music festivals such as Sziget in Hungary, Socha Reggae Riversplash in Slovenia, Exit in Serbia, Eurosonic in Netherlands, Topvar Rock in Slovakia and Barevna planeta in the Czech Republic.

In 2006, the band completed their second studio album Dubnamite. The lyrics are again in English, the sound is not very different. This changed radically in 2008, when the band released the following album Firma Ilegal. Its lyrics are entirely in Bosnian language and the Balkan folklore is widely used. This is the album, which earned great admiration for the band both in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in neighbouring Balkan countries.

This effect is due not only to the linguistic similarity, but all the more the familiar sound, typical for the geographical region of the Balkan Peninsula. This album is the last with participation of the female vocal Adisa Zvekić as she left the band the same year. The group’s next album is named 5 do 12, realised in 2010. This is Dubioza’s first album made available for free download on their official website. The project attracted the attention of Faith No More former bassist Billy Gould, who had created his own label and invited the band to record their next album as part of the US record company Koolarrow Records. So, in 2011, the Bosnian band released its latest album named "Wild Wild East". This marked Dubioza’s return to English lyrics, but not to the previous "Western" sound. The Balkan folk music continues to be a compulsory element in each song of the band.

Dubioza Kolektiv owes its popularity mainly to performances at various festivals and concert events, as well as to the most dynamic and interactive media - Internet. This media imposes the idea of sharing one-to-one, which is continuously practiced by young people in their everyday lives. Since the youth are the main audience of the band, they have made possible its worldwide promotion. Exchanging information and videos on social networks and uploading all kinds of live performances on YouTube channel made Dubioza a well-known band, beloved by music fans across the Balkans.

It is interesting to observe the changing media image of the band. The musicians managed to present themselves as rebels against the status quo since the very outset by organising, together with the first civil rights band in Bosnia "Dosta!", a big opposition concert just on the eve of 2006 elections in Bosnia. This act focused the attention of local press on the band, which was widely covered in the media of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Even earlier, in 2005, the band hit the news headlines, causing a great scandal at the Exit festival in Novi Sad. There they played the song Cannot forgive, which condemns the massacre in Srebrenica and all the cruelty of war. This act unleashed the anger of Serbian nationalists and they started throwing bottles at the musicians threatening them with avenge. In 2008, the band promoted their new album with a big concert-demonstration against corruption in politics held in front of the parliament in Sarajevo. All these initiatives earned Dubioza Kolektiv the fame of "Bosnia’s unofficial legitimate voice", according to Time magazine and BBC radio.

This media attention, however, was not rooted merely in the musical merits of the band and their civic-oriented actions. The quality of their music products is evaluated primarily on the network. The YouTube channel has registered an increasing number of watched and uploaded videos of the band, numerous fan sites have mushroomed in Facebook and there is even an official website of the band, which has registered over 200,000 fans to date. This is the place where fans can directly interact with the band – the level of interactivity is extremely high, a factor otherwise unachievable with traditional media. The website provides regular update of news regarding the band - dates of performances, new videos, photos, surveys and all sorts of updates. As a result of Dubioza’s growing popularity online, it cannot help but receive proper attention on the part of the press and electronic media. The band started receiving invitations for participation in various shows on radio and television and has been featured in numerous articles in reputable newspapers. The culmination of their media coverage was reached thanks to the music channel MTV, which recorded two unplugged releases of the talented Bosnians.

The band was nominated three times for the award "MTV Best Adria Act" and the third time they emerged winners of the US music prize.

The Independent Music Companies Association nominated the band for Best Album of 2011.

Dubioza Kolektiv do not hesitate to express their citizenship stance through their lyrics. The very concept of the band’s formation was the result of the pressing need for expressing the unsolved problems of the Bosnian society. In addition, the young musicians wanted to show the world that life on the Balkans exists beyond the established and overexposed media stereotypes.

The band's lyrics treat topics such as peace, tolerance and understanding and strictly condemn nationalism and injustice, which have for decades corroded the Balkans. The messages conveyed by their songs are distinguished by the fact that they are primarily based on personal experience in the lives and suffering of young Bosnians through making music in underground bomb shelters during the Sarajevo siege.

One of the reasons for the band to release their first album in English is the desire to have their messages heard and understood not only by their countrymen - they sought to vocalize the problems of Bosnia, as well as the countries of former Yugoslavia and the Balkans as a whole.

In Justice they sing:

"Justice is so far and the people suffer

The rich is getting richer

And the poor is poorer

Many of them think

That they are really high above the law

Don't you mess now with the people

We can show you how you fall

Just want to say to the government

We can no more tolerate

Those who sleep in Parliament

We can no more tolerate

Step back, hit the brakes, all of that

We can no more tolerate...

We'll never change our riddim'

That's how we're goin' to fight within

Justice is far from this land! "

The song Democracy says:

"Democracy with the fake smile

forced upon whole world to apply

while we're living in hypocrisy

fuck this democracy! "

In Bosnian, the band asks in the song Firma Illegal: "Tell us ministers, our ambassadors, why do war invalids live in poverty as livestock? On the edge of life, you are only interested in cash. Are you familiar with this feeling, it's called shame. There comes the day when you say NO, we have nothing to lose, we have already lost everything...”

Walter: "This country will never be split into three! Your nationalism is not my patriotism! ... I cannot stand you anymore, get out of these chairs, I will not give you my vote! "... A new time, new people - just the new occupier, their motives are the same, call them by their real names! Go out on the street, fight for your rights!"

Suti I Trpi:" Arise, stand up, raise your fist in the air! All go on strike! "

Here is what the band's bassist Vedran Mujagić told Darik Radio by the last visit of the band in Bulgaria:

"Living in a society like the one of Bosnia, our inspiration during the war and the years after it actually came from everywhere, because there were so many issues we had to pay attention to, in all possible ways. As artists, whatever the domain, we must react to all this in order to be able to preserve even the smallest amount of credibility in what we do. It is important to discuss these issues because the media is so packed with politics and politicians constantly burden us with speeches, which fail to pay attention to the issues of the day. They merely jabber the usual political nonsense. It is therefore important to communicate our messages in a way that people, especially young people who listen to this kind of music, can understand and identify with it. It is very important to find the right communication strategy to attract the attention of those people who are actually quite scared of everything they hear on the news - recession, nationalism, etc. These people do not receive the correct information they actually need. Therefore, our approach is the right way of expressing these questions, because it is easily communicable and understandable."

A band with a clear civic and citizenship profile, Dubioza Kolektiv are leaders in the struggle for social changes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, for a change on a global scale. Their messages sound very relevant in today's world and react to events in the Balkans and worldwide, which demonstrates the true power of music to change and educate.