When Robert Šoko arrived in Berlin over twenty years ago he wasn’t into traditional Balkan music and he didn’t like the city much either. So how did he end up a resident DJ at Berlin’s Lido with one of the most successful Balkan-influenced parties on the planet? Sitting on a black leather couch next to DJ Florian Mikuta (one of the first Roma musicians to make the transition to the decks) at his home in Kreuzberg, Robert spoke openly to iCrates about his role in the global phenomenon commonly known as Balkan Beats.
Could you tell us bout your own background and how you ended up in Berlin?
I’m originally from Bosnia, at that time Former Yugoslavia. I left the country when I was 19 years old, immediately after serving the army. It was peace time actually. I ended up by coincidence in the Netherlands. Then I was strolling across Europe in order to see countries and I always loved learning languages and meeting other people, just like young people do. I met a German woman at that time and I came to Berlin exactly on the 3rd October 1990, which is like the day of reunion. So I always know exactly how long I’ve been staying in Berlin.
Was music a part of your life before you came to Berlin?
I loved music when I was a young man in Former Yugoslavia. I was always collecting tapes and vinyl and I had always this affection and affinity with music. Once I came to Berlin I had some vinyl with me and it was a way to somehow heal the nostalgia and to stay in touch with my background. Music was a very important substance for me.
What kind of music were you listening to?
At that time I was in love with, lets say, guitar music, be it rock music, be it punk rock music and later on hardcore. Just like many other young people I didn’t really like the traditional songs much. Somehow you reject the traditional background and you like the idea of being a part of Western European culture.
When did you begin to return to traditional Balkan music?
It happened gradually actually. I started DJing in 1993, here in Berlin. I was a cab driver at that time. And in the beginning I was mostly selecting hits from Former Yugoslavia. We actually had a huge rock scene in the country, and this is what I was playing – rock music, be it ska, be it punk rock etc but guitar music mostly, and some electronica.
And due to Emir Kusturica coming out with movies like Underground and Time of the Gypsies and Goran Bregovic’s soundtrack to these movies, we got this new, old music in our collection. I was quite curious at that time to see what would happen if we played “Mesecina” for instance.
Goran Bregovic – “Mesecina” from the film Underground
How did Berlin react?
What happened was really interesting and astonishing for me, because I saw above all German people going crazy. This music went down quite well, so I was happy and a little bit proud of it. Once you are detached from your home country, you start identifying more with that country, and I loved the idea of we Yugoslavs being part of the nightlife culture in Berlin. And once we discovered that the German punks go crazy to Former Yugoslavian traditional music it was something like a little revolution.
So I thought, OK lets do this. It was not like an abrupt change, as I say it happened gradually. I started collecting ever more traditional songs at that time (1996-97). It was the very beginning of traditional music penetrating my dance-floor. Then came bands like Fanfare Ciocărlia, the Romanian gypsies. They were one of the first who were brought to the Western audiences and we played their songs.
Apart from the German punks going crazy, what did the Balkan scene look like at that time?
The scene consisted mostly of Former Yugoslavs, young people, mostly refugees, and very mixed in terms of national background. And I have to say that not all of them were necessarily happy about what I was doing. You know we had this time with a lot of prejudices and hatred and all this shit. And playing trumpet music is something you somehow identify with Serbia, even though it’s quite wrong, but somehow this is what it represents or what the people think it represents. And some people had a problem with that.
This was exactly the moment I didn’t like. I loved the idea of not being ashamed or embarrassed because of our identity. I found traditional music very interesting and very profound and very essential in a way.
So from seeing traditional Balkan music as a symbol of a culture you had left behind, the music transformed itself into something of a reconciling force?
Absolutely. It was definitely a process of reconciling. The fact that I somehow managed to get various nationalities together on one dance-floor was a little signal for what should somehow follow. You know, let’s dismantle prejudices and at least have a good time together.
Why do you think the Balkan Beats scene has exploded so much since you began introducing traditional music to the dance-floors of Berlin?
It’s related to the new European mentality, which is growing. The borders are diminishing, somehow everything is getting easier and the cultural exchange is accelerated. We are curators of this, who somehow channel it.
It didn’t exist in the Western European cultural landscape and the music itself is quite interesting. It’s quite danceable and it enables you to have a good time. The party is great, and women, they like it. Once women start loving something, guys are happy about that and so on.
Ah, of course…
And culturally, the Balkan is the place where Asia penetrates Europe. In other words this means the influences of oriental music and the Islamic world are very evident and very present. Jewish and Slavic music is also involved, so we have quite an interesting mixture of sounds melting together and creating something which we now call Balkan Beats. I mean, all this plus Western beats. We made it somehow palatable to the Western audiences.
There’s a rumour that you are responsible for the name “Balkan Beats”, which has come to define the whole genre. Is this true?
I don’t want to say I am responsible. Look what happened to me is, I invented a name and series of parties. I was a cab driver at the time as I said and I was listening to a program called “Electro Beats”. So I thought OK, lets call my project Balkan Beats. And the name is quite nice; easy but storytelling. This is how it started and this is what I am responsible for. Sometimes I hear or I read people praising me with me inventing Balkan Beats. I didn’t invent Balkan Beats. The musicians themselves are responsible.
Mahala Raï Banda – Colindat from Robert’s compilation Balkan Beats Vol. 1 (Eastblok Music, 2005)
You talk of having tapes and vinyl records with you from Former Yugoslavia when you arrived in Berlin in 1990. Does vinyl still play a role in the scene?
It no longer exists. You don’t have this new old music on vinyl. You can find some old vinyl, but it’s not easy to make use of it.
The internet is a revolution and there is a huge network of Balkan DJ’s and people involved in Balkan music and we are exchanging it. It has to be mentioned that the whole Balkan Beats revolution happened partially also because of the internet.
The internet has certainly changed everything, but other genres of music still maintain some sort of vinyl culture. What’s different with Balkan Beats?
Because, in comparison to electronic bands and dance-floors, it’s not about the perfection of DJing, it’s about choosing the tracks and creating the atmosphere of a smelly bar somewhere in Bulgaria or in Bosnia. You know, by creating this up and down. It’s a mentality of a bar and that’s why it’s not really important to keep a set in a perfect groove and in a perfect pace without any breaks like electronic or techno DJ’s do. I mean I’m not bitching about them, but it’s just different. That’s why vinyl doesn’t play a big role, in my opinion it’s more about the good selection of tracks.
How would you describe the Balkan Beats scene at the moment?
If we say the moment is the last year, somehow nothing new has really happened. There is sort of an overplay happening. I mean we do our parties and people love it, but no real new stuff is coming out. I feel some sort of tiredness in the scene.
So what comes next? How are you planning on waking the scene up again?
It’s a tough question, and we are trying to create something which might have a bassy deep sound. Crystal clear electronica. We will try to reduce traditional influences, we just don’t know how yet. What’s next? Ask me something easier!
I know it’s not much easier, but let’s finish with some tips for our readers. What are your personal top Balkan recommendations?
- Mostar Sevdah Reunion
- Mahala Raï Banda
- Fanfare Ciocărlia
- Goran Bregovic’s new album Champagne for Gypsies.
Photography by Sebastian Marggraf.
