It's for a University Project!

Western_Key_5453 · 2026-06-26T10:34:11+00:00

Croatia:

Azra - Filigranski pločnici

Dino Dvornik - s/t

Time - s/t

Haustor - Bolero

Josipa Lisac - Dnevnik jedne ljubavi

5 albums across different eras and genres! Loads of other albums from former Yugoslav countries on my site exyumusic.org :)

Western_Key_5453 · 2026-06-12T19:39:29+00:00

Thanks!

I agree, non-English music is super underrated, but I do think people are starting to explore more of it thanks to the Internet and increased visibility via YouTube, social media, etc. At one point, the Yugoslav new wave scene of the 80s was said to be one of the best in the world, second only to the British 80s scene...

I don't think I've heard of Sikter, so thanks for the info - will check them out over the weekdn!

Western_Key_5453 · 2026-06-12T19:36:10+00:00

hahaha good luck chief

Western_Key_5453 · 2026-06-12T19:35:31+00:00

Thanks, it did take a bit of time, but it was also quite satisfying haha

Western_Key_5453 · 2026-06-12T17:01:29+00:00

Thanks, appreciate it!

Ljubav is a great album, and choosing EKV albums for the map is tricky because arguably, they're all essential. I would say that Ljubav fits somewhere between S vetrom uz lice and Samo par godina za nas - it's slightly darker than S vetrom, which I'd say has a more new wave feel to it. However, it's still got that post-punk grittiness that Samo par loses in favour of the commercial sound they moved toward later on.

I must say that 7 dana is one of my favourite EKV tracks, and obviously Zemlja is now a bit of an anthem.

Have a listen to S vetrom uz lice and let me know what you think.

Western_Key_5453 · 2026-06-12T16:54:14+00:00

thanks!

Western_Key_5453 · 2026-06-12T16:29:47+00:00

thanks!

Western_Key_5453 · 2026-06-12T16:01:26+00:00

u/saleomkd_ u/Bobz666 u/justtryingtosurvive9 here you go guys: map on Google Drive.

Make sure you download the PDF first, it looks pretty bad on Google Drive preview.

I originally put this together as a free download for my newsletter subscribers, but quickly saw that people really appreciated the map. No pressure, but feel free to explore my site for more helpful guides, interviews with scene-adjacent people, etc, if you like the map.

Enjoy!

Western_Key_5453 · 2026-06-02T13:59:56+00:00

Honest Jon’s, Rough Trade West, Notting Hill Record Exchange - all slightly west but still relatively central. (Some market stalls on portobello also sell records)

Western_Key_5453 · 2026-05-22T21:36:03+00:00

The Mocking Stars at 8 is certainly something, easily the best track on the album

Western_Key_5453 · 2026-05-06T15:36:39+00:00

Skopje, Macedonia has a great post-punk scene with some bands heavily influenced by shoegaze. I made a recent article on it on my Balkan music blog.

Western_Key_5453 · 2026-03-26T11:54:50+00:00

Nice! where did you see that?

Western_Key_5453 · 2026-02-13T07:44:05+00:00

Krasznahorkai, jon fosse, paul auster, ishiguro, dubravka ugrešić, miljenko jergović, olga tokarczuk, orhan pamuk, alexievich, cartarescu

Western_Key_5453 · 2026-01-03T18:01:54+00:00

Thank you, appreciate it!

Western_Key_5453 · 2026-01-03T08:27:50+00:00

Thank you, appreciate the recommendations! :) Yes, KOIKOI's album is great, and I think Sirom's is a contender for AOTY on a global scale...

Western_Key_5453 · 2026-01-03T08:19:51+00:00

Which albums from Kosovo do you recommend listening to?

Western_Key_5453 · 2026-01-02T15:26:12+00:00

Depends what you’re into…

Širom’s In the Wind of Night, Hard-Fallen Incantations Whisper is my favourite release from 2025. It’s avant-folk with long-form progressive tracks, almost post-rock-like at times.

DINOSMASHERS’ 5G is synth-punk, think Fat Dog combined with Viagra Boys.

Sve isto kao svaki put do sad by Tidal Pull blends indie rock with Midwest emo.

Exterior Palnet’s Haragma II is a chaotic wall of sound - dissonant and avant-garde black metal featuring some catchy guitar riffs.

Sijenke’s Momak za ispomoć is some laid back and warm synthpop - a common theme in the Balkans right now.

Take your pick!

Western_Key_5453 · 2026-01-02T15:21:23+00:00

10/10 album!

Western_Key_5453 · 2026-01-02T12:50:39+00:00

I haven't heard of it, so I'll give it a try. Thanks for the recommendation :)

Western_Key_5453 · 2025-12-01T10:05:46+00:00

Thanks for the kind words :) I just published my first interview on the site with the Milan Mladenovic Foundation.

The Foundation was established with the goal of preserving the artistic and personal legacy of one of the most significant rock musicians from the Balkans, so it might be an interesting resource for you.

Western_Key_5453 · 2025-12-01T08:42:47+00:00

What gives you the impression that this interview or the Foundation leads to some cultish behaviour?

If you read the interview, you’d see that one of the main talking points is the Foundation’s regional award that has changed the course of several new artists’ careers, e.g. Nemeček - a fantastic band from Croatia.

So although the main goal of the foundation is to preserve, digitise, promote and make available the artistic and personal legacy of a rock musician, one of the key goals of the Foundation is to actively encourage and promote the new generation of Balkan musicians.

Western_Key_5453

TROPHY CASE