No Balkan Turbo Folk in Macedonia Public Buses
Public transport bus drivers in Macedonia's capital have been asked to replace turbo folk melodies popular throughout the Balkans with classical tunes and easy listening music, officials said Friday.
After numerous passenger complaints, managers of Skopje's public transport company JSP decided to equip new Chinese-made double-decker buses with about 400 song-playlists prepared by Macedonia's prominent DJs.
"Our passengers complained demanding the music be changed. I know that we cannot satisfy everyone's taste, but I believe most of them will be happy with the choice," manager Miso Nikolov said.
Passengers were unhappy with personal choices by bus drivers who mostly put on "turbo folk" -- a music genre that became popular throughout the Balkans during the 1990s known for its loud beats and modernised folk sounds -- blasting from their speakers, he explained.
"Now, in the morning, passengers will listen to calmer music, at noon, it will be more dynamic, while in the afternoon, they would enjoy local and world hits," Nikolov said.
Late night buses, used mostly by young people, will offer techno or electronic dance music, he said.
As a part of wide campaign to revamp the capital, dubbed "Skopje 2014", local authorities have introduced retro-style double-decker buses which were used in the city in the 1950s, before a devastating earthquake in 1963.
"I like the new buses very much, but also the music... It make me feel relaxed," economist Liljana Stojanovska told Agence France Presse.
But retiree Ljubica Organidzieva was unhappy with the change.
"I like the new busses, but the music we hear now, not at all, I like folk music," she complained.
Besides the double-deckers, Skopje will soon have another hundred regular buses, made by Ukraine's LAZ company. The new public transport fleet will completely replace the old vehicles, officials said.
Source: Agence France Presse
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