Appendix 6 - International Music Council

interest to national roots, the majority only seems to know products of the Soviet musical
policy. In opposition to the variety of local musical traditions the national music style is
highly standardised and thus counterproductive to musical diversity.
In Ireland, the Scandinavian countries, the Balkan and Caucasian states traditional
music is quite vital and therefore often seen als national music. For example in Bulgaria:
Local music traditions have been crucial for the national identity in Bulgaria for many
centuries. Besides the orthodox Christian church, Bulgarian folklore was the only way to
retain the own national identity during Turkish occupation. In the Soviet era the local
musical traditions were also considered as an instrument for maintaining national identity.
Music scholars went to the villages, recorded the local tradition, then cultivated it, making
"better" arrangements by using Western European elements or writing new songs in the
same style. Then these new songs and arrangements were performed by professional
ensembles of national folk music, then played in the radio and so brought back to the
places, where the original songs were recorded. People then learned the new versions, so
what remained was a mixture of the original tradition and its "cultivated" version. Different
to Russia, there is no such big difference between the living musical tradition and the
adapted one. Both are known in the society and crucial for the national identity.
6.3.2. Local traditional musics
Until recently the vast majority of music traditions were local musical traditions. Today this
situation is changing as a result of the dissemination of music through the media. Certain
music styles once having been local traditions in some regions, are spread worldwide today,
like jazz, pop or classical music. People are much more attached to listening to the media
than to making music or visiting concerts of local musicians. The extinction of musical
contexts, in which traditional musics are performed, and the dissemination of some global
music styles by the media endanger local musical traditions, which at the same time means
the loss of parts of local identity.
There are still many regions in Europe where local musical traditions are vital and quite
intact, like in Ireland and the Scandinavian, Balkan, Caucasian and the Alps regions. In
Russia, Belarus and Ukraine there are some traces of once rich local musical traditions,
which are now highly endangered. As well, you find revival movements for traditional
musics in many regions in Europe. In Eastern Europe they result from the strength
regaining national identities after the collapse of the Eastern block and the Soviet Union. In
Western European countries like the UK, France or Scandinavian countries these
movements have rather cultural roots, but are also associated with national/local identity. A
great number of festivals for traditional musics took place in the last 15 years, with their
number increasing. This tendency has led to a noticeable revival of local musical traditions.
6.3.3. Musics of migrants communities
Asian Underground is a term associated with various British musicians of South-Asian
(mostly Indian or Pakistani) origin which blend elements of Western underground dance
music and the traditional music of their home countries. The first well-known example was
the compilation album Anokha - Soundz of the Asian Underground released in 1997 and
masterminded by Talvin Singh. It is not a strict musical genre per se, since the specific
sounds can vary wildly (from Cornershops' Britpop to Panjabi MCs' jungle). Most of these
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