Abstrakt
The paper presents transformations in the forms of Balkan music in the Czech Republic and the role immigrants from the Balkans play in the transformations. While it is a reasonable assumption to think that the Balkan immigrants who live in the Czech Republic contribute to formation of the Balkan soundscape, it actually turns out that their role is rather secondary and 'imaginary'.
Using the theoretical and methodological grounds of Hemetek (2012), Jurková (2013) and Goldsworthy (1998), I distinguish three roles the Balkan music (and its proponents) plays in the Czech environment: 1) the Balkans are mediators: they organize events where Czechs play (or listen to) Balkan music; the events are usually a part of integration programs; 2) the Balkans are invisible actors: it is the name "Balkan" alone (used as a popular label) that attracts audience without Balkan music being played at all (cf. 'Balkan nights' and similar events); 3) the Balkans are members of the musical mainstream. Given the research question (i.e., to map the role of Balkans in the Balkan soundscape in the Czech Republic), the crucial question concerns the role of Balkans as invisible actors.
In this paper, I look at it through the optics of imaginative colonization (Goldsworthy 1998).