Kasetat e Vitit Ri (New Year's Eve Cassettes) - Popular Culture and Diaspora Consciousness

Having lost the right to a cultural archive through colonisation, folklore, which in Kosovo had traditionally served as an instrument to reiterate history, played a crucial role in maintaining and producing a common cultural identity. Reverberating around Serbian oppression and consequently the ensuing immigration during the 1990s, the imaginary distributed through popular culture articulated in the experience of many Kosovar-Albanian migrants and refugees. Popular culture with and beyond nationalist narratives served to develop a diaspora consciousness, allowing for a peculiar continuance - traversing the territorial borders between Kosovo and the diaspora. In this episode, we are joined by Arbnora Selmani to discuss how popular culture, infused with nationalist and feminist empowering tones shaped the consciousness of the diaspora during the 1990s and beyond. Arbnora Selmani is a Kosovar-British writer from London. She is arts editor at Porridge magazine and works in scientific publishing by day. Portraits, her debut pamphlet, was published by Lumin in 2018.

Addendum for minutes 0:27 to 00:32 in reference to Dj Gimi O's adaptation of 'Ani mori nuse' - the traditional lyric in Nexhmije Pagarusha's rendition of Ani More Nuse adds an interesting layer to the discussion. Pagarusha's version, contrasts with Shkurte Fejza's interpretation, which reflects societal preoccupations with the romantic and sexual relationships of Albanian women in the diaspora. Notably, Fejza's lyrics emphasise the importance of having an Albanian husband—something that would not be necessary to specify for a woman living within Kosovo. This emphasis subtly reinforces social norms and dictates what is considered acceptable. By contrast, DJ Gimi O's, a diaspora artist, version of the song flips Shkurte Ferjza's lyrics, reverting back to the original text. In doing so, it deconstructs Fejza's nationalist framework, undoing some of the implicit social dictation present in earlier versions. Intro music: North-Albanian Instrumental. Interludes in order of rendition: Shkurte Fejza - 'Xhamadani vija, vija'; Shkurte Fejza - 'Mbahu nene e mos ke frike'; Shkurte Fejza - 'E kam emrin Kosovar'; Adelina Ismaili - 'Amaneti'; Adelina Ismaili - 'Ushtrine time do ta bej me Ibrahim Rugoven'; Shyhrete & Engjellusha Behluli - 'Nuse Kosovare'; DJ Gimi O - 'Ani mori nuse'.