Chalga (Bulgarian: чалга; often referred to as pop-folk or ethno-pop) [2][3] is a genre of Bulgarian pop music. Chalga is a folk-inspired dance music genre, [4] with a blend of Traditional Bulgarian music [5] along with influences from Greek, Serbian, Turkish and Arabic music, as well as American hip-hop and Latin American Reggaeton.

Chalga (pop-folk) is a contemporary music style that combines often provocative Bulgarian lyrics with popular Eastern European (rarely Russian and Ukrainian) and Turkish music. It is the Bulgarian version of the corresponding variations in neighbouring countries such as Greece , Serbia or Romania .

Ottoman influence in Bulgaria has played a major role in all aspects of life, and has definitively shaped the musical traditions, including chalga (the name chalga was originally a Turkish word for “playing a tune or a musical instrument” (Statelova 2005, 63)).

Jan 28, 2020 · Chalga is a Bulgarian music genre, a mixture of Balkan rhythm and oriental embellishments. Being the most popular music genre in the country, it was intriguing what is it really and why the...

Jan 5, 2018 · Chalga relies heavily on keyboards with the voice swathed in reverb, and pushed way out front. Clarinet is often the only acoustic instrument and, while beats are programmed, darbuka (the Middle Eastern hand drum) is generously employed for added percussion.

Sep 5, 2008 · Chalga is a universal word throughout the Balkans but is most commonly used in Serbi a, Macedonian and Bulgaria to describe Bulgarian Pop music. Even though it's a Turkish word, it sometimes it is loosely translated as "to play" or "to play an instrument" within the Bulgarian context.

CHALGA (from ‘chalgia’ – Turkish musical instrument); means also ‘to make music’. Some 30 years ago the meaning was most close to the definition ‘to remake some pop-folk music by ear’. During the communist period the “pop-folk” music in Bulgaria was considered as …

As peculiar and often scandalous it may seem to an outsider, chalga music is much more than an ‘oriental’ rhythm and semi-naked performers. Here’s our guide to better understanding it as a part of Bulgarian culture.

Chalga is the Bulgarian version of the Balkan folk music known as Turbo-folk in Serbia, Laiko in Greece, Manele in Romania or Tal-lava in Albania. Musically it strongly resembles oriental music due to asymmetrical rhythms and instruments like the accordion or vio-lin.

May 1, 2009 · The current form of Bulgarian chalga emerged in the wake of the 1989 collapse of Communism. At first, it was seen as a liberation by the masses, who suddenly realised there was no one to tell them not to listen to Serbian or Greek music.