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The other K-pop: Dua Lipa, Rita Ora and the Kosovan chart takeover
After wartime trauma, Europe’s youngest country has developed an outsize musical clout that packed this year’s Sunny Hill festival in Pristina. What fuels its pop success?
Photograph: Dardan KrasniqiHaving only declared independence from Serbia in 2008, Kosovo is the youngest country in Europe in more ways than one: the average age of its citizens is 29.5, possibly aided by the fact that young Kosovars until recently could not take advantage of freedom of movement inside the EU. Singing lyrics mostly centred on love and betrayal, Kosovar pop stars often collaborate with artists from Albania or the diaspora, churning out regular YouTube videos filled with summery aerial shots and brightly coloured dresses. Traditional Balkan instruments feature frequently, such as the gajde, a wood-and-sheepskin bagpipe whose humming sound is used to hypnotic effect in DJ Gimi-O, Ricky Rich and Dardan’s Habibi [Albanian Remix].
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