New Primitivism

New Primitivism (Serbo-Croatian: Novi primitivizam) was a subcultural movement established in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, in March 1983. It primarily used music, along with satire, sketch and surreal comedy on radio and television, as its forms of expression. Its protagonists and followers called themselves the New Primitives.

Functioning as a banner that summarizes and encompasses the work of two Sarajevo-based rock bands, Zabranjeno Pušenje and Elvis J. Kurtović & His Meteors, as well as the Top lista nadrealista radio segment that eventually grew into a television sketch show, the discourse of New Primitivism was seen as primarily irreverent and humorous. Additionally, two other prominent bands, Plavi Orkestar and Crvena Jabuka, that reached great commercial success in Yugoslavia during the mid 1980s were also tangentially associated with the movement though each abandoned its sensibility early on in favour of a more mainstream conventional musical and stylistic expression.