by Matej Krajnc

Kulturni center Maribor, 2024

The cassette is highly collectable. So is the record. So is this book, actually. Punkappella isn’t a new name but a household name in some communities that know about the history of punk not only in the UK but in all other European countries (and broader). Yugoslavia was part of them, abandoning the Iron Curtain in 1948, joining the Eurovision in 1962. Being part of Europe means being part of its many cultural happenings and by the end of the 80s, when Balkan wars were just around the corner, this musical formation, called Center za dehumanizacijo, came to full-blown prominence with several vinyl editions and acclaimed concerts, bringing the history of the Slovenian Northeastern punk with it. It wasn’t just punk, it was the whole history of rock’n’roll and popular music that CZD was embracing. The sound, the heroes, the attitude.

Fast forward and New York comes into the game, in the form of an a cappella punk formation which is a unique thing even now. It’s Punkappella and the book is here now: photographs, lyrics and everything. The omnipresent names that tie the CZD experience and Punkappella together are the names of Dušan Hedl and Bojan Tomažič, musicians and lyricists, both essential to the history of the punk poetry here in our neck of the woods. The Punkappella story makes them cosmopolitan writers, and with this book they’re established in that position forever. Other members of the group are Jessica Pavone, Darius Jones, Marissa L. Perel, Chris Peck, Fritz Welch, Jaimie Fennelly and Mike Pride.

This edition is a 50 copies pocket book, for you to take it with you when you travel. In fact, if you go to buy cigarettes, you can take it with you and read it while standing in line. Cigarettes are not cheap nowadays and neither is poetry. “None of our children / will think too harshly of us / For considering our welfare.”

And that’s just the beginning.