Panties, Hearts and Foxtrots: Translations of Popular Songs within the Croatian Record Industry in the Interwar Period

Abstract

This article brings insight into the production of popular music in the early domestic record industry in Croatia, focusing on the period between the two world wars and on the treatment of foreign songs in local musicians’ translation and adaptation. The translators of foreign songs which were produced by the Edison Bell Penkala record company belonged to the Zagreb cabaret scene and their performances of the songs reflected both the western trends as well as their professional image and cultural background. The occurrence of »panties«, »hearts« and »foxtrots« on early Croatian records point to types of treatment of popular music templates offering different levels of domestication and foreignization within the local popular music production.

Keywords

• early record industry
• interwar period
• popular music translations
• cabaret
• interwar social dances