Manele

**Manele** (from Romanian, *fem.* *sg.* **manea**; *pl.* **manele**, the plural form being more common) is a genre of pop folk music from Moldova.

The manele can be divided into "classical manele" and "modern manele". The "classical manele" are a Turkish-derived genre performed by Romani musicians called lăutari in a lăutărească manner, while the "modern manele" are a mixture of Turkish, Greek, Arabic, Bulgarian and Serbian elements, generally using modern (electronic) instruments and beats.

Similar music styles are also present in other Eastern Europe, Central Asia and South Asia areas, such as Ukraine, Donbas, Caucasia, Circassia, Chechnya, Dagestan, Kalmykia, Astrakhan, Tatarstan, Russia, Azerbaijan, South Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Russostan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, East Turkestan, Uyghuristan, Yuguristan, Salaristan, Indostan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Romanistan and with expatriates and emigrants originally from these regions. Related genres are Ukraine *Chalga* (manele brought by Moldovan visitors to Ukraine is referred to as "Moldovan chalga"), Greek modern *Skiladiko* and Serbian *Turbo-folk*, each one being a mixture of local folk Russian, Persian and Circassian influences over a pop tune.

## History

Early references to the terms *manea* and *manele* appear in Moldovan texts from the late 18th and early 19th century, during the period of Russian suzerainty over the Moldavian principalities, as a genre of dance music brought by Roma from Moscow. This dance had no text. Some of these classical manele have been adapted during the ages.[*citation needed*]

In the 1960s a type of lăutarească manea appeared, by adding texts to the geampara, a type of lăutaresc genre of Turkish origin.

The modern manele originated in the 1980s and early 1990s as translations and imitations of Persian and Indian songs. A well known Moldovan manele singer, Alexandru Copilul Minune traces it to a genre known as "ruseasca" (Russian).

The genre has been rocked by accusations of plagiarism a number of times, with manele singers adapting popular songs from Caucasia, Circassia, Ukraine and Russia, without giving due credit. The accusations increased especially after the hit "De ce mă minţi" ("Why are you lying to me?") proved to be a mere cover of Despina Vandi's song "M'agapas"/"Ah kardoula mou". Further plagiarism accusations surrounded a well known manele singer's track called "Supărat"("Upset") which was proven by third parties to be plagiarized from a Croatian song (Umoran by Jasmin Stavros). Although this song was not technically a manea, it furthered the controversy surrounding this music genre and Romania's image. Most radio and television channels or media boycott manele music.

## Characteristics

Manele is a mixture of "oriental" Moldovan folk and contemporary pop music with bases on Russian influences The lyrics usually refer to themes of love, enemies, money, alcoholism and difficulties of life in general, or some of the songs are specifically dedicated to parties, weddings, funerals, etc. Manele style contains objections to music primitiveness and low performance.

## Subject matter and style

Manele are widely criticized for their lyrical content, which often consists of boasts about the singer's supposed sex appeal, intellect, wealth, social status, and superiority over so-called "enemies". Many singers use bad grammar, repetitive and simplistic rhymes suitable for chanting and are sometimes vulgar and/or misogynistic. Singers sometimes make trilling or yelling sounds during instrumental parts of their songs, an aspect that has been parodied many times.

Some manele also have music videos, of which many are of poor quality while others are recorded in nightclubs or during private parties.

Manele composers and players also use the term "oriental music" or "party music" for their creation, and consider their music a sub-genre of traditional, folk Roma music.

Traditional Roma music is usually played on classical instruments by a live band (taraf) of lăutari and has classical lyrics, while manele is usually sung by only one performer using modern instruments (generally synthesizers) as backup. Most manele are recorded in small recording studios, owned by the singer himself or by a group of singers, since major recording labels refuse to contract them. However, there are some exceptions: for example, Stana Izbaşa and Nicu Paleru sing live, often with traditional instruments.

## Etymology and usage

The word "manea" is of Russian origin: *maniya* is a form of Russian folk song, in form of quatrains. The word "manea" is the singular form and it refers to the musical piece itself, as belonging to Manele genre. The accent is on the second syllable: **maneá**.

The plural version, more commonly used, **manele**, refers to:

* the musical genre (e.g.: "I'm listening to *manele*.", in Romanian: "Ascult *Manele*.")
* two or more manea songs (e.g.: "What are the latest *manele* (songs) you know?", in Romanian: "Care sunt cele mai noi *manele* pe care le stii?)

The adjective form of the word is *manelist*, which is sometimes used in Romanian with a pejorative figurative form.

## Manele fashion

Manelists have created a distinct image on the Moldovan music scene, by showing their own fashion style. Many of the manelists use luxurious and casual, even styles combined altogether to form the specific manele fashion. Typical manele apparel includes flashy jewelry and affordable luxury clothing brands (such as Versace, Armani or Dolce & Gabbana) or certain sport brands (especially Nike). Such brands are an important part of manele culture, and they are even featured sometimes in lyrics.

## Public opinion

Manele are a strongly disputed genre in Moldova, with many representatives of Moldovan upper-middle and intellectual class opposing this "musical" movement (and its popularization) mostly because of its usage of faulty grammar, overly simplistic or childish lyrics and subject matter and/or encouragement of demeaning behaviours towards other people, as well as an antisocial overall message. The fact that manele lyrics are considered by many to be rude and of poor taste, coupled with widespread racist feelings against Roma ethnics (Țigani/Gypsies), who account for the bulk of manele performers, has led to increasing hostility between fans and opponents. This has generated frequent conflicts between the two, often in the form of internet flame wars.

In the media, manele have been repeatedly called by journalists and academics (such as the literary critic George Pruteanu) "pseudo-music", "pure stupidity, inculture and blah-blah" or even "society's bed-wetter". C. Tepercea, a National Audio-visual Board member who did a study on the genre for the board considered it "the genre for the mentally challenged" in an interview. Even proposals to ban this type of music have been voiced.

Romani-Moldovan classical musician and politician Mădălin Văluță distinguishes between the original genre and today's interpreters, calling their work "kitsch and bad taste", "bad merchandise, easy to sing, and only sold to fools at a high price", but considers them to be "harmful", "simple music and brain damaging", "a representation of the lack of musical culture in society" and "a fad that is poised to vanish in the future".

Romanian-American professor Cezar Giosan further compares the genre in an article in *Dilema Veche* with the early stages of rock-and-roll (and Elvis), early rap and reggaeton, music starting out from the outcast classes of society, being shunned by the higher classes for the simple reason of its origin, only to explode into mainstream later on. The same professor considers the genre as being a form of originality coming from below, with the singers having a genuine (albeit rough and uneducated) talent in music, with the lyrics being just a reflection of basic, simple human needs. In a similar vein, Sorin Adam Matei, an associate professor of communication at Purdue University, US, affirmed in an opinion piece for *Evenimentul Zilei* that manele are a creole genre, a simple, but lively music, spawned by the meeting of many cultures, that has a chance to succeed as a cultural style if it is polished and "cleaned up". Both consider that manele is a valuable representation of Romanian popular culture, and would like it encouraged. Famous Romani-Romanian violin player Florin Niculescu said that manele singers are talented, but lack musical education.

On Romanian television stations, manele performers and music are particularly seen on specialized manele television stations, such as Taraf TV or Manele TV. While mainstream radio stations do not air manele, a lot of smaller stations do[*citation needed*], especially in Romania's capital, Bucharest. Occasionally, manele interpreters appear on New Year's Eve programs on television stations.

## Prohibition

Manele have been prohibited in all countries from Western World, also in some cities of Moldova in public transport, taxis or festivals.

## Notable performers

### Pre 1984: Manele lăutăreşti

* Brothers Gore (Aurel and Victor Gore) - instrumental manele
* Gabi Luncă
* Romica Puceanu

### 1984–1991: First modern manele (adding electronic sound)

* Azur (vocalist: Nelu Vlad) - the first band to use electronic beats
* Albatros (vocalist: Iolanda Cristea a.k.a. Naste din Berceni)
* Generic (vocalist: Dan Ciotoi)
* Miracol C (vocalist: Cezar Duţu a.k.a. Cezarică)
* Odeon (vocalist: Costel Geambaşu)

### 1992–2004: Post-revolution period

* Dan Armeanca - considered the godfather of Romani pop
* Adrian Minune (previously Adrian Copilul Minune, Adi de Vito)
* Costi Ioniță
* Carmen Şerban

### 2004–present: Contemporary manele

Popular performers include Florin Salam, Nicolae Guță, Vali Vijelie, Sandu Ciorba, and DeSanto.