This contribution sheds some light on the relevance of two musical ensambles that have had a substantial cultural and intellectual impact in Slovenia and elsewhere in former Yugoslavia during the 1980s, namely: Laibach and Borghesia. Their music, artistic ideas, videos and some live performances have anticipated the break-up of former Yugoslavia. Due to its unconventional ideas and provocative expressions, the Laibach collective was for instance banned from performing live in Slovenia and Croatia, and had to use Malevich’s black cross on posters advertising live shows instead. Similarly, other independent Slovenian bands such as Borghesia used a provocative, challenging language and either chose Italian or German names that were banned or at best viewed very sceptically by the Yugoslav authorities in that period. In one way or another, both bands challenged the status quo of the Socialist regime in Yugoslavia. Although Laibach and Borghesia were both subject to State censorship, they nevertheless managed to "survive" artistically. They are thus the main subject of this study.
