The neve gila, the new songs, are original creations that build on the repertoire of dance songs and slow songs. They connect to traditional musical and textual structural elements and integrate modern musical styles such as jazz, Latin and pop. Together with her husband Mišo Nikolić, who accompanied her on the guitar, Ruža Nikolić-Lakatos created several neve gila, which were particularly popular at public performances. In later years, when the couple performed together with their sons Sascha and Mischa Nikolić under the name Ruzsa N.Lakatos & The Gypsy Family, the musical influences of the younger generation dominated.

Musical Structure

The neve gila are characterised by melodic borrowings from various musical genres. They are mostly rhythmic and adapted to the expanded audience after the change in the performance context (early 1990s). They exhibit a wide stylistic range.

Sources and further information:

• Hemetek, Ursula: Comparison of Žo-tar mange žo-tar and Tu gelan tar a lumasa, a slow song and a new song; In: Amare gila - Unsere Lieder – Our Songs. Ruža Nikolić-Lakatos u.a., eine Dokumentation der Lovaraliedkultur in Österreich. CD mit Begleitheft. In der Reihe: Tondokumente zur Volksmusik in Österreich Vol.4, März 1994, Neuauflage 1998. PDF