Laibach's Ivan Novak in Tallinn: politicians act like clowns, but real humour is dying

Slovenian avant-garde industrial band Laibach performed in Tallinn's Salme Cultural Centre on May 27. Frontman Ivan Novak spoke to ERR ahead of the show, sharing his thoughts on politics, humour, and Tallinn's city hall.

Slovenian avant-garde and industrial band Laibach took the stage at Tallinn's Salme Cultural Centre on May 27, marking one of the most anticipated alternative music events of the season in Estonia. Just hours before the concert, band frontman Ivan Novak was given a tour of the Tallinn City Hall, a building he said reminded him of the collective in more than one way.

Speaking to ERR, Novak reflected on the current state of politics with characteristic bluntness. «Politicians today behave like clowns,» he said, «but real humour is disappearing.» For a band that has spent decades blurring the line between art and political provocation, the observation carries particular weight — Laibach have long used theatrical excess and irony to expose the absurdities of power.

Founded in Trbovlje, Slovenia in 1980, Laibach are one of the most enduring and provocative acts in European alternative music. Known for their industrial soundscapes, militaristic aesthetics, and sharp political commentary, the band has performed across the world, famously becoming the first Western rock band to play in North Korea in 2015. Their Tallinn appearance is part of an ongoing European tour.

The visit to Tallinn City Hall clearly left an impression on Novak, who noted the architectural and symbolic parallels with Laibach's own visual identity. The band has always drawn on the imagery of monolithic institutions — whether fascist, communist, or corporate — as raw material for their art, and the brutalist grandeur of the building evidently resonated with that sensibility.