Kyrgyz Music Friday

Kyrgyz Music Friday is a (now defunct) weekly feature in which I post a pop music video from an artist in Kyrgyzstan. It could be catchy, annoying, funny, insightful, brilliant, awful, or anything in between. It’s what’s playing on the radio, what all the cool kids are listening to these days. Kyrgyz Music Friday is not trying to appeal to your musical taste (which I’m sure is awesome), but simply gives you a glimpse into how pop music is done on this side of the world. Feel free to share your thoughts on this week’s video in the comment section!

Just in case you haven’t been keeping up with Kyrgyzstan’s pop music scene on your own, here are a few new(ish) videos you may have missed.

First up, “Tamchi Deniz” (Drops Make an Ocean) featuring a packed ensemble of stars: Mirbek Atabekov, Nurbek Savitahunov, Gulzada, Saltanat, and two new-to-me singers, Darkhan and Ayana. Turn on the captions for the English translation of the lyrics. It’s a nice little patriotic song with some stunning views of Bishkek and Kyrgyzstan’s beautiful landscapes. Two things though; where does Nurbek disappear to at the end of the video? And why were there no shots of Issyk Kul!?

Next up, a new video from Eholami! “Yadernaya Zima” (Nuclear Winter) is by far their best video and I’m so proud of them! It’s a sad song, but with a bit of sass. Not depressing, a bit mournful, with little nostalgic glimpses of summery poppy fields. Although, I could do with a bit less electric guitar and could listen to that guy play piano all day.

Meanwhile, in Belgium, I’ve been slowly recovering from the flu. Karma for bad-mouthing February, perhaps? I hope to be outside, enjoying the springtime sunshine, and back to writing more than a few sentences before taking a nap, pretty soon though.