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Sevara Nazarkhan
Yol Bolsin (Real World, 2003)
$16.99
2003 -- Debut of 25-year-old Uzbek singer Sevara Nazarkhan and doutar player Toir Kuziyev, combining the rich musical tradition of her Central Asian country with the modern sounds of noted French-Algerian producer Hector Zazou.
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The press stuff:
With such a monolithic history, modernity can be easily sidelined. Yet, Sevara, the pop star, is no stranger to popular music trends. With samples, electric guitars and keyboards Yol Bolsin didn’t fully begin to flower until record producer Hector Zazou, from France, immersed himself in the tastes and smells of contemporary Uzbekistan. Sevara jokes that she forced Zazou to eat, drink, and dress Uzbeki – and always central to this experience is pure tradition. For the album’s doutar-playing, Sevara borrows the hands and experience of Toir Kuziyev, a master of instrumentation. The results are a collection of evocative songs recorded in Tashkent and Paris and finally mixed in the Real World Studios in Box, Wiltshire. Yet Yol Bolsin remains outside time and essentially Central Asian.
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This is not an album to set a party alight. But while it is contemplative, its not soporific - there's a groove to most of the tracks, ingeniously woven from Uzbek instruments. The title track, 'Yol Bolsin' stands out. Based on a song dating back to the days of the brigands who preyed on Silk Road travellers, now its message is more benign; its melodies are played by Toir Kuziyev on various string instruments -Turkish saz and Arabic oud, as well as doutar. Its rhythm has a slowed down bo diddley syncopation, and would fit into so many contexts - from Buddha Bar type bistros to adventurous blues-based radio shows. - Charlie Gillett, BBC '...Sevara Nazarkhan plays brilliantly with traditional and modern ideas of female identity, contrasting fire and ethereality, and creating moments of intense fragile beauty...French producer Hector Zazou space-warps the sultry twanging of the doutar lute, while giving free rein to Nazarkhan's beguilingly milky voice-letting the operatic pop idol and the other-worldly sufi chanteuse elide over gently throbbing digital grooves. What might have ended as generic "world soup" makes entrancing and highly sophisticated contemporary mood music. A major talent in making.' - The Telegraph, UK '...an eclectic, heartfelt set of peasant, folk and Sufi songs...Hector Zazou brings a distinctly 21st century sensibility to the project...understated and respectful-less Buddha Bar banality than the smart sounds of the Asian Underground. It's a compelling atmospheric backdrop for Nazarkhan and Kuziyez to weave their spell...Nazarkhan's voice is impressive, taking on her material confidently but not reverentially, not afraid to bring personal interpretations to the plate.' - Global Rhythm
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