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oneweekoneband · 7 years ago

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Making Kazakhstani Music / Making Kazakhstan Through Music: An Interview with Megan Rancier

Sadly, very few people have chosen to spend time writing in an academic setting about Kazakhstani pop music. But I found an exception for y’all! Her name is Megan Rancier, and she currently teaches at Bowling Green State University, having previously received her Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from UCLA for writing a dissertation about the use of the qyl-qobyz, a traditional Kazakhstani string instrument. (Spoiler: there is no qyl-qobyz in Ninety One’s work to date.) She also wrote a very interesting paper, “Resurrecting the Nomads: Historical Nostalgia and Modern Nationalism in Contemporary Kazakh Popular Music Videos” (Popular Music and Society, Volume 32, Issue 3 [2009], pp. 387-405), which analyzes, among other videos, the one for Batyrkhan Shukenov’s “Otan Ana”:

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“Otan Ana” dates back to 2002 (and the video to 2005), but it was nevertheless, according to Wikipedia, the very first video played by Gakku TV when it launched in 2015, because “Otan Ana” is a big damn deal. Dr. Rancier’s article describes it as a “pseudo-anthem”. Shukenov died in April 2015, and tributes to him are not hard to find, including this performance of “Otan Ana” at an ethnic music festival in Almaty later that year.

It’s not hard to see how the song became anthemic, between the powerful drums and Shukenov’s strong yet controlled voice. It’s not hard to see how Shukenov, too, became a powerful ambassador of Kazakhstani music; “Otan Ana” is in Kazakh, but his previous group, A’Studio, had recorded in Russian, and become popular with such songs as “Julia” in 1991--in other words, just as Kazakhstan was breaking away from the Soviet Union.

And “Otan Ana,” despite its pointedly nostalgic-patriotic video, is a pop song, as Dr. Rancier notes in her paper:

The cinematic quality of the video and the reverential tone of the music and images creates a powerful “symbol of the fate of humanity” (Kasimzhanova 61); likewise, Batyr himself has described the birth of the child as an “embodi[ment], maybe, of the birth of our new state, the birth of life, its continuation” (ibid.). In a similar vein, the percussion that introduces the song—identified by Batyr as the ancient Kazakh Drum dauylpaz—represents, to some, an “an alarm call that wakes up the soul” (ibid. 62). Besides this one Kazakh musical element, the song resembles a conventional Western pop ballad: the melody written by Kazakh composer Kuat Shil’debaev does not contain noticeable “folk” or “traditional” qualities, Batyr’s voice is lyrical and smooth (with occasional Kazakh-style ornamentations at the ends of phrases), and the background instruments and percussion are synthesized.

Thus Shukenov looms large over Kazakhstani and Kazakh-language pop, Ninety One included; but, as we’ve talked about, there’s a fair bit of distance between the images in the “Otan Ana” video and the likes of “Kaytadan,” so I reached out to Dr. Rancier to ask her a few questions about her studies in Kazakhstan and the social and cultural roles of music she found there. After the jump, her answers.

What inspired you to study music in Kazakhstan?

Great question! And it’s one that I get a lot, because most Americans have no frame of reference for where Kazakhstan is, or what its culture and language are like.

What’s also funny is that many ethnomusicologists have stories that begin with them falling in love with the music or a similar romantic/emotional beginning; that is not how my interest in Kazakh music started! My story is much more pragmatic in nature.

When I was in graduate school at UCLA, I realized that Central Asia was the place where my interests and abilities aligned best. I actually already knew fellow grad students who were working in Uzbekistan and Xinjiang (Western China); so I chose Kazakhstan because it was the most politically stable country in Central Asia at the time, and I found that I could study Kazakh language in the U.S.(and Indiana University) and in Kazakhstan through a program offered by the American Councils organization. And fortunately, there was funding available for fieldwork in Central Asia! All the pieces gradually fit together.

Once I arrived in Kazakhstan for my first visit (to study Kazakh), I began to learn about a Kazakh fiddle called the qyl-qobyz. As a violinist, I was drawn to this instrument because the playing technique was more familiar to me, but the sound it was really drew me in. As I learned more about the qyl-qobyz, I decided to focus my fieldwork on its history, symbolism, and music. Later on, I became more interested in how traditional music serves as a resource for Kazakh popular music and musicians, and how nationalism and national identity become expressed through the use of traditional sounds in contemporary contexts.

A strong theme in your work is how music has become a venue to talk about a common ethnic Kazkah identity. can you explain that a little further, for readers unfamiliar with music in Kazkahstan? Why music? (And what would that mean for non-Kazakh residents of Kazakhstan?)

This is a really complicated subject, but basically the connection between Kazakh music and ethno-national identity starts with the Soviet Union, which took over Central Asia starting around 1924 (until 1991). Although Kazakhs have probably always identified their music as a marker of their group identity – as most ethnic/national groups do with their music – during the Soviet Union, this connection was made explicit and was intensified to the point where specific instruments, songs, clothing, patterns, and many other cultural practices were labeled exclusively Kazakh, and those practices became cultural “emblems” of the Kazakh ethnic group. The use of these cultural “emblems” was part of a larger project by Soviet cultural authorities to “divide and conquer” the various ethnic groups of Central Asia – historically a dynamic multicultural region with fluid political and cultural boundaries – by crystallizing their various ethnic identities and encouraging Central Asians to think of themselves as discrete “nations” based on ethnic identity. Even though Soviet rule ended in 1991, many of the peoples of formerly Soviet territories still conceptualize “ethno-national identity” (including various cultural “emblems” of that identity) in almost the same way that it was developed during the Soviet period.

Music was obviously an area of interest in the development of cultural “emblems” for each ethno-national group. Every Central Asian ethnic group had instruments, songs, and contexts that could be adapted to the Soviet project of fostering ethno-national identities. So you began to see specific musical instruments suddenly proclaimed the Kazakh national instrument, folk songs became adapted to the genre of opera and the resulting work became national opera, previously solo instrumental traditions became arranged for national folk orchestras consisting of folk instruments. The list goes on!

But as for “why music” – that’s complicated. Because music is performative, it undoubtedly facilitated the types of public spectacles that Soviet cultural authorities valued as demonstrations of their policy successes. The phenomena of folk orchestras and other “mass music” strove to involve as many people as possible in cultural activities as a way of educating and indoctrinating them. But music also brings people together, whether they are singing a song together or listening to a professional performance. It is an important outlet for emotion as well as a potential source of influence. The music of a people can represent that people; the music of a nation-state can represent that nation-state. No matter the government, state structures understand that music is a powerful way to move people – and sometimes states seek to control that power.

When you were doing your fieldwork there in 2008, how did you experience music on a day-to-day basis? What are the main channels for disseminating music in Kazakhstan?

In 2008, I mostly encountered music through live performances and through mass media such as radio, television, audio or video recordings, and the internet (although the internet wasn’t as accessible or widespread in Kazakhstan then as it is now). Live performances were a little tricky since you had to know where to find information about upcoming events; often the only form of advertisement was a poster that I might see while walking down the street!

Today, the main channels for disseminating music are radio and internet radio, music television channels, and online social media. Surprisingly, local artists in Kazakhstan do not seem to sell a lot of their own recordings in local music stores; they more frequently offer recordings at their live performances or online (e.g., MySpace or artist website). An important venue for performers in Kazakhstan is at weddings (toys) – which one of my contacts referred to as “toy-business.”

What, in your opinion, are the biggest influences on popular music in Kazakhstan?

Kazakhstan is in a unique position, geographically and culturally situated between several highly influential regions producing their own styles of popular music, including Russia, the Arab World, South Asia (especially India), and East Asia (especially Korea and Japan). Although physically removed from Kazakhstan, the United States has also heavily impacted its popular music since American pop music is so widely distributed globally. Kazakhstan’s popular music draws from all of these influences to varying degrees, depending on the artist in question. Stylistic influences such as hip-hop, K-pop and J-pop, Bollywood, and Arab “bellydance” music regularly find their ways into popular music in Kazakhstan; music videos by Kazakhstani artists also feature imagery from these places.

Russia is also very influential because it is Kazakhstan’s biggest trading partner; if a Kazakhstani artist wants to be successful, then they have to break into the Russian popular music scene.

So there are lots of different influences, and Kazakh music represents only one possible source of musical influence. In fact, the majority of popular music that I’ve seen in Kazakhstan emphasizes typical “pop” elements rather than explicitly Kazakh “national” elements.

In your paper you cited three different examples of "ethno-rock,” with varying degrees of popularity, “Otan Ana” being the best-known. How widespread was, or is, "ethno-rock" as a musical/cultural phenomenon? Also, can you talk about how ethno-rock dovetailed with official government policy--were the artists celebrated? Tolerated? Criticized?

Ethno-rock is still not a hugely popular genre (similar, maybe, to the position of “world music” in the United States), but there are numerous ethno-rock bands of various types still working in Kazakhstan. I don’t know whether I can fully explain why their reach is rather limited; people seem interested when I’ve attended performances in the past, but there doesn’t seem to be a strong demand for this type of music. Part of the problem may be that the music is seen as too “academic” or intellectual, as it is often produced by Conservatory graduates who have spent years learning about Kazakh music history, instruments, and repertoires. Not everyone wants to be educated through pop music!

As far as government reception, I can’t point to a specific policy that ethno-rock either supports or refutes. However, I do feel that ethno-rock has been embraced (if not outright promoted) by the state. I’ve seen ethno-rock performers featured at state-sponsored national holiday celebrations. More recently, though, I’d say the clearest indication that the state feels positively toward ethno-rock is its support of the “Spirit of Tengri” music festival, which features ethno-rock artists from all over Central Asia (and beyond). In 2017, the festival was held in Almaty for its fifth year; but it was also transplanted to the state capital, Astana, to be featured as part of the entertainment for EXPO.

I think the Kazakhstani government likes ethno-rock because it represents something that is both old and new, traditional and modern, rooted and globalized–which is what Kazakhstan itself aspires to be.

You referenced pan-Turkic YouTube comments on some of the music videos you studied. How much of a role does pan-Turkism play in music-making and music consumption in Kazakhstan? (To put it a different way: how big a deal is it that Kazakhstan is hosting the 2017 Turkvision Song Contest?)

To be honest, I think that for many Kazakhs pan-Turkism is a nice idea – inspirational, a source of pride in a shared identity (which is meaningful for Kazakhs since they often go unrecognized by the world community). At the “Spirit of Tengri” festival, for example, attendees and artists have commented positively on the shared heritage of nomadic and Turkic peoples, and you can tell that being part of this shared identity gives people a larger sense of belonging. But I’m not sure that it actively drives people’s music tastes in Kazakhstan (i.e., people probably would not go out in search of music that fits the “pan-Turkic” description but they would likely enjoy it if they happened to encounter it).

Regarding Turkovision 2017, I wasn’t even aware that Kazakhstan was hosting it until you told me! But I think that this actually is a big deal for Kazakhstan because the country seems to view any opportunity to host an international event or competition to be a chance for recognition by the world (which Kazakhstan still seems to strongly desire). And I’m sure that the government also relishes the opportunity to symbolically act as a cultural leader of the Turkic world by hosting the competition.

Finally: any artists whose work you want to tell readers to check out?

traditional music: Raushan Orazbaeva (a virtuoso qyl-qobyz player)

popular music: Aldaspan (Kazakh metal band), Lampy Orchestra (Kazakhstani rock band)

Central Asian popular music: Sevara Nazarkhan (Uzbek classical-turned-pop musician)

introductory post / all Ninety One posts

#ninety one #batyrkhan shukenov #otan ana #megan rancier #ethnomusicology #kazakhstani music

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bbcblackjack · 6 years ago

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Next from Qpop groups which I’m gonna introduce to you is Moonlight

They made their debut in 2016

Moonlight is under GM Entertainment

At first they had 4 members, then 5 and again 4

Moonlight’s first MV was Tokyo

Fandom name is Lunatics

Their MV Kiss was filmed in Kyrgyzstan

Check their IG

Yerkekhan and Erik have song together

They all are vocalists and doesn’t have rapper

Check their live

Dildabay Ansat Rakhymberdievich

Ansat was born in September 18, 1993 in Shymkent

Family: Mother, father and two older brothers

He likes to play football and take photos

Idols: Michael Jackson, Chris Brown, Justin Timberlake, Johnny Depp, Will Smith, Conor McGregor, Jackie Chan

The ideal type of girl: creative, economic, calm and very patient girl

Ansat joined to Moonlight after they released their first songs so he was included in MV

Here is his IG

Usenov Rufat Zairovich

He was born in January 27, 1995, Almaty

He have mother and younger brother

Besides Kazakh and Russian Rufat can speak English

Idols: Michael Jackson, John Legend, Michael Bubble

His hobbies includes taking photos and video shooting also dancing

The ideal type of girl: an economic girl with a modern outlook on life, prefers blondes

He likes fishing, skateboarding and walking with his dog

At first he was far away from music and just focused on studying

Rufat lost his father when he was in sixth grade

Here is his IG

Abdoldaev Yerkekhan Adilkhanuly

Was born in October 16, 1993 in the city of Talgar

Family: Dad, Mom, two sisters, big brother

Yerkekhan can speak Kazakh, Russian and English

His idols are Hillsong, 30 Second To Mars, DR.Dre, Hans Zimmer, Will Smith, Conor McGregor, Jackie Chan

The ideal type of girl: a smart girl who will respect and understand him

His whole family is musical

In free time he watch anime and play video games

He can play dombra, piano and guitar

His IG.

Kabylov Azamat Adilkhanovich

Was born on April 13, 1992 in the city of Talgar

He is quiest and most shy member

Family: Dad, mom, two sisters and younger brother

He is very close with his younger brother, Yerkekhan

His idols are Brian McKnight, Chris Brown, Zayn, Bruno Mars, N'sync, LP, The Wanted, Arnold Schwarzenegger

Is from musical family

His IG.

EX MEMBER!

Tolenov Erik Serikovich

His stage name is now Kyle Ruh

Left because wanted to make solo career

He was born in January 23, 1993

Family: Dad, Mom, Older Brother, Sister, Younger Brother

His idols are Boys 2 man, Brian McKnight, Justin Timberlake, Johnny Depp, Will Smith, Conor McGregor, David Beckham, Jackie Chan, Batyrkhan Shukenov, 72 degi Lyokha, Michael Jackson

He likes fishing and anime

The ideal type of girl: patient, intelligent, bright girl with blue eyes

He is student in Kazakh National Academy of Arts

Erik’s grandmother raised him

He can play dombra, guitar and piano

His IG.

#Moonlight #qpop #qpop info

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