Track Listing

1. Adai
2. Fergana Tanovar - Alishir Alimatov, Turgun Alimatov
3. Adolatingman (Tanovar) - Sevara Nazarkhan
4. From the Station to the Mill [#]
5. Devonah Shaw - Davlatmand
6. Aktamak Köktamak - Abdorahman Nurak
7. Schoch Va Gado - Yulduz Usmanova
8. Yod Kardam [#] - Farzin
9. Sary-Arqa
10. Akku - Raushan Orazbaeva
11. Az Ghami Tu - Nobovar, Shams Group
12. Jygach Ooz Komuz - Kambarkan Folk Ensemble
13. Gongurbash Mukamy
14. Song of Karkara [#]
15. Zhez-Kiik - National Ensemble Of Mali
16. Oz'begim
17. Garduni Dugah - Ari Babakhanov
18. Bul Bul Zaman

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #234300 in Music
• Released on: 2005-01-31
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Album Description
Central Asia is a place of fantasy and imagination, which includes the spectacular remains of the Silk Road civilizations, the cities of Samarkand and Bukhara, and the romance of camel trains. Musically the area is fantastically rich, despite being little-known. This album ranges gloriously from Tajik rap to the Kazakhstan National Ensemble Of The Presidential Orchestra, from taxi-driver favourites to the masterful instrumentalist on the long-necked lutes that define the music of the region. The Rough Guide To The Music Of Central Asia includes popular singers who have appeared in the West as well as lesser-known hidden treasures.

Amazon.com
Asia's fabled Silk Road trade route once stretched from China to Western Europe and today, the region is home to a vast multi-ethnic musical tapestry. The majority of the area¹s traditions began in Turkey but Tajikistan¹s hails from ancient Persia--plus there were centuries of cross-pollination with passing caravans. The most ubiquitous instrument is the saz, a long-necked lute, which is also called the dutar and tanbur (Uzbekistan), setar (Tajikistan), dombra (Kazakhstan), or komuz (Kyrgyzstan). City-dwellers, with easy access to international influences, generally prefer a contemporary sound, while the songs of the nomadic peoples have developed along folkloric lines. Thus, the tracks on this set range from the cool electronica of Farzin, to Nobovar & Shams Group's English-laced hip-hop, to pungent rural ballads redolent of a wanderer's home fire. Together, they spin a seductive, shamanistic spell as old as the Gobi Desert, as young as dawn over the steppes. --Christina Roden

Customer Reviews

A good collection of something new
If you want to hear something totally new, listen to this. It's all from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgistan and Tajikistan, with echoes of Afghanistan, Turkey and Mongolia. (It's delightful to try and guess which countries each song is from, and spot the simialerities between them.) It's vaguely simialer to Iranian music, at times, especially with EXTENSIVE use (a VERY extensive selection here) of songs on various long necked lutes like the dutar, setar, dombra, rabab, and many more. (They should have had pictures in the booklet of all the lutes - would have been useful)

Variety is the key word here. There's classical music, a lot of folk music, an awesome rendition of a Rumi poem by the bard singer Davlatmand (one of the best tracks), shamanistic trance music played on fiddle and lute, pop and folk-pop crossovers (most of the pop is pretty creative in mixing traditional and western instrruments), Tajik rap, instrumental bands, brass and violins (track 4 sounds like something from Romania) and lots of lute solos. I think about ten of the 19 tracks are instrumental, whether it's a lute solo, an instrumental duet, or a folk orchestra. I usually prefer vocal songs, and there are some interesting styles of singing as well. The liner notes are very informative.

This is a very rare project, showing the music of these strangely obscure countries. Why don't we hear more about these countries in the west? This disc makes you wonder. It brings to life a little know region.

If you like Iranian or world music this is something new and refreshing, and fascinating. You can say that you have some music from Tajistan and Kyrgistan, and baffle you're friends. Recomended.

Very Diverse
This CD was my first step into the exploration of the music of Central Asia. I stumbled on this over at the library (it's a great place to stumble on things). I'm not too familiar with the music of the "Stans", but this CD has proven to be a great introduction to this Westerner music freak. Overall, it's very diverse with both traditional and modern sounds. I find it interesting how some of the modern musicians incorporate those ancient sounds into modern music.

not my cup of tea
I borrow the cd from my local library... i listened to every track but found some of them almost unbearably monotonic. for example the 12th track - Jygach Ooz Komuz - Kambarkan Folk Ensemble (try the preview) sounded like someone not playing music, but some types of machine. maybe i just need to get used to such music. and there are of course a few good songs. but overall i am disappointed by this collection.