In Kyrgyzstan, akyns music is an arena for political debate and commentary. Georgy Mamedov curated a video list showcasing an old music tradition that has been updated by young innovative artists.

In recent years, Kyrgyz popular music has been much more than just entertainment. Against the backdrop of permanent political turmoil and exacerbating social contradictions, pop-music becomes yet another arena for public debate and reflection. Many Kyrgyz musicians, especially young ones, perceive creativity not only as a form of self-expression, but as a way to articulate their political subjectivities. As much as this reflects a more global trend of politicizing creative industries, this blend of music and politics is also deeply rooted in Kyrgyz culture. Namely, in the longstanding performative tradition of akyns – improvising poets and singers. Akyns improvised in the form of a song-like recitative, usually accompanied by the komuz (fretless string instrument). In nomadic cultures where oral traditions prevailed, akyns played a crucial role of social commentary and critique expressing people's thoughts and grievances, exposing social vices and articulating moral imperatives.

This playlist showcases five music videos from Kyrgyzstan in which the boundaries between creativity and activism, aesthetics and politics are blurred. We propose to view this selection as a contemporary and experimental take on akyn performative tradition.

Music: Begish & Adilla Beatz
Video: Anvar Halmurzaev
Track: «Saiasat» («Politics»), Kyrgyzstan, 2020

«Saiasat» by Begish is probably the only track in this selection that approaches akyn tradition not metaphorically but literally. Accompanied by minimalistic sounds quite uncommon to his other productions, the rapper recites rather than sings the lyrics, which are basically a populous condemnation of the corrupt government. The track was released during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, which revealed the enormous incompetence of the Kyrgyz authorities in handling the crisis. Begish accuses the country's political establishment of embezzlement, bribery, neglect, and cynicism towards common people, labor migrants, and doctors, stating that he just expresses the «people’s opinion». Six months later, in October 2020, the Kyrgyz government of Sooronbai Jeenbekov was overthrown as the result of mass protests.

Music: Zere & Bek Sadykov (cb1)
Video: Bekbolot Asanakunov
Track: «Apam Aitkan» («My Mother Told Me»), Kyrgyzstan, 2020

Zere Asylbek earned the reputation of a vocal advocate of girls’ and women’s rights after her first release Kyz (Girl) in 2018. The track provoked a furious reaction from the conservative segments of the Kyrgyz society who were outraged not only by its empowering lyrics calling on «the people» to leave girls alone and let them be who they want, but also by the singer’s exposed bra and the juxtaposition of covered women and girls wearing bikinis in the video. Body shaming, aggressive bullying, and explicit threats voiced against her in public and on social media did not intimidate Zere. She continued purusing the path of creative activism turning her every release into a feminist statement. «Apam Aitkan» included in this list is one of her recent tracks in which Zere recalls her own experience as a Kyrgyz girl continually cautioned by her mother «to watch herself», «not to provoke boys», «stay away from men on the streets». By telling her personal story in this song, Zere refers to the two powerful traditions simultaneously: the one of akyn bards of past times, and the feminist tradition of turning personal into political.

Music: Mirbek Atabekov
Lyrics: Akbar Kubanychbekov
Video Concept: Beknazar Baktybek
Animation work: Telek Asekov, Shakhnazar Borboev
Track: «Muras» («Heritage»), Kyrgyzstan, 2018

Atabekov is arguably the most recognized pop-singer in Kyrgyzstan. His most popular music video «Muras» has more than 13 million views on YouTube. The population of Kyrgyzstan is 6.5 million people. Atabekov enjoys such popularity not only due to his personal charisma, but also because of the message of his lyrics and performance style. In line with the moralistic aspect of the akyn tradition, Atabekov’s main message has always been unity. «Muras», which literally means «heritage» in Kyrgyz, calls for cross-generational understanding and harmony. In contradiction with ultra-nationalist views, Atabekov’s idea of Kyrgyz national legacy is inclusive and diverse. It includes not only the legendary and mythical distant past, but also the Soviet modernizing experience of the 20^th century. Heritage is not something that contradicts contemporaneity, but rather something that fuels it.

Music: Love iz
Video: Janmentle
Choreography: Agusha
Track: «OA» («Yes»), Kyrgyzstan, 2021

Similarly to many other places in the world, K-pop has been extremely popular among the Kyrgyz zoomers. This popularity generated not only a mass subculture of stans of the Korean groups, but the whole breed of local amateurish and professional K-popish bands. They adopt K-pop aesthetics, but infuse it with local meanings and themes.

All female-band Love iz is the most popular project on the Kyrgyz K-popish scene. Their highly stylized and seemingly silly video «OA» actually presents a self-ironic perspective on the linguistic divide in the Kyrgyz society. Kyrgyz-Russian bilingualism is simultaneously one of the most fundamental cultural strengths and a point of continuous social and cultural tensions in Kyrgyzstan. The country’s linguistic diversity is roughly split between the predominantly Russophone capital city Bishkek and the rest of the country where Kyrgyz is spoken as the first language. The band members sing in Kyrgyz (as most of the local K-pop style bands do), but in their daily life they as well as most of their fans are Russophone. The lyrics of the song humorously describes a failed date between a band member and a boy «who understands but does not speak Kyrgyz». The girls encourage their audience not to be afraid or embarrassed to speak in Kyrgyz despite imperfect pronunciation or poor vocabulary.

Music: Bakr
Music Producer: Dail
Beat maker: Romanbeats
Video: Curltai.music
Track: «Oylorumda» («In My Thoughts»), Kyrgyzstan, 2021

Bakr’s first release, «Oylorumda», made a sensation earlier this year on the Kyrgyz pop-music scene. Even though many consider his style of singing to be under a huge influence of a popular Kazakh-Russian rapper, Scriptonite, the young performer himself defines his style as the «style of Sayakbai». Sayakbai [Karalaev] is the legendary Kyrgyz manaschi – bard reciting Manas epic (a tradition that is close, but distinct from the improvisations of akyns, as manaschi learned by heart the lyrics of Manas and other epics). Indeed, Bakr’s charismatic voice modulation is very recognizable to a Kyrgyz ear. Even though Bakr does not turn in his lyrics to political themes, his bold and uncompromising blend of tradition and contemporaneity as well as the Kyrgyz and Russian languages somehow epitomizes complex and contradictory Kyrgyz society. Bakr, similarly to Zere and other young performers, views music as a path of personal emancipation. In one of his interviews, he talked about his strict religious background and how music helps him negotiate and navigate multiple contradictions between Islamic spirituality and secular views on contemporary life.