Music Around the World: Azerbaijan

Our Musical World Tour stops in the Eurasian country of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan, nicknamed The Land of Fire, is famous for its unique landscape (which includes a whopping 350 volcanoes), cuisine, literature, art, and music. Not knowing much else about this country other than how to spell it, this week's research was very interesting and I enjoyed familiarizing myself a bit with the musical culture of the nation. And now for a fact dump:

-Capital City: Baku

-Official Languages: Azerbaijani, but other recognized languages include Lezigan, Talysh, Avar, Russian, and Tat

-Government: Unitary semi-presidential republic, currently under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva, and Prime Minister Ali Asadov

-Azerbaijan was formed as a democratic republic in May 1918, became a Soviet Socialist Republic in April 1920, declared its independence from the Soviet Union in August 1991, was admitted into the United Nations in March 1992, and adopted its current constitution in November 1995

-Land Area: 33,400 square miles (112th largest in the world)

-Population: 10,130,100 estimated as of 2021 (90th most populous in the world)

-Religion: 96% Islamic, 3% Christian, 0.1% other religious affiliation

-Drive on the right side of the road

Folk music has a very important presence in Azerbaijan even to this day. Through the genres of mugam (which combines classical poetry, musical improvisation, and vocal improvisation, literally challenging the artist to turn their emotions into a melody), meykhana (which is a sort of spoken word genre that involves an unaccompanied song with multiple musicians improvising their parts), and ashiq (a performative genre that combines poetry, storytelling, dance, and music both instrumental and vocal), Azerbaijani music remains unique from most other music you've heard while also embracing international genres like rock, hip hop, and pop. Now that we've gotten a little educated, let's give these pieces a listen!

A.J.D. by Aziza Mustafa Zadeh (composer unknown)

Aziza Mustafa Zadeh is an Azerbaijani jazz fusion and mugam singer, pianist, and composer. Born in Baku in December 1969, she has released ten studio albums over her thirty-four year career. A.J.D. is featured on her 1983 album Always and shows off her impressive piano skills as well as some awesome scat vocalizations that both sound like familiar, western jazz as well as maintaining the uniqueness of her native country. If you enjoy jazz on any level, this is a great song for you.

Mugam Bayai-Isfahan by Bahram Mansurov (composer unknown)

Bahram Mansurov was an Azerbaijani tar player and pioneer of the mugam genre. Born in Baku in February 1911, he began his career at the age of 18, traveling throughout the USSR to promote mugam with his tar - a long-necked, waisted string instrument that looks a bit like a lute. While the tar itself was invented in Iran, it is widely used not only in Azerbaijani music but also in the nations of Uzbekistan, Armenia, Georgia, Tajikistan, and Turkey. Mansurov traveled to Iran many times during the course of his career to perform for troops during the Great Patriotic War, taught mugam at the Baku Musical School, and was awarded the People's Artist of the Azerbaijan SSR in 1978. He passed away in 1985 at the age of 74 and is still a beloved artist in his native country. His piece Mugam Bayai-Isfahan, included on the 2015 compilation album Azerbaijan: Azerbaijani Mugam that was curated by the Smithosnian Institution, is a beautiful, intricate instrumental piece where you can truly feel Mansurov's emotions as he plays.

Bir Axşam Taksidən by Flora Kərimova (written by E. Sabitoğlu)

Flora Kərimova is an Azerbaijani singer and actress. Born in Gabala (133 miles northwest of Baku) in July 1941, she is known for her work in the genres of jazz, rock, mugam, opera, pop, and Estrada (a stage performance genre). Kərimova studied vocal arts at the Azerbaijan State Conservatory in the 1970s and is known for her four octave vocal range. She was also one of the first Azerbaijani artists to ever sing rock & roll, as well as the first People's Artist of Azerbaijan in independent Azerbaijani history. Bir Axşam Taksidən, or One Autumn Evening in English, was featured on her 2021 album Emin Sabitoğlunun Bəstələri, where she sang many pieces composed by Azerbaijani composer Emin Sabitoğlu. An English translation of the original Azerbaijani is below.

One evening we came out taxi into the autumn/Didn’t know where to go/One evening we came out taxi into the autumn/Didn’t know where to go/With longing spring in the autumn evening/Our hearts trembled pathetic/With longing spring in the autumn evening/Our hearts trembled pathetic/We ran in a corner from the rain/Standing face to face to the sea/We ran in a corner from the rain/Standing face to face to the sea

Ölüm by Huseyn Derya (composer unknown)

Huseyn Derya was an Azerbaijani rapper and actor. Born in Baku in June 1975, he was a popular Azerbaijani hip hop artist throughout his fifteen year career. Sadly, he passed away in 2014 at the age of 38 due to complications from a car accident. Ölüm, which translates to Death in English, was released as a posthumous single in 2020 and features Xeyal Memmedov and mugam singer Alim Qasimov. It was cool to hear some Azerbaijani hip hop - I liked the beat, and the incorporation of Qasimov's traditional vocals into the song was a really cool touch. I couldn't find a good translation of the lyrics, but the song is definitely worth listening to.

Shahnaz I by Khan Shusinski (composer unknown)

Khan Shusinski was an Azerbaijani folk singer and composer. Born in Shusha (about 236 miles southeast of Baku) in August 1901 as a distant relation of the khans of Karabakh (a semi-independent khanate in Armenia and Azerbaijan between 1748-1822), he enjoyed a career that spanned over six decades of creating and performing Azerbaijani folk music. After his first public performance at age 22, he created in the Mugam Studio at the Azerbaijani State Philharmonic in 1960 and ended up teaching vocal arts at the Zeynally College of Music at the Azerbaijan National Conservatory later in his life. He passed away in 1979 at the age of 71 and is still regarded as an important figure in Azerbaijani music, with a foundation created in his name and a street named after him in Baku. Shahnaz I is featured on the 2014 compilation album Great Singers of the Republic of Azerbaijan and is an awesome example of mugam with both vocals and instrumentation combined. Again, I unfortunately couldn't find a good English translation of the lyrics, but it's a fascinating listen and I highly encourage you to check it out.

Azərbaycan marşı by National Symphony Orchestra of Azerbaijan (written by U. Hajibeyov, A. Javad)

Azərbaycan marşı, or March of Azerbaijan in English, was adopted in 1920 as the official national anthem of Azerbaijan. With music by Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Hajibeyov and lyrics by Azerbaijani poet Ahmad Javad, it was replaced in 1922 by the Soviet Anthem, but restored again to national anthem status in 1992. It's interesting to hear a national anthem in a minor key, but not going to lie, this one sounds really cool to me. An English translation of the original Azerbaijani lyrics is below.

Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan/O triumphant fatherland of sons of heroes/We are all ready to bestow our lives on thee/We are fain to shed our very own blood for thee/With the banner of three colors blessed be thee/With the banner of three colors blessed be thee/Thousands of lives were sacrificed/Thy soul a battlefield became/Of every soldier devoted/Each one of them heroes became

Afaki by Röya (written by O. Yilmaz)

Royala Yagub qizi Najafova, better known by her stage name Röya, is an Azerbaijani pop singer. Born in Baku in June 1982, she started her career as a member of the girl band W-Trio back in 1999 and has since enjoyed a successful solo career. She has released 10 studio albums over the last twenty-three years and is known for her liberal and artistic musical style. Afaki, or Pointless in English, was released as a single in 2018 and is a cool example of Azerbaijani pop music. Like with the hip hop selection from earlier, there's a good balance of "typical" western pop sound in the song mixed with more traditional Azerbaijani vocalizations and instrumentation throughout, and it's fun to listen to. An English translation of the original lyrics is below.

Not you, who's the one beside me/Its 12 in the night again/Without you, everything is different, meaningless/It's been too long this time/Feels like he won't come back again/It’s pointless to think about him this much/So useless/Find a way/Come on, come to me please/Look, I'm still alive and fine/Actually I feel so bad/Everyone turned out to be so wise and giving me advices/You know/I cannot create something out of nothing/Be fair, you cruel/I loved you, not like that/I loved you a lot

Sənin Üçün by Unformal (composer unknown)

Unformal was a 2000's Azerbaijani hard rock band. Formed in Baku in 2000, the group was known for playing alternative rock, alternative metal, progressive rock, and nu metal. Though they disbanded in 2009, they released two EPs and one album during that time, had one of the top-charting songs in Azerbaijan, Ukraine, and Turkey in 2007, and placed in Azerbaijan's Eurovision contest. As of 2009, the band lineup included Evgeniy Manukhin on drums, Farida Nelson on bass guitar/piano/backing vocals, Dilara Karimova on vocals, Igor Garanin on guitar/synth/programming, Yasha Bakhish on guitar, and Toro on keys. Sənin Üçün, or For You in English, is from Unformal's 2003 EP Sui-Qəsd and is a pretty solid metal song if I say so myself. I couldn't find a good English translation, but if hard rock is your thing definitely check them out.

Whether you were already somehow familiar with the musical culture of Azerbaijan or jumped into it cold like me, I hope you found some cool new music to enjoy. Happy listening, and see ya'll next week!