Revolutionary 1980's Dance Music from the Former USSR Out Digitally
Ostinato Records has released some of the most intriguing compilations highlighting the cultural legacy of oft-neglected regional music scenes. Their latest release is Synthesizing the Silk Roads: Uzbek Disco, Tajik Folktronica, Uyghur Rock & Crimean Tatar Jazz from 1980s Soviet Central Asia. This album is a fascinating collection of rarely heard Soviet dance music.
After the Germans invaded the USSR in the summer of 1941, Stalin ordered a mass evacuation of Soviet citizens. These evacuees numbered around 16 million and were shipped by railroad to Soviet-controlled Central Asia. Tashkent, the capital city of Uzbekistan, would welcome many of these refugees. Among the people who settled in Uzbekistan were gramophone engineers who founded the Tashkent Gramplastinok plant. The factory opened in 1945 and would herald the opening of further plants throughout the Soviet Union producing records. By the 1970s, the USSR had pressed 200 million records.
Another important historical event that contributed to the development of the Central Asian music scene was the death of Stalin in 1953. The end of his Draconian rule allowed for a limited degree of freedom from the previous cultural restrictions behind the Iron Curtain. By the 70s the USSR had clubs devoted to jazz, rock, and disco. An underground economy was developed in the club scene by “disco mafias” which can be seen as the beginning of private commerce in the Soviet Union. The black market for pop music records, Western fashions, and alcohol would sow the seeds of rebellion within the Soviet youth. The subversive nature of music and the economic freedom of capitalism contributed to the collapse of the USSR.
The Central Asian music scene existed along the historical Silk Road. As centuries passed, the Silk Road was the meeting point for diverse cultures from East and West. The Central Asian music included Uzbeks, Tajiks, Uyghurs, Tartars, and Koreans. Musicians in Central Asia had even greater access to innovative technology than their fellow musicians in Moscow. Bukharan Jews introduced the latest Moog and Kork synthesizers from the United States and Japan into Uzbekistan.
While this era was a golden age of artistic expression, it wasn’t without its risks. Many of the artists in the scene faced government persecution. Musicians faced police brutality, harassment by the KGB, imprisonment in gulags, and forced commitment to mental asylums. Synthesizing the Silk Roads keeps the legacy alive of the great musicians who suffered for their art.
Synthesizing the Silk Roads Tracklist:
1. Nasiba Abdullaeva – Aarezoo Gom Kardam (I Lost My Dream)
2. Angelina Petrosova – Tantsuyushchiy Ostrov (Dancing Island)
3. Original – Bu Nima Bu (What’s This) (Live – Janto Koite Edit)
4. Original – Sen Qaidan Bilasan (How Do You Know)
5. Khurmo Shirinova – Paidot Kardam (Found a Sweetheart)
6. Natalia Nurumkhamedova – Nashi Ssori (Our Quarrels)
7. Bolalar – Lola
8. Yashlik – Radost (Joy)
9. Minarets of Nessef – Instrumental
10. Makhfirat Khamrakulova – Ya Zdala Tebya (I Waited for You)
11. Gulshan Feat. Makhfirat Khamrakulova – Rezaboron (Rain)
12. Efsane – Meyhane
13. Original – Bu Nima Bu (Studio)
14. Ariran – Pomni Menya (Remember Me)
15. Ismail Jalilov & Synthesis – Guzal (Beautiful)
Synthesizing the Silk Roads was compiled from rare 80s recordings including dead stock from the Tashkent Gramplastinok plant after its shutdown in 1991 and live TV performances from Soviet state media. Ostinato Records curated this collection in partnership with Uzbek label Maqom Soul. Painstakingly remastered and fully licensed directly from the artists and their families, the 15 tracks on Synthesizing the Silk Roads are a long overdue tribute to the musical revolutionaries of Central Asia.
Synthesizing the Silk Roads: Uzbek Disco, Tajik Folktronica, Uyghur Rock & Crimean Tatar Jazz from 1980s Soviet Central Asia is out now via Ostinato Records on all digital platforms. Vinyl in both black and raspberry red (limited to 200) will drop on September 20th. Vinyl comes in trifold LPs with rare scene photographs from the 70s and 80s eras of the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan, and neighboring Central Asian countries.
