Customer Reviews

Yol Bolsin

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In retrospect, it was quite funny when I first saw Sevara perform at a concert - at some point my hair was literally standing on end in disbelief at what she is able to do with her voice. I don't speak Uzbek and can't tell what any of her songs are about, but the joy, longing and passion expressed in her singing will get to you as well, for sure. Her voice is unbelievably versatile and beautiful. I had never in my life even imagined someone sing like a Ney flute before - until she did!
Perhaps the album would have benefitted from a bit more live experience spent playing these songs - I found Sevara live charismatic and her music fabulous, whereas the studio album in comparison seems not quite as outgoing and engaging. However, it's still a great album and I recommend it highly to anyone interested in world music. If you can - go see her live.

The voice is regal and elegant ... accompanied on a 15th C. Central Asian lute ... the combination is sublime. At times, Sevara's voice sounds romantic, other times it is subdued and reverent. She creates a meditative atmosphere. She sounds as if she were entering a deep and quiet place within herself -- connecting to some long lost part of an ancient world where her spirit roams freely and so does ours when listening ...

The music has transcendental and mystical qualites similar to Turkish Sufi music. It contains rhythms and melodies ... makams that allow for improvisation that comes in waves and cycles... the accompanying music produces a gentle undulation that is soothing and relaxing. Translations of portions of the lyrics in the liner notes confirm the connection to nature, the human spirit, the earth, as well as romantic inclinations toward a lover, future husband and the indescribable love of a mother for her baby in a lullaby... The beauty of everyday existence and simple things are celebrated. For example, one song is titled, "When Apricot Blossoms", another one, "Song of the Bride" and yet another, "Beautiful".

Anyone who loves traditional world music with ancient roots and wishes to delve into a lesser known culture, Uzbekhistan in Central Asia, would find this CD a delightful path to explore. Anyone fascinated by improvisational music from Persia, China, the Middle East, or Turkey would enjoy the rhythmic ambience on this CD very pleasant and enjoyable to hear. Erika Borsos (erikab93)

I have to say - I bought the album because I saw her while she was touring with Peter Gabriel. Once again he has given me the gift of music, she has a terrific, fun and entrancing style. I also have to say that I didn't love the album as much as I did her in concert. If you have the chance to see her you should. There is one song she did with her long flowing gowns and a pair of cowboy boots and a cowboy hat - swaying her hips, well you can get the picture. Driving beat - I know why Alexandar the Great stopped in Afganistan (stricktly speaking she is from Uzbekistan but you know what I mean. Open your mind and expand your horizon and check this CD out.

This was an impulse buy for me, and one that I certainly haven't regretted. Sevara Nazarkhan has a beautiful voice, and she is backed here by a combination of traditional instruments and electronic FX that is (on the whole) elegant rather than heavy-handed. There is also a welcome variety of pace and tone across the tracks, making for a diverse but consistent listening experience. The overall effect is a comfortable blend of pop and world music: more Natacha Atlas than Azam Ali, and less profoundly moving for it, but an accomplished and highly enjoyable album nonetheless.

Founded years ago by the multi-talented Peter Gabriel, Real World Records has given listeners opportunity after opportunity to dip into the refreshing pool of traditional music forms from all over the globe. Their artists are steeped in the cultures from which they spring, yet they bring an innovation and newness to their art that entertains, opens the mind and uplifts the spirit - and, perhaps most importantly, goes a long way in attuning our hearts and souls to those of our brothers and sisters around the world.

Sevara Nazarkhan is immensely talented, gifted with a beautiful voice that allows her spirit - and, passing through her, the sprit of the people of her native Uzbekistan - to shine forth. Illuminating is a particularly apt word in describing the effect of her music. She accompanies herself on the duotar - a 15th century traditional, two-stringed lute from Central Asia. There are modern touches on this recording as well, added with the skill and taste that listeners have come to expect from the respected producer Hector Zazou - but the star of this show is Sevara. Her voice is a breathtakingly beautiful instrument - it simply must be experienced in order to be comprehended.

Nazarkhan is currently touring with Peter Gabriel, opening his concerts for him and appearing on stage with him as well. It shouldn't take long for audiences to recognize the unique, compelling beauty of her art. I can recommend this recording most highly.

Album is great. But Sevara is even better in person. I saw her and her band open for Peter Gabriel. She was just amazing. If you get the chance to see her live, do it. But if you can't, buy this CD.

I actually heard her music at a recent Peter Gabriel concert at the Nissan Pavillion in Northern Virginia. There are very few opening acts that I have enjoyed. Sevara is in that very rare list. Her music and voice are almost ethereal. Close your eyes. Listen to the sounds, the rhythms, the tones. You may not understand what you are listening to, but that is the joy of music. You don't need to understand a foreign language. Your ears will thank you for it.

It's important to be aware of what you are getting here. The Uzbek musician Sevara Nazarkhan began her career singing the traditional folk music of her country, and she was a talented performer on the dutar (Central Asia lute) as well. This album, however, has her adopting pop stylings, with World music producer Hector Zazou providing electronic beats and loops. The only thing traditionally Uzbek about the album are the Uzbek-language lyrics and dutar plucking by a backup musician (who must often fight to be heard above the electronics).

If approached as a chill-out pop album, something to make for a relaxed and social atmosphere in your home like a Thievery Corporation, the album is entertaining enough. The material ranges from more active tracks like "Yor-yor" and "Ei Nozanin" to ballads like "Galdir" and "Alla". It's not an album for attentive listening, however, as the limitations of Zazou's musical abilities become painfully evident.

If you want real Central Asian folk music with female singers, the recent Smithsonian Folkways release Central Asian Series, Vol. 4: Bardic Divas is worth seeking out.

This album gives us a glimpse into the world of Asian songstress Sevara Nazarkhan, who has created a compelling, unique album.
Like all great world music, Sevara balances the traditional with the modern deftly and convincingly. On this disc, you will hear such instruments as doutar, tambour, nai, and gidjak sewn into tracks with keyboards, loops, and electric guitar, and it is done in a way that no one thing overshadows anything else. This is also due to the stellar production.
Standout tracks are Yor-Yor, Gazli, Yol Bolsin, and Yallajonim, which verges on R&B. Most of the songs are slow, and even the upbeat ones are more midtempo than anything, with a laid back, unhurried groove throughout.
But the album is not perfect; most of the tracks are traditional tunes, and as such the lyrics are minimal and can be repetitve (even if you don't understand them, you can tell). And Sevara, who possesses a wonderful voice, doesn't give the listener much variation in that voice -- she pretty much sings in the same way throughout and some of the tracks sound the same because of it.
But these are minor gripes. Overall, it is a great disc. I know this is one artist who has a bright future ahead of her.

The former Soviet Republic of Uzbekistan is the world's third largest producer of cotton. It is one of the two "doubly landlocked" countries in the world, surrounded entirely by countries which have no coastline. It has large reserves of natural gas and oil, and is the home of Samarkand, Bukhara and Tashkent, major cities on the Great Silk Road.

But that's not important: what is important is that it is also the home of Sevara Nazarkhan. Her CD Yol Bolsin fuses traditional Central Asian music with Western influences -- samples, electric guitars, keyboards -- in a mix which is truly "World Music." These are songs which wouldn't be out of place on a flat dusty steppe or in a chillout room.

Some world music purists may scoff at this CD, because of its "pop touches." They forget that "World Music" doesn't exist in a glass case. Rock and pop music can be found in Uzbek markets, or heard on Russian and Uzbek-language radio stations. Hector Zazou's sampled electric guitar fits in perfectly alongside Toir Kuziyev's doutar (two-stringed lute) and his electronic beats provide a counterpoint to Shurat Mirusmanov's doira. In Uzbekistan "folk" music isn't something embalmed; it's a living tradition, which incorporates new influences as it preserves old ones.

Above all this is Sevara's voice: her powerful trills, strong as the noonday sun and delicate as a mirage, have an edge of melancholy which evokes heartache, longing, and the endless lonely desert. Classically trained at the Tashkent State Conservatoire, she takes folk, peasant and Sufi melodies and makes them not timeless but immediate. It's easy to see why she's a major star in Uzbekistan... and why she could, or should be, a major star worldwide.

If you like World Music, you're almost certain to like this one. If you haven't yet been exposed to Something New, this is a great start. It's different enough to be interesting and tuneful enough to go down easy, and its melodies will slip into your subconscious like sand blown on a hot desert wind will slip past your defenses. Broaden your horizons; buy this CD. (And, if you get a chance, see Sevara Nazarkhan live when she comes to your town with Peter Gabriel).