Rough Guide to the Music of Central Asia
Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan: sounds of the Silk Road

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.

"Central Asia is one of the world's great romantic terrains, the land of the Silk Road - where the sumptuous intricacies of Islamic music meet the elemental sounds of the Siberian steppe. And the former Soviet republics that make up the region are currently experiencing a musical renaissance, judging by this compelling compilation. This is a world where howling grunge guitar is employed alongside wailing shamanic fiddles, where bombastic power ballads are inflected by complex modal systems evolved in Samarkand, Bukhara and other fabled cities of the Silk Road. Yet, for all the immense diversity, there is undoubtedly a pan-Central Asian feel. At once stark, invocatory and yearningly romantic, it's best heard through the region's wonderful women singers. There's clearly a great reserve of slightly stern, yet still soothingly maternal female talent welling up in this mythic heart of Asia."
Daily Telegraph, UK

Artists include:
Ulytau, Turgun Alimatov & Alisher Alimatov, Sevara Nazarkhan, Ashkabad, Davlatmand, Abdorahman Nurak, Yulduz Usmanova, Farzin, Abdulkhamit Rayimbergenov, Raushan Orazbaeva, Nobovar & Shams Group, Kambarkan Folk Ensemble, Yagmyr Nurgeldyev, Ayjemal Ilyasova, National Ensemble Of The Presidential Orchestra, Sherali Juraev, Ari Babakhanov & Ensemble, Munadjat Yulchieva and Edil Husainov

What they say about NI..