Georgian jazz, Bashkir rock and Turkish avant-garde at The Spirit of Tengri

Artists from Georgia, Bashkortostan and Turkey have performed at the contemporary ethnic music festival The Spirit of Tengri, Tengrinews reports.

The concert started with a beautiful opening performance of throat singers accompanied by various national instruments.

The Shin brought authentic Georgian ethnic jazz and rock-n-roll to Almaty. The band performed last year at The Spirit of Tengri and came again. The performance of the Georgina band was truly energetic and probably the most memorable thanks to masterful guitar improvisations and Georgian dance.

“It is a wonderful festival that has become even better this year. There are few festivals like that. We think it is the music of the future than brings us back to our roots. The festival will be interesting to an European audience too. Today, it is easier to open new horizons in music because we live in an open world. We should think of a way to bring The Spirit of Tengri to Europe,” The Shin musicians said.

Argymak from Bashkortostan, too, participated in previous editions of The Spirit of Tengri. This year, the band brought a new program to Almaty. Argymak performed in their usual up beat style with elements of rock. The band played a Bashkir two string dumbyra and Kazakh kobyz adding African drums. The lead singer of Argymak noted that with Summer in full swing the gentlemen should invite ladies for an ethnic slow dance. This time, Argymak came to Almaty with a Russian folk singer Yekaterina Yamshikova.

Yekaterina Yamshikova singing with Argymak

The participants noted that the festival was becoming better every year. The Spirit of Tengri, according to Argymak, remains true to its course promoting rich variety of ethnic music from different countries each year.

For the Turkish band Baba Zula it marked their second time in Kazakhstan. The band has a rich history going back to early 1990s. Most of their musical pieces involve an ancient Persian instrument saz. Baba Zula brings dynamic, avant garde and at times psychedelic music rooting in traditional Turkish melodies and vocals.

The Spirit of Tengri starts the second day of the open air performances on June 7 at 7 pm at the square in front of the Republic Square.