Sevara Nazarkhan, an Uzbek singer-songwriter and musician, plays the dutar, a fifteenth century two-stringed Central Asian lute that is plucked, not strummed. When music was the domain of shepherds and lonely wayfarers, the strings were made from animal intestines. As the Silk Route became better established and the dried fruits and animal skins that Marco Polo carried were traded for gems and Chinese porcelain, the strings were woven from silk. The dutar has a warm dulcet tone. In Sevara’s hands combined with her voice, an ancient tradition respires.
Her album Yol Bolsin (Where Are You Going) for Real World is a meeting place between the old and the new. Along the Silk Route, even today, some traditions haven’t faded. Folk songs from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries reinforce the popular music of the region.
In Tashkent, Uzbekistan’s capital Sevara is a pop star. It is not unusual for Sevara a slight striking woman with long dark hair to be stopped on the street by her fans. Her first group in 1998 was a soulful women’s quartet. During this period she also sang in the city’s popular arts cafe Taxi Blues. A year later she released her debut album and established herself as a solo singer.
Despite her choice of western musical forms, her roots are apparent. Sevara’s father, formerly a vocalist of European classical music, headed the traditional music department in Tashkent radio before his retirement. Her mother teaches traditional string instruments and is the director of an extracurricular music school. Sevara studied voice at the Tashkent State Conservatoire where folk music is a rigorously taught musical art.
Discography:
Yoʻl boʻlsin – Where are you Headed? (Real World, 2003)
Goʻzal dema – Don’t Say I’m Beautiful (2004)
Sen – You (Real World, 2007)
Tortadur – It Attracts (2011)
Maria Magdalena (2012)
Pisma (2013)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.