Ilyaz Abdrazakov

Ilyaz Abdrazakov / Ильяз Абдразаков

Published: September 28, 2016

Ilyaz Abdrazakov (Ильяз Абдразаков) is a contemporary Kyrgyz rock/pop singer. He is ethnically also part Kazakh, but sings mostly in Kyrgyz. Unusual among the small crowd of contemporary Kyrgyz singers, he uses harder rock instrumentation and sometimes electronica in his music, and while his voice is part of the current tradition of smooth, easy-to-listen-to voices, much of his music is harsher, stronger, darker. His music has been doing well on the charts over the past five or so years, and if he keeps up this level of musical innovation and difference, it should stay there.

Abdrazakov got started musically very early on in life. His mother was a music teacher, and he started singing and playing music as a child, astonishing the adults who heard him in his small town. It was difficult for him to get his parents’ blessing to start playing music professionally, but ultimately, of course, it worked out for him. He began arranging music and working with other Kyrgyz and Kazakh singers, especially singer Mirlan Niyazov. He moved to Bishkek and worked in cafés as he tried to find musical success. To this day, despite his burgeoning fame, he still often works as a music arranger and orchestrator—he calls it his only hobby. He also has the usual array of professionally produced music videos and collaborations with other Kyrgyz artists, some of the most interesting of which feature rappers.

A fan site for Abdrazakov on VKontakte (he doesn’t have a personal page and is generally hard to find online) describes him as “a very talented person who doesn’t have any musical education but, despite that, sings fantastically and writes music. He is the super-arranger of Kyrgyzstan,” referring to his talent for and partial career in music arrangement.

 

“Torment” (“Азап”):

Lyrics for “Азап”:

Сагынычтан жүрөк эзилип,
Кыйнап сезимди, унута албадым.
Күндөрүмдү санап, күтөмүн,
Издеп жүрөмүн, жолуга албадым,
Бүтпөс өмүрдүн терип гүлдөрүн.
Сени сүйөмүн,
Ааламда бүт дүйнөмдү сага арнайм.

Сагынычка багынып, кыйналып,
Калдым сызга малынып.
Азаптарга кабылып,
Муздак түндү жамынып.

Абалымды сезип, түшүнбөй,
Эзип кыйнадың, сыздап туйладың,
Алсырадым, аябадың го,
Салып арманга, чексиз жалганга,
Бүтпөс өмүрдүн терип гүлдөрүн.
Сени сүйөмүн,
Ааламда бүт дүйнөмдү сага арнайм.

Сагынычка багынып, кыйналып,
Калдым сызга малынып.
Азаптарга кабылып,
Муздак түндү жамынып.

Бүтпөс өмүрдүн терип гүлдөрүн.
Сени сүйөмүн,
Ааламда бүт дүйнөмдү сага арнайм.

 

“My Soul” (“Жаным ай”):

 

Lyrics for “Жаным ай”:

Байланам шок кыздардын,
Көздөн учкан сыйкыр нуру.
Мен балкыган жанга дары,
Алтын жибек, мончок шуру.
На, на, ней,
Ал жомоктогу перидей.
Сезилет жылмайганы,
Сезим өрттөп тамшандырат.
Көрсөң көзүң тойбос болуп,
Көксөп адам арман кылат.
На, на, ней,
Ал бийкечтер оттой болот.
Кол тийгизбес чоктой болуп,
Жанат эй.

Кайырма:
Байланам көздөрүнө анын,
Жалындаган жазым, жаным ай.
Жан дүйнөмдө жашайт жалындай,
Ай, ай, ай…

Байланам көздөрүнө анын,
Жымыңдаган жазым, жаным ай.
Жыргалымдын аткан таңындай,
Ай, ай, ай.

Тамшанам тал чыбыктай,
Ичке бели, көздөрү күйүп.
Алтын күлкү, шыңгыр добуш,
Ашык болуп келем сүйүп.
На, на, най,
Ал жомоктогу перидей.
Сырларын сактап келет,
Айтылбаган жомок болуп.
Учкун учуп күлсө нуру,
Көз уялат күндөй болуп.
На, на, ней,
Ал бийкечтер оттой болот,
Кол тийгизбес чоктой болуп жанат эй.

About the author

Julie Hersh

Julie studied Russian as a Second Language in Irkutsk and before that, Bishkek, with SRAS's Home and Abroad Scholarship program, with the goal of someday having some sort of Russia/Eurasia-related career. She recently got her master’s degree from the University of Glasgow and the University of Tartu, where she studied women’s dissent in Soviet Russia. She also has a bachelor’s degree in literature from Yale. Some of her favorite Russian authors are Sorokin, Shishkin, Il’f and Petrov, and Akhmatova. In her spare time Julie cautiously practices martial arts, reads feminist websites, and taste-tests instant coffee for her blog.

Program attended: Home and Abroad Scholar

View all posts by: Julie Hersh