Music no-stop marathon that lasted for 5 hours in “Serena hotel – Dushanbe” back yard gathered DJs from all over Tajikistan. DJ Hamer form Khujand city has become the winner of the contest.

The organizer of the event is  the fellow of the music management fellowship program of Bactria Cultural Centre (Dushanbe)

Watch the video and  see the pictures from the event

Around this time three years ago, I posted about the video game “Metro 2033″, based on the novel by Russian journalist Dmitry Glukhovsky. The sequel (“Last Light”) has just been released, thus prompting this post. The setting of the series is an underground society founded by survivors of a nuclear war that was waged in 2013 (yikes!). They scrape by in the Moscow subway system, which has transformed into an almost Biblical sheol. NewEurasia’s snobbish managing editor Sanjar says, “it’s no War and Peace”. Sure, sure. But speaking as a person who’s probably imbibed way too much post-apocalyptic fiction since childhood, Glukhovsky and his compatriots at 4A Games have made one of the more engrossing scenarios in the genre. The series mixes mysticism, science fiction, and politics in an unusual way. It’s also nice to see some Eurasian sensibilities injected into Western popular culture; we’ve been surely lacking it since the Seventies.

Besides the horrific mutants prowling the ruined surface and the endless subterannean labrynth of tunnels, vents, and pipes, the survivors must also contend with each other. In an obvious satire of both Soviet history and contemporary Russian society, the metro has largely been divided into four major factions — the neo-Nazi Fourth Reich, the neo-Stalinist Red Line, the neo-liberal Hanseatic League (or “Hanza”), and the neo-pagan Polis. Polis is the most intriguing, as it is also the least explored (at least in the games). Insofar that the series is also a deconstruction of modern civilization, Polis represents something of a Camelot, an idyllic last bastion of balance between material and spiritual needs, which also serves as a kind of symbolic capital for the metro. A fifth faction, the Rangers (or “Spartans”), descends directly from the Russian military and is ideologically non-aligned but sort of politically aligned to Polis. The Rangers are on a mission to protect the metro, a loyalty-to-the-whole notion.

There is a surprising connection to Central Asia in the form of of one of the series’ most memorable characters, the mystical Khan Aitmatov. He is sort of a walking, talking, shooting piece of Russian Orientalism, right down the martial badassery, lonely nomadism, and panpsychism:

“Most people believe the Metro to be just tunnels and stations, a lifeless and soulless conglomerate created by human hands alone. [But] the Metro is a living, breathing thing… with a heartbeat and a soul — and a mind.”

Nevertheless, he also serves as a crucial mentor for the main character. In fact, in the original game, he represents one of two philosophical worldviews, the other represented by Hunter, a Ranger. The dualism hinges upon the willingness (Khan) or unwillingness (Hunter) to embrace the unknown. Hunter’s worldview is presented as the empirical one (“If it’s dangerous, kill it”) Khan’s as the spiritual one (“It’s not any more ‘evil’ than, say, fire. It all depends on your point of view”). Hunter’s view has a certain kind of common sense to it, all the more so in the blasted purgatory of the metro. However, if the player adheres to Khan’s view, though, he or shall achieve the better of two possible endings in the game.

“He who is brave and patient enough to peer into the darkness his whole life will be the first to see a flicker of light in it.”

The original novel has spawned an entire literary universe (and unless Glukhovsky and his coterie don’t act quickly to instigate horrific nuclear war, it shall quickly become a uchronic series, too). There are now books examining the metros of several other post-Soviet cities, and even somewhat strangely, a Russian Artic base (I’m not certain about how utility this series would have outside of its setting). Last year, the series finally went West, with a novel exploring the ruined London situation. Rumor has it plans are in the works for Paris, but no word yet on New York, arguably the London and Moscow’s main rival for title of world’s most famous subway system.

Now, if I could get Glukhovsky on the phone, I would certainly offer him my services to write a New York edition. But I would also try to pitch him a Tashkent and, yes, even an Almaty edition. The New York edition would certainly have its own version of Khan, a walking, talking, shooting piece of American Occidentalism, a zany Bahá’í who believes in optimsim, rationalism, and that the apocalypse represents the best chance at unity humanity has ever had — but who also likes whiskey a wee bit too much, not to mention the ladies (shut up Sanjar, it’s obvious who this character’s based upon!) But who knows, maybe Khan has a long lost relative in Uzbekistan or Kazakhstan, too…

Local audience has not heard such quality rock-funk for a long-long time. Please see bellow the photo reportage from the concert. It is also important to mention the opening band The Children of Dushanbe city with its soloist Roma Buryak, more known as Roma

And this women is very resolute, judging by the charming photo shoot, that we posted for you below. At the minimum, they seems ready to make a lot of loud noise.

Three Uzbek rock divas (left to right): Sabina, Tamila and Sabina from “Lion’s Heart”, “In Reflection” and “Be Kind” bands will perform in Tashkent on April 26. And that will be real rock’n'roll, you can not even doubt. NewEurasia gives guarantee!

The concert will take place in the rock club “Cotton Club” in Tashkent. You can find more info in the Facebook event.

We will publish a report from this phenomenal-feminal concert right after the show. And now we offer you to enjoy the wonderful promo photoshoot:

All photos by Roman Lee

I would like to illustrate my photo report with the quote from the Bible:

Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves.

(Matthew 21:12)

Music ban Samo, music band Jeray, Davlatiyor Gulamoydanov, Tolib Saodatkadamov, Madish Davronov.

You can use their Facebook page to find more information about band and their music.

Here is photo report from the gig – take a look on the most impressive Uzbek rock talents.
All photos by Svetlana Ten. 

Fotos by N. Azizova