It’s nice to see people letting loose.  Cross-posted from Ilhom.

I love this country!

  
In connection with the topic of CXW post I want to recall another one Saparov – Akysh – is a famous singer and composer, who also stayed in Turkmenistan despite the fact he was officially unable to perform.

Akysh Saparov who is very popular in the country is no longer seen on TV screens as, according to television officials, his songs promote a sort of nonconformist spirit and freethinking while the content of the songs is allegedly filled with thieves` jargon. Because of this, Saparov is called a Turkmen Vysotsky…

Famous Turkmen singer Akysh Saparow is as popular as 20 years ago.
His contribution to national popculture is immeasurable, and he deserved to be called “Turkmen Frank Sinatra”.

A bit of moody Turkmen hip-hop next. Actual Turkmen speakers are, of course, free to let us know what this song is actually about.

And for those with Russian skills, something else along the same lines:

This is a jaunty little number that gives visual evidence that puts lie to a claim made in Paul Theroux’s article in the New Yorker, where he dubbed Ashgabat the “city without benches”. Indeed, the Turkmen capital has, if anything, a perverse surfeit of public seating.

Malys & Toylyska – Igde

UPDATE: It transpires, as revealed in the comments section of the youtube page that this was posted on, that the song is a cover version. The slick Uzbek original is here. And for real masochists, here is a stomach-turning cover version by a pair of midgets.

Picking up where Nathan Hamm at Registan left off, this site will be featuring erratic selections of Turkmen music videos on a weekly basis. YouTube has recently become a hive of activity for uploaders of Turkmen pop music, but we can only hope that this blog can add to that already rich selection.
The first video is a compilation of concert footage of one of the country’s most popular band – ABM. Enjoy!