Destinations: Turkmen Synth Folk

This episode of the Destinations podcast is an attempt to present the Turkmen Halk Aydym ('Turkmen folk song' literally) in its '80s synth style that rose up during the decay of USSR. Turkmen music has still been keeping its secrets for foreign listeners.

By the end of the '80s, the Soviet 'Iron Curtain' has pulled aside. The previous way of life began to give away to a new lifestyle. These dramatic changes had a great influence on any citizen of any Soviet republic. It touched Turkmen music too: local musicians started buying synthesizers - imported equipment which could replace a small folk ensemble. From now a local artist could be a one-person-band. Others made duos - a singer and a keyboard player. Some part of local youth felt that traditional folk performed in its original style was pretty outdated, so the synthesizers brought it to a different stage in its sound evolution. Even nowadays, the synthesizer plays a crucial role in modern Turkmen folk.

Such a new way of music organization in Turkmen Soviet Republic gave us a unique and distinctive piece of art, which is based mostly on folk poems that were put on to new modern synth arrangements, still keeping traditional Turkmen singing, rhythms and melodies.

Words & mixtape by Dima Silich of Delta Shock Records.