3 in 1

Rap has its flow in Azerbaijani music. It can be safely stated that among the genres that came to Azerbaijan after the country restored its independence (including the genres of the post-Soviet period), rap by its mass character, ranks first in Azerbaijan. If a teenager or a youth representative does not want to listen to any mix of folk songs, Turkish and Russian pop music, the national musical kitchen will offer him the following menu:

• Rap (late 80s of the 20th century)
• Rock (late 70s of the 20th century)
• Electro (early 2000s)
• Jazz (from the 30s of the 20th century)

If one chooses a rap, one will become familiar with names like Xpert, Paster and Rüzgar. Let’s look at the new track of this triple through the eyes of VarYox.

The sound of the track Fenom (Phenom), like in Europe, pursues a completely new rap trend. In the last 3-4 years, as a style, the “trap” remains the main direction of the voice acting for rap, elements of which the local rap musicians managed to use to their fullest extent.

The repetition of a series of short and long sentences, “auto-tune” in a capella (in transition and chorus), a little bit “mumble” makes this work more modern. The video clip slightly changes the impression. This is not to say that it is unusual, but you can’t even call it ordinary. The rappers represent young people chasing money, success and respect. In a number of scenes you can see elements of irony, as if what is happening has some kind of message. And other scenes reflect the atmosphere of a rap – party, entertainment and dance.

The video clip was published on January 27 and is currently on the official channel “Synaps production” has gained more than half a million views. The clip was directed by Ilkin Imanov.

*time of genre formation in our country

VarYox has already covered the Naschkatze several times. Naschkatze does not fit into any serious genres, concepts or frameworks; Being inspired by the Caucasus, the producer-composer duo explores the musical heritage of various world cultures and constantly works towards expanding and developing their vocal resources.

Their new clip again turned out to be conceptual and as they say “artsy”. Being an electronic music video, clip follows the rhytm of song. Despite the fact that the first scene reminded me of two old ladies climbing a hill, after looking at it 3-4 times, I realized that they were members of the group – Ali Hasanov and Farhad Farzali.

The clip has story. The timeline consists mainly of panoramas. In my opinion, all the geological structures, rocks, layers of clay and historical strata, glaciers, waterfalls and mountains represent the Caucasus. All these patterns on the rocks, similar to the drawings, are natural, have no authors – this is the direct work of nature. I think this also indicates that art is inspired by nature. It seems that we are wandering around in different places, as people of the Stone Age once roamed the caves. Along with the ancient man, we see various symbols — machines of the future, rockets, elements of faith and art.

The end of the clip is expected – a solid state of matter transits into a liquid one and the clip which started from the above-mentioned duo ends with the scene where this duo lies unconscious. This clip is one of the rare contemporary creations that demonstrate unity with music.

Aisel’s “We Run” was published on February 15, 2019. She says “Things happen for a reason. My spirit becomes stronger, as long as I struggle. And there is no better place and escape I found than in music and religion..” on the description of the music video.

And indeed, the clip begins with an unusual scene – all its surroundings are silent while Aisel’s voice and breaths can be heard. It is possible that the scene where it lies in the snow, when a fire rages around in icy weather, symbolizes spiritual devastation – existential horror.

Words, tones and transitions in the music are aligned with the scenes. For example, when the words “did you ever try for” are heard, Aysel tries to get on her feet. And when she sings “we run”, she runs through the cornfield.

The red color of her dress, probably conceived for three reasons – not to don the clip in full darkness, stand out against a white snowy background and a link to the fairy tale “Little Red Riding Hood”. She is pursued not by a black wolf, but by a shepherd’s dog. In the next scene we see her running to the wooden church.

In the second part of the clip scenes full of loneliness end. The non-aesthetic sound effects of “footsteps” (?) when she enters through the door and heads for the piano located in the center of the church completely destroy the atmosphere. The video ends with orchestral music played on the piano. Neither in words nor in the beginning of the video it is possible to feel that planned “atmosphere of religious calmness”.

To be honest, the shooting location of the video brings a strong calm atmosphere to the first part. The video was filmed in the open air Museum of Ukrainian Folk Architecture and Life in the village of Pirogov, located in the southern part of Kiev. Despite the fact that the village in the medieval style makes it possible to feel the mystical atmosphere, the modernity and praying people inside the church violate the message of the video about “self-knowledge of a lonely person”. But maybe the point was precisely to say that “you are not alone”?

Despite the fact that I didn’t like the video of this song, I also gave a try for audio version, which was released as a single. The single was incomparable. For a moment, it seemed to me that I was listening to Woodkid. The aggressiveness of the percussion instruments at the end of the track made it possible to feel the spirit of the clip, better than they tried to show it in the clip.