"MUSICIANS HAVE THEIR OWN WEAPONS!"

Like any other form of art, music has always reflected certain events in the history of humanity. This applies not only to personal experiences, but especially to historical events. Our national history is also reflected in the musical culture of our people. Names of great musical figures have long been the pride and treasure of the Azerbaijani art. And these glorious names have followers who continue our traditions in contemporary music. One of such proud custodian of the national musical code is the composer and songwriter Ayten Ismihanova, whose name has long become a brand and a synonym of quality. We had an opportunity to discuss with her the ongoing events in her creative life.

"The past year was quite rich in terms of events, both locally and globally. What can you share with us from your creative life?"

"Indeed, 2020 was a year full of events starting from virus, lockdown, unemployment, war and ending with a victory! It was a tremendous experience emotionally too, including the tears of sorrow, tears of joy with our victory, and the liberation of our lands! Eventually, the last year did affect the work of composers, poets, and singers. Many new songs were born. Everyone wanted to praise the feat of our soldiers. I am very glad that my song, which was composed 22 years ago and performed by the legendary group Deyirman – Ya Qarabağ, ya ölüm! - and accompanied with the lyrics written by the late Turkish poet Ozan Arif, was performed again during the terrible days of the war by a girl, a graduate of the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy Gunay Badalova, who was absolutely unknown to a wide audience. She has shared her own cover on her Instagram page. We decided to invite Gunay to record this song in a new arrangement and a video clip. As I said, Ya Qarabağ, ya ölüm! is twenty-two years old. Boys and girls born 22 years ago fought in Garabagh and liberated our lands from the invaders. But unlike 22 years ago, when the leitmotif of the song was full of physical and moral pain, the current version is full of hope and confidence!

“In fact, this song was the first project of the Azerbaijani label Base. This is how we expressed the spirit of solidarity and unity during the difficult days of the Second Garabagh War. Ya Qarabağ, ya ölüm! is significant for the entire generation of people, but for Gunay herself it turned out to be close also for personal reasons. During the filming of the video clip by Alikhan Rajabov and with the support of the Cavan Public Association, we were informed that Gunay’s homeland, the district of Zangilan, was also liberated!

“I also wrote a song about Azerbaijan, which will be performed by a wonderful and very talented girl Nazila Aliyeva.”

"For a long time we have suffered from plagiarism in music from our neighbours. How do you define plagiarism in music?"

"Plagiarism is the copying or use of other people's thoughts, ideas, works without reference to the author. Armenians often use or appropriate other people’s work. I saw one of such stolen pieces recently on YouTube. It was a video of a cook preparing her dishes and recommending the recipes under the music I wrote for the film Mehelle. I immediately complained and the video was blocked. They often take pieces from my songs and do not indicate the source. It is unacceptable. The rule is simple: if you use someone else's thought, book, article, music, poetry, you must definitely make a reference to its author. And any kind of plagiarism must be fought against as prescribed in respective laws."

"In the past 30 years, Azerbaijan has suffered from two Garabagh wars. Do you think they influenced our musical art?"

“Wars rob people of their relatives, childhood and happiness, confidence in the future, but music always remains. Music supports and comforts people in difficult times. It is necessary for a person like air. I am still impressed by our soldiers who keep singing even at the front line. Every time I hear Khudayar's voice, I cry. During the war, all radio stations broadcast songs about Azerbaijan, about our brave soldiers, about the strength and rightful cause of our country. Almost all the singers tried to support our soldiers and the whole people with their songs, tried to cheer, instill faith in Victory! We, the musicians, have our own weapon – our music!”

"Azerbaijan has always been famous for its talents, vocalists, melodists. Some were recognized immediately, while others did not receive the well-deserved success for a long time. Are there performers among the young and promising guys, who we rarely watch on television and listen on radio?"

"In fact, I blame the talents themselves for not appearing on TV or radio. We have enough talented performers, but their own laziness sometimes prevents them from getting promoted, becoming popular. Today everyone has many more opportunities than they did 20 years ago. There are digital platforms where singers can upload their songs, instrumentalists upload their performances. We must constantly work on ourselves, look for new opportunities. Gunay was also not known to the general public, she is an ordinary university graduate. She just sang and shared her own cover on her Instagram page, we saw her and decided to invite her to record the piece in a new arrangement and make a video clip. After that, she began to be invited to various programs with this song. Isn't it an option for promotion?"

"Do you compose academic music, which would be a logical move from your side given your classical conservatoire education?"

“Classical education is the basis, of course. In my student years, I wrote a lot of works for piano, violin and piano, for clarinet, sonata, quartets, etc. I performed at the conventions of the Union of Composers of Azerbaijan. My piano preludes were successfully performed by pianists Farid and Murad Adigozalzade. At the closing ceremony of the 2012 FIFA Women's World Cup in Baku, a piece specially written by me was performed.”

"We are blessed to have the freedom to choose co-authors who may live and work in different parts of the world. Are there any suggestions or dreams about working together with professionals working outside Azerbaijan?"

"Of course! I have collaborations with singers living in the USA, Turkey, Great Britain, Russia. I hope our joint work will continue."

"Let's philosophize. How do you cultivate good musical taste in children and young people? Is it necessary at all? Maybe we leave them alone, let them listen to what they are interested in, without imposing anything on them?"

"It is imperative to foster musical taste. It is necessary to listen to different genres of music with children. For example, the works of famous composers who wrote music for children, such as Peter and the Wolf by Prokofiev, The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky, Carnival of Animals by Saint-Saens, as well as other wonderful works. We must start with the classics. After all, this music is distinguished by harmony, nobility of intonation. You need to often attend concerts of good performers, then discuss what you have heard. You can listen to a wide variety of music - classical, jazz, funk, rock, but not be a great connoisseur and lover of a particular genre. Children must then be able to choose what they likes the best. For example, my daughter's musical preferences are different from mine, but I respect them, and we often listen to quality music together."

"What has recently impressed you in the musical life of our country, has become a source of pride and vice versa?"

"As I said, there are many different directions in music. Music has become more light and uncomplicated. It is upsetting that the songs have become ephemeral, lyrics - meaningless, and as if  almost all performers suffer from sinusitis. It is also depressing that singers with an established musical taste and direction are forced to sing trendy songs. But it becomes increasingly fashionable to refer to songs of the 1980s. So, there is still nostalgia for the songs of those years! Breakbeat, hip-hop, industrial, various subgenres of extreme metal like thrash, grind, heavy dance music, techno, house and other musical styles were born and began to develop in the 1980s; there was a very powerful protest punk scene, an underground college rock environment, etc. Unambiguously, these songs are remembered and loved to this day. Hence it is imperative to compose high quality music, which will last for centuries!"

"What are your plans for the future? What performers are you planning to work with?"

"Unfortunately, I have composed very few songs lately. Musical trends and tastes have changed a lot. I do not want to adapt to them, since I do not like all of them. As I said earlier, today we can hear mostly one-day songs, which are forgotten after a couple of months. Everything has become much simpler, the music has become more electronic; thanks to talented arrangers, it sounds very cool, but nothing more. Lyrics do not often have meaning, as they turned into chips for attracting momentary attention. I have always preferred beautiful harmony. The song should be beautiful, memorable, for centuries. For the record - I am also a lyricist. And along with lyrics to the songs of various composers, I wrote the lyrics for the song Azerbaijan written by the world famous composer and singer Sami Yusuf, which he performed at a concert held as part of the 43rd session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in June 2019 in Baku. Now we are working on another joint composition, but I cannot talk about it in detail. Soon you will all hear and see."