Culture in Uzbekistan is strictly supervised by the state, so unpopular genres of music – techno, underground and more – have a difficult time.
The music industry of Uzbekistan is under the strict control of the state, which either allows the performance of some songs and concerts, or may withdraw licenses and shoot down the career of an artist no matter how creative they are. Nevertheless, popular Uzbek singers have developed well in the years of sovereignty by winning fans in neighbouring countries, too.
It is difficult to discern the fine line of compliance with all the requirements of the commission, as they are not specified anywhere, and one can judge only by existing cases. The scheme of licensing looks like a bureaucratic trap. The whole system spurs you into the corruption of show business by forcing out alternative music artists from the music industry and contributing to the emergence of underground music.
The vocalist of Flying Up band, Dzhasur Khudaiberdiev, spoke about a typical case for Uzbek artists.
“In 2015, we were performing at various locations in Tashkent, and we were invited to walk outside to talk during the break. Two police officers and two officers of the evaluation commission were waiting for us there. They told us that we did not have a right to perform without a license, and they called us to come to their office the following day. They gave us a warning,” he said.
“Our activities are quite unprofitable. We do it just because we love music, but they have put a spoke in our wheel. This is why we decided to move to Almaty,” he said.
According to him, they next went to Russia to develop professionally, but after the change of government in Uzbekistan in 2016, they returned to their homeland in 2019 and took another chance. According to him, they had no problems that time. Nevertheless, he does not agree that a commission must evaluate musical quality.
“It makes no sense that someone may evaluate your creative work because creativity has no rules or limits, it’s not a production, but a way to express yourself,” Dzhasur Khudaiberdiev said.
According to artists, the industry of electronic or alternative music, unlike popular music, has no great success because of various external and internal reasons.
An internal reason is the fact that officials are sceptical or even disapproving of such genres and until 2016 they had not encouraged its development. But after the change of the president in 2018, many people were surprised by the electronic music festival held in Muinak, in the northwest of the republic, amid cautious liberalisation of some spheres. The festival that gathers various artists in this genre from the CIS and Europe has become annual. In fact, it is held in the bottom of the dried-out Aral Sea and is accompanied by tree-planting campaigns, the promotion of eco-life. The government of Uzbekistan, aspiring to boost treasury gains and people’s incomes via tourism, seems to have calculated that the benefits of the festival outweigh its risks, and does not hinder its annual organisation.
However, according to electronic musicians based in Tashkent, the genre itself is not growing in the country.
The objective reasons for this are the lack of premises to hold concerts, a small audience, a lack of support from the state, no funds for development, and a general disinterest in electronic music development both in the country and the capital. According to Maria Breslavets (DJ Mary Breslavets), local DJs lack venues for their performance.
“At this stage, few people are interested in electronic music or consider it as an art. Once you are different from others, they don’t understand you,” she said to CABAR.asia.
According to her, restaurant bars are mainly popular in Uzbekistan, where people come to see others and shows themselves off, and these places are unvaried in terms of music.
Nevertheless, it cannot be said that there are no such musicians and no alternative music is performed in the places of entertainment of Tashkent. Enthusiasts perform and develop the genre, but according to the artists, there is an unhealthy competition even in this small community, and beginners are not only not supported, but even not allowed to present their songs or make themselves known. Therefore, the representatives of this community tend to move to neighbouring countries, Russia and outside the CIS to realise their potential in creativity.
“I remember when I just started my career in the night life of the city, I faced the fact that “old-timers” forced me to play their playlist saying ‘either you play what I say, or you don’t play here at all. When you become a known person, you can play whatever you want.’ Of course, there is a concept of the “format,” yet it does not mean that young DJs should be limited so severely. For this reason, I could not stay in the “mass market”,” said Maria Breslavets.
According to Maksim Yakubov ( DJ Fatima Rusalka), it is difficult to find a venue in Uzbekistan for a rave, as we have mainly hookah pubs and coffee houses. Bars often visited by young people who do not understand the underground format so far.
“As I can see, Uzbekistan, namely its capital, lack venues for underground music. I have some experience in organising parties, and I know what I am talking about,” Maksim Yakubov said.
“Long-time DJs hold on to their places, venues do not welcome newcomers, and the community of DJs do not support newcomers either. There are only likeminded people, whereas there is no solid community in Uzbekistan. Currently, Tashkent has only one venue where you can play either trance or techno music,” said Yakubov.
According to pianist Marat Mansurov, censorship and no opportunity to sing and perform whatever you want are the main problems and obstacles for young artists.
“It becomes obvious that it’s quite difficult to stay in Uzbekistan and become a popular artist without losing yourself, or losing your creative vision,” he said. “As we can see in Kazakhstan and Russia, it is possible to fulfil yourself at independent places for promotion, labels that support artists and help them develop their creative work.”