Asiq Nargile, Mustafa Kilçik

ASIQ NARGILE

Once considered a pan-Caucasian musical tradition, today the music of asiq bards is most closely associated with the music of Azerbaijan, though it can be still found in pockets throughout the Caucasus. Born in Tbilisi, Georgia, Nargile Mehtiyeva has been playing saz (long-neck lute) and singing since the age of 15. Fluent in Azerbaijani, Georgian, and Russian, Nargile represents the cosmopolitanism of old Tbilisi. The city was once known as a meeting point for travelling multilingual bards who would travel through such urban centres as Gence, Kars, Yerevan, Shusha, and Derbend, serving as conduits for news, ideas, music and culture.

MUSTAFA KILÇIK

Born into a musical family he entered music as a child later becoming part of an Alevi musical community which was led by the deeply respected figure of Dertli Divani. Entrenched in the traditions and practices of the Alevi belief, his solo music builds on the repertoire and poetry of Anatolian Alevi asik bards.

Having released several solo albums he has performed throughout Turkey and Internationally, often in collaboration with Ulus Özdemir. In 2008 he opened his own studio and music centre in Istanbul where he has been teaching baglama and recording other artists.