Ashkhabad
Turkmenistan
Ashkhabad is the capital of Turkmenistan and its cultural heart. The city's finest musicians have come together and called themselves Ashkhabad, a word which derives from the Persian language and means 'city of love.
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The Orient has always been a cultural melting pot and so is the music of Ashkhabad. Atabai, Gassan, Sabir, Kurban and Khakberdy play an exciting mixture of traditional Turkmenian music infused with elements from Persia, Azerbeidjan and Turkey. They have been influenced by everything they've ever heard: from the sounds of the desert to jazz and rock.
When John Leckie - best known as a producer of guitar rock bands - first heard Ashkhabad, he was struck by their musical mastery and by the heartfelt beauty of their music. He knew instantly he had to go into a studio with them.
The result is a completely acoustic recording- truly unplugged. It captures the intensity of feeling and the romanticism of Ashkhabad's music.
