Ulyap Songs : Beyond Circassian Tradition

Parachuting into a small village, recording local musicians, then handing the material over to contemporary artists from other parts of the world to “reinterpret” could be a recipe for a cultural appropriation disaster, but thankfully that is not the case on Ulyap Songs: Beyond Circassian Tradition, or any other projects by “cultural engineering platform” FLEE. The almost 300-word long “art books” that accompany their projects go a long way to contextualize the music they release, but the records themselves also place the local musicians at the center, steering well clear of any appropriation concerns. This record focuses on Ulyap, a village in the Russian Caucasus, and documents the ancient bards‘ chants and accordion and harmonica music that is still regularly played in the village bars and festivals. Drawing on both live recordings and archival material, the first section of the album captures the joyful, communal aspect of music-making in Ulyap, the clinking glasses and merry background chatter conjuring the feeling of a warm, boozy evening in a tavern. The second half of the record is dedicated to reinterpretations by a mixed bunch of artists, including Siberia born experimental artist Misha Sultan and Swiss composer and multi instrumentalist Simone Aubert, among others. Not one of these feels like the Ulyap dimension has simply been tacked on. Rather, whether the haunting vocals on Jrpjej & Ben Wheeler’s “Si Aminat” or the fervent female voices and rattling pkhatsych (a kind of local rattle) on Zongamin’s “My Love,” the music of Ulyap is at the very core.