Batyr Lab: What the covers of the second music residency say

Almaty hosted a presentation of the results of the second Batyr Lab music residency, established by the Batyrkhan Shukenov Foundation and the Bulat Utemuratov Foundation in 2021. In partnership with various music distributors, releases of contemporary academic and experimental music were released in mid-October. For each release, the participants also prepared covers, which they developed in collaboration with artists and photographers. The works of the guys turned out different and interesting, often going beyond just musical projects - these are political statements, mini-albums, video clips and projects about ecology. We offer our readers to get acquainted with the most outstanding of them. 

Samrat Irzhasov's new mini-album, released under the name samrattama, reveals another facet of the musician, which was only symbolically presented in the previous album. Three tracks from "KÜN JŪT" expose the lyrical hero of the author, deeply immersed in his reality. He continues experimenting with sound, musical forms and poetic constructions, but he does it on another level. The cover for it was created by the artist Saule Suleimenova. 

All her life Saule has been working in European styles, only to suddenly find her own, steppe one. Her way of chaotic patterns, a bit hastily, looks like ethnography, like nomadism. And the faces, as if smeared with oil. I didn't know we had her. The vulnerable and yet free Saule Suleimenova. I simply had no choice but to ask Saule to do the work for KÜN JŪT. 

The cover of Qantar was an illustration by the artist Daria Temirhan, which was painted on May 30, the day recognized as Memorial Day for the victims of the January events. Daria used the illustrations for the stickerpacks that are still available in the TARTPA workshop. The proceeds go to help the families of the victims. The illustration interprets a famous memorable photograph. The author of the photograph is unknown.

For Turan Nurgozhin, publicizing the ecological situation is an extremely important task. By combining his eco-activist and musical activities, his music became a platform and way of reflecting the problems related to the extraction of natural resources, the shoaling of lakes and seas, and air pollution in a project for Batyr Lab. 

I worked with photographer Yerkebulan Turganov, with whom I study together at university. Since we met, he often arranged "unplanned" photo shoots, when we would walk inside the campus or through the city streets, and he would take pictures of me from different angles and against different backgrounds. Every time I looked at his work, I was inspired by the cinematic atmosphere of the photos and the openness to new experiments, which is basically what I expected to see on my cover. 

A continuation of the ecological theme "The Lost O'ral" or "The Lost Aral Sea," a work by the talented Uzbek composer, Farrukh Akramov. The Lost O'ral, speaks for itself.

Farrukh suggested using a picture of the sea, so the actual satellite image of the Aral Sea was taken to create this cover, which without a doubt, more expressively and authentically reflects the pain of the lost," commented photographer and designer Yulo Khan.

The rest of the covers and releases are available on the website.