Meykhana
Encyclopedia
Meykhana is a distinctive Azerbaijani
literary and folk
rap tradition, consisting of an unaccompanied song performed by one or more people improvising on a particular subject. Meykhana is distinct from spoken word poetry in that it is performed in time to a beat.
Meykhana often compared to Hip hop music
, also known as national rap among Azerbaijani residents, as it also includes performers that speaks lyrically, in rhyme and verse, generally to an instrumental or synthesized beat
. Performers also incorporate synthesizers, drum machines, and live bands. Meykhana masters may write, memorize, or improvise their lyrics and perform their works a cappella
or to a beat.
words mey (wine) and khane (house). The professional performers of meykhana are known as the Söz Ustadı (Word Masters), also called as the meykhana masters.
settlements in the pre-Revolutionary time. Although during the Soviet period meykhana was banned, the poetry of Aliagha Vahid
was often rhymed as a contemporary meykhana. This could be related to the meykhana's popularity among the residents of Baku
and Absheron regions.
's downfall, meykhana found mainstream acceptance in Azerbaijan, though many fundamentalists
still protested the genre, saying that it was still too liberal and in contrast to traditional national values. They claimed the musical genre still promoted sexuality, alcohol, drugs and Western consumer culture, but critics of the fundamentalist viewpoint stated that fundamentalists and meykhana musicians were ultimately seeking converts from the same population, the youth, who often had to choose where they belonged between the two cultures.
New performers emerged in this era with their distinctive takes on meykhana: Aghasalim Childag, Kabir Azeri, Aghamirza, Karim, Elchin and Mashadibaba Aydamirov started the meykhana wave, combining Azerbaijani national music-influenced meykhana music with electronic music
. Nizami Ramzi was first meykhana master to be ever performed in national television and in popular movies.
, created the sonic template for a new movement, which became known as popular music-meykhana songs. However, this produced division among meykhana performers. The fundamentalist meykhana performers decided to keep the classical style which they have used through last decades, while the new wave of meykhana performers decided to combine meykhana with different musical genres.
With the increased popularity of meykhana in the 1990s and the 2000s, television channels started broadcasting and creating meykhana tournaments. The television programs such as De, Gəlsin! (Say, Come On!) in ANS TV
led meykhana to popularize even more among local residents and demand for meykhana increased significantly in Azerbaijani weddings.
Meykhana started to circulate on a larger mainstream scale, via cassette tape sales, TV exposure, and radio play, adding to the national economy. However, as the music mainstreamed, its audio and visual content became more tamed by the government in hopes to reach a larger audience. In essence, the government attempted to "clean up" meykhana's content and image to adhere to the religious beliefs instilled in Azerbaijani culture.
, and breath control
. Vocal presence is the distinctiveness of a meykhana master's voice on record. Enunciation is essential to a flowing meykhana couplets; some meykhana masters choose also to exaggerate it for comic and artistic effect. Breath control, taking in air without interrupting one's delivery, is an important skill for a meykhana performer to master.
Meykhana couplets are always delivered with melody. The ability to compose quickly, meaningful and clearly meykhana couplets is regarded as an important sign of skill.
, who adopted meykhana style, respectively in 1990s. Since its early development meykhana has been associated with rebellion against social and political norms, most obviously in early meykhana music's rejection of an government dominated culture, the counter-culture's rejection of consumerism
of all forms of social convention.
Azerbaijani people
The Azerbaijanis are a Turkic-speaking people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan, as well as in the neighbourhood states, Georgia, Russia and formerly Armenia. Commonly referred to as Azeris or Azerbaijani Turks , they also live in a wider area from the Caucasus to...
literary and folk
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
rap tradition, consisting of an unaccompanied song performed by one or more people improvising on a particular subject. Meykhana is distinct from spoken word poetry in that it is performed in time to a beat.
Meykhana often compared to Hip hop music
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, also known as national rap among Azerbaijani residents, as it also includes performers that speaks lyrically, in rhyme and verse, generally to an instrumental or synthesized beat
Beat (music)
The beat is the basic unit of time in music, the pulse of the mensural level . In popular use, the beat can refer to a variety of related concepts including: tempo, meter, rhythm and groove...
. Performers also incorporate synthesizers, drum machines, and live bands. Meykhana masters may write, memorize, or improvise their lyrics and perform their works a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
or to a beat.
Etymology
The name of this genre comes from the traditional Turkish meyhane (tavern, pub), which itself originated from the PersianPersian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
words mey (wine) and khane (house). The professional performers of meykhana are known as the Söz Ustadı (Word Masters), also called as the meykhana masters.
Origins (1920-1940)
Since medieval times, meyhanes were places where poets would gather exchanging verses in an extemporaneous fashion, sometimes joking and disparaging one another. At the end of the contest, the audience determined which poet had improvised the most elegant and clever verses and declared him the winner. These contests may be compared with modern poetry improvisation contests or even with rap battles.Soviet pressure (1940-1991)
Meykhana was performed among the youth of BakuBaku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
settlements in the pre-Revolutionary time. Although during the Soviet period meykhana was banned, the poetry of Aliagha Vahid
Aliagha Vahid
Aliagha Vahid , born Aliagha Mammadqulu oglu Isgandarov , was an Azerbaijani poet. He was known for reintroducing medieval ghazel style in Soviet Azerbaijani poetry...
was often rhymed as a contemporary meykhana. This could be related to the meykhana's popularity among the residents of Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
and Absheron regions.
Popular acceptance (1991-2001)
After Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
's downfall, meykhana found mainstream acceptance in Azerbaijan, though many fundamentalists
Fundamentalism
Fundamentalism is strict adherence to specific theological doctrines usually understood as a reaction against Modernist theology. The term "fundamentalism" was originally coined by its supporters to describe a specific package of theological beliefs that developed into a movement within the...
still protested the genre, saying that it was still too liberal and in contrast to traditional national values. They claimed the musical genre still promoted sexuality, alcohol, drugs and Western consumer culture, but critics of the fundamentalist viewpoint stated that fundamentalists and meykhana musicians were ultimately seeking converts from the same population, the youth, who often had to choose where they belonged between the two cultures.
New performers emerged in this era with their distinctive takes on meykhana: Aghasalim Childag, Kabir Azeri, Aghamirza, Karim, Elchin and Mashadibaba Aydamirov started the meykhana wave, combining Azerbaijani national music-influenced meykhana music with electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
. Nizami Ramzi was first meykhana master to be ever performed in national television and in popular movies.
Contemporary mainstream meykhana (2001 - present)
As the 90s progressed, meykhana's sound became more standardized as newer performers drew inspiration for the same collective set of influences that included Aydin Khirdalanli, Rashad Daghli, Elshan Khazar, Vahid Gadim, Mahir Ju'rat, Oktay, Vugar Mashtagaly and Namiq Me'na. Namig Garachukhurlu, in particular, with its romantic dissonance and duos with Azerbaijani pop singers like Aygun KazimovaAygun Kazimova
Aygun Alasgar qizi Kazimova is an Azerbaijani singer, songwriter, pop musician and actress, and a six-time winner of the Grand Music Award for best concert, videoclip and song. She is considered Azerbaijan's leading pop star, and is seen as a cultural icon for the South Caucasian nation in fast...
, created the sonic template for a new movement, which became known as popular music-meykhana songs. However, this produced division among meykhana performers. The fundamentalist meykhana performers decided to keep the classical style which they have used through last decades, while the new wave of meykhana performers decided to combine meykhana with different musical genres.
With the increased popularity of meykhana in the 1990s and the 2000s, television channels started broadcasting and creating meykhana tournaments. The television programs such as De, Gəlsin! (Say, Come On!) in ANS TV
ANS TV
ANS TV is a news television channel in Azerbaijan, which owned by ANS Group of Companies since it was founded on March 9, 1992...
led meykhana to popularize even more among local residents and demand for meykhana increased significantly in Azerbaijani weddings.
Derivatives and offshoots
The most known type of meykhana is verbal exchange (deyişmə), where some phrase or sentence forms a rhyme with the following couplets.Censorship of meykhana
Throughout the course of meykhana music's development and commercialization in Azerbaijan, there have been many attempts to stifle the art form. From lyrical content to the album cover images, meykhana has been a controversial music. Religious identity and transnationalism function to define the complexities of Azerbaijani identity in world. This complex identity is expressed through meykhana and is often contested and censored in many cultural contexts.Meykhana started to circulate on a larger mainstream scale, via cassette tape sales, TV exposure, and radio play, adding to the national economy. However, as the music mainstreamed, its audio and visual content became more tamed by the government in hopes to reach a larger audience. In essence, the government attempted to "clean up" meykhana's content and image to adhere to the religious beliefs instilled in Azerbaijani culture.
Delivery
To successfully deliver a meykhana, a meykhana master must also develop vocal presence, enunciationEnunciation
In phonetics, enunciation is the act of speaking. Good enunciation is the act of speaking clearly and concisely. The opposite of good enunciation is mumbling or slurring. See also pronunciation which is a component of enunciation. Pronunciation is to pronounce sounds of words correctly....
, and breath control
Breath control
The term breath control may mean:* Pranayama, a yogic technique for controlling breathing* A vocal technique used in singing* Breath Control: The History of the Human Beat Box...
. Vocal presence is the distinctiveness of a meykhana master's voice on record. Enunciation is essential to a flowing meykhana couplets; some meykhana masters choose also to exaggerate it for comic and artistic effect. Breath control, taking in air without interrupting one's delivery, is an important skill for a meykhana performer to master.
Meykhana couplets are always delivered with melody. The ability to compose quickly, meaningful and clearly meykhana couplets is regarded as an important sign of skill.
Social impact
The nationwide popularity of meykhana music meant that it became a major influence on culture, fashion and social attitudes. Different sub-genres of meykhana were adopted by, and became central to, the identity of a large number of sub-cultures. These reforms also laid the foundation of the modern Azerbaijani hip hopAzerbaijani hip hop
Azerbaijani hip hop or Azeri rap music is the musical genre which became popular in Azerbaijan in mid 1990s. It's a mix of native meykhana Azerbaijani music genre with Western hip hop. Similar to meykhana, it's performed by one or several people improvising on a particular subject, though...
, who adopted meykhana style, respectively in 1990s. Since its early development meykhana has been associated with rebellion against social and political norms, most obviously in early meykhana music's rejection of an government dominated culture, the counter-culture's rejection of consumerism
Consumerism
Consumerism is a social and economic order that is based on the systematic creation and fostering of a desire to purchase goods and services in ever greater amounts. The term is often associated with criticisms of consumption starting with Thorstein Veblen...
of all forms of social convention.