music in Bishkek

that unattainable dreamboat

October 17, 2012

or, “How Kirstin didn’t get to see Mirbek Atabekov in concert.” Maybe this is karma for publicly admitting that I wasn’t the biggest fan of his most recent music video? Maybe in my current state (pregnant, if you forgot), I’m suddenly incapable of performing simple tasks like buying concert tickets? Maybe there is something in [...]

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Kyrgyz Music Friday

October 5, 2012

Kyrgyz Music Friday is a weekly feature in which I post a pop music video from an artist in Kyrgyzstan. It could be catchy, annoying, funny, insightful, brilliant, awful, or anything in between. It’s what’s playing on the radio, what all the cool kids are listening to these days. Kyrgyz Music Friday is not trying [...]

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the end of Plov for Two?

July 9, 2012

After a last-minute venue change (Sweet 60s was suddenly sold by its owner), Plov for Two held their last show at Zeppelin (Цеппелин), a “rock bar” in Vostok-5. Axel, everybody’s favorite Swedish frontman, is making his way back to his homeland by scooter (what? yeah, through Kazakhstan, Russian and Finland by scooter) this week, marking [...]

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Kyrgyz Music Friday

July 6, 2012

Kyrgyz Music Friday is a weekly feature in which I post a pop music video from an artist in Kyrgyzstan. It could be catchy, annoying, funny, insightful, brilliant, awful, or anything in between. It’s what’s playing on the radio, what all the cool kids are listening to these days. Kyrgyz Music Friday is not trying [...]

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Something new: Kyrgyz Music Friday

June 29, 2012

I’m trying out a new weekly feature where I’ll post a new/new-to-me/catchy/awful/corny/whatever/etc Kyrgyz pop music video every Friday. I’ve had a longstanding fascination with pop music in Kyrgyzstan for a while now, and I’ve managed to get lost on Youtube and Namba.kg for hours (no kidding) just watching more and more music videos from Kyrgyz [...]

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the debut of Plov for Two

April 23, 2012

My rock star husband couldn’t resist starting a band over here in Bishkek, so he and three other expats (two Americans and a Swede) formed Plov for Two. (I think the name started as a joke, and as they have yet to come up with something they like better, it has officially stuck). They played [...]

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Bishkek Rock Festival

March 17, 2012

It’s necessary to set the scene with this music, a clip from the movie “From Dusk til Dawn.” The details of my night are a bit different from the movie. I walked into the Russian Drama Theater with my husband and members of his band. We’re late, having not known this event existed until it [...]

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my intro to Kyrgyz pop music

December 14, 2011

On November 27, I attended a concert in Bishkek that was organized by the Kyrgyz branch of the Red Crescent for HIV/AIDS awareness. As of now, I’m pretty lost when it comes to knowing who’s who in Kyrgyzstan’s pop music scene, but it was an interesting opportunity to see these performers live and see how [...]

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