Asiq Nargile @ Tusk Festival 2014

Though completely unknown in the UK, Asiq Nargile is a highly regarded performer in Azerbaijan, Turkey and her native Georgia, performing at countless festivals and making a number of TV appearances. Following in the tradition of the asiq bards and having studied under a number of ustad asiqlar (master asiqs), Nargile Mehtiyeva continues the bardic tradition of epic folk poetry recitation accompanied by her own magisterial saz playing. Currently the only known female asiq in the ethnic Azeri region of Georgia known as Borcali, Nargile has a voice and presence that insists on your attention; we came to hear her music via conversations with Stefan Williamson Fa and the Sayat Nova Project he is part of (a small group of intrepid cultural enthusiasts scouring the Caucasus for musical and other cultural gems). Nargile’s music immediately leapt out at us as something magical and we’re hugely excited to be bringing her to the UK for the very first time.