Hailing from the Volga River region of
the former USSR she brings elements of Russian music and that
of her Tatar heritage and weds it to an expansive world consciousness.
The timbre and control of subtle inflections in her voice are
immediately identifiable and unforgettable. In addition to having
received numerous awards for her music in Australia recognition
of her talent in the international arena has led to the inclusion
of her music on the Putumayo collections Dreamland
and Music From The Coffee Lands.
Zulya is a Russian emigrant from Tatarstan. She
is one of a select couple of artists residing in Australia to
follow a successful international career in culturally based music.
Selected songs by this golden voiced songstress appear on various
Putumayo and other world music labels and she has received awards
for her musical achievements . On her previous three releases
she performed music that was not only inspired by the music of
her Tatar heritage but also many different cultures from Africa
to South America and the Middle East. Released in Nov 2004, The
Waltz Of Emptiness is Zulya’s first album sung exclusively
in Russian and was inspired by the vast Moscow underground.
Her backing group The Children Of The Underground are a quartet
of Melbourne based musicians who provide exquisite support on
double bass, guitars, Jew’s harp, piano, piano accordion,
drums, vibes, xylomarimba, berimbau and percussion, while guests
on brass and cello and a male choir augment the work on several
songs. You can hear why Zulya is such a highly praised artist.
It’s more than just her dulcet tones. She sings with deep
conviction, be it sweet wistfulness or extroverted joy on a powerful
cultural base where new things are found to say and different
colours explored, subtly melding traditional Russian, waltz and
gypsy rhythms with elements of jazz, classical, nuevo tango and
world flavours. 13 of the 14 songs were composed by Zulya solely
or in conjunction with the band and are re-workings of Russian
themes.
They’re all memorable melodies which alternate and dance
between introversion and extroversion with warmth and grace. I
love the way the whole thing sounds firmly Russian and traditional
on the one hand yet is presented in rich layers that are consistently
open to modern interpretation. Threnodic as on the swelling choral
tones of Not Home, swayingly soulful on numbers such as Children
Of The Underground or slyly cheeky elsewhere, there’s a
sense of unselfconscious fun that will raise a grin from all but
the terminably sombre or the inflexibly trendy. Fans won’t
need my recommendation. They’ve got this already. Those
tired of homogenised music can follow suit.
On Elusive (UAR) she is backed by some
of Australia's leading musicians who provide a series of culturally
fluid settings for her extraordinary voice. Llew Kiek provides
aching slide guitar on the beautiful Like A Child or the
kora of Epizo Bangoura paints a West African layer on the
lullaby-like Cradle Song. In fact there's a bewildering
array of instruments here from jews harp, trumpet, kalimba, flutes,
piano accordion, balafon to violin etc covering a multitude of
cultural influences… Irish, African, Middle Eastern, Russian,
Australian or cabaret fused by a flowing jazz freedom.
Yet there is never any sign of cluttering. Zulya is the creative
centre of every piece here. She evinces a majestic quality that
reminds me of the great American singer Abbey Lincoln. Elusive
is not just a great Australian world music album but a collection
of music that transcends time and place. Sept 2003.
