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Featuring Mekit Dolan Muqam Group, Old Heaven Books, and B10 Live Shenzhen

Description by Old Heaven Books:

“Dolan” is the name of a people, typically considered as an ethnic sub-group of the Uyghurs, who historically inhabits the banks of the Yarkand and Tarim rivers on the northwest edge of the Tarim Basin. Dolan Muqam has been circulating by and large in the Dolan region—which now mainly includes Makit County and Maralbexi County in Kashgar Prefecture, and Awat County in Aksu Prefecture—and its influence has also reached places such as Kargilik, Poskam, Kuqa, Korla, Turpan, and Kumul.

The Dolan people refers to the Muqam music they play as Bayawan, which literally means “the desert and the wildland”. Bayawan, in their common language, is not something to be sung, but rather to be shouted out.

It is said that there were originally twelve sets of Dolan Muqam, three of which have now been lost. Each set of Dolan Muqam is approximately six to nine minutes in length. The remaining nine sets last about one and a half hours in total.

Dolan Muqam is marked by its simple, unadorned instrumentation, strong and intense grooves, and a distinctively hoarse, air-rending style of singing. The lyrics draw from folk songs and oral poetry.

Relative Link: https://oldheavenbooks.bandcamp.com/album/bayawan