Aşiq Nargile

Born in Tbilisi, Nargile Mehtiyeva aka Asiq Nargile has been playing saz (long-neck lute) and singing since the age of 15. Fluent in Azerbaijani, Georgian, and Russian, Nargile represents the cosmopolitan heritage of old Tbilisi, a city once known as a meeting point for multilingual asiq bards who would travel through the region serving as conduits for news, ideas, music and culture. Nargile is currently the only female asiq living and performing in the ethnic Azeri region of Georgia, and has been teaching the art to new generations.This is a recording of her first concert in the UK, recorded live at Cafe Oto on the 18th October 2014 by James Dunn. The pieces performed are named after the traditional saz asiq havasi (melodies) they are based on. Lyrics are taken from destan epics, regional poetry and Nargile's own lyrics to match the rhyming patterns of these melodies.