Artur Islamov: ‘We didn’t have passionate songs in Tatar before, but now we do’
Famous opera singer Artur Islamov has performed a pop solo concert for the first time
Honoured Artist of the Republic of Tatarstan, soloist of the Musa Jalil Opera and Ballet Theatre Artur Islamov appeared before the audience in a new role. In his first pop solo concert, the opera performer presented his author's works — songs in the Tatar language, where the poems and music were written by the singer himself. How long Artur Islamov, who will perform the role of Koshchak in the opera Syuyumbike at the Chaliapin Festival in 2025, has been preparing his new project and how his love songs differ from the usual ones, he told in an interview with Realnoe Vremya.
“The first poem came at night”
Arthur, you are widely known as a performer of classical works, and at your first solo concert you appeared as the author of Tatar pop songs. What is the reason for this?
I've been working towards this for quite a long time, and I started creating my new programme just a year ago. During this time, 10-12 songs were written one after the other. There was a certain programme that I already wanted to present, so I decided to do this concert. I composed music before, but I've never written poetry before, even in my childhood and youth, I just thought I couldn't do it. But it turned out that this was not the case.
My songs are about love. I am ready for them emotionally, psychologically. I have matured in the sense that the songs I perform are entirely new for both me and my audience; such pieces were never part of my repertoire before. They are of a lyrical love plan, dedicated to a woman. Plus, not just love songs, but passionate songs in the Tatar language. I noticed that we don't have Tatar sexy songs.
I also write the lyrics myself. It all started simply with the fact that there was no one who could put my emotions on the text. The first poem came to me at night right along with the music. This is the song Яратамын сине генэ.
How did the audience perceive you in your new role?
As the songs were being created one after the other, we released them on different platforms. Some of them have already become popular. For example, the song Башларга is now actively used at weddings as the first dance of the newlyweds. Or the song Татар кызлары. It also quickly gained its popularity.
“In terms of pop, I'm an aspiring artist”
What do you call the genre in which you create?
This is a full-fledged pop song genre. But only on the one hand. On the other hand, it's my personal genre of writing. Yes, it's pop, but with elements of rock. It all depends on the style, theme, presentation, and design of the song. I can add a little bit of classical music if the song requires it. Therefore, there is no attachment to any particular genre. This is my emotional experience, my feelings that I want to express.
In general, I want to continue my own creativity. I am creating myself as a new artist, an artist of a new direction.
I haven't done this much before. I am taking the first steps, despite the fact that I have already reached a certain level of performing skills and my place in the performing arts, in particular in opera. But in terms of pop songs, I consider myself an aspiring artist.
So you don't want to limit yourself to the classics?
Absolutely not. I've already made my mark in classical music. The thing is that the classics will live without me. It lived before me and will live after me. Others will come, but the classics will remain classics. It turns out that you play someone else's music and go home. And when you create something of your own, it's much more valuable to me. And even more so, when people like your work, it gives a great incentive for further work. I enjoy it. These are different emotions.
Do you want to become a more popular performer, close to a wide range of audiences?
The song genre precisely implies this very sense of folk tradition. Yes, of course I want it. This is the simplicity of the song genre. If you take the classics, then you have to be prepared for it — it's a complex genre. You can't just listen to opera music. You have to love it. That's why I separate these two worlds. People who listen to opera are unlikely to go to a variety concert, for example, by Artur Islamov.
But that doesn't mean my standards are lowering. Pop music is a huge amount of work and concert organisation, too. After all, this is live music, not phonogram music. To bring a song to the audience, we prepare it for 2-3 months. And it's only about one song. Arrangement, stylisation, studio recording, a thousand takes that you do. People don't see how it is created, they only see the result.
“Tatars are a hot-tempered people”
There is an opinion that in the Tatar stage all the songs are about love. You say there aren't enough such songs. Are these different love songs? How are they different?
Yes, they are different. I'm not talking about those love songs that are sung by everyone. I'm talking about passionate, sexy songs. I just imagined what I would like to sing about in Tatar. How should my role, my character, and my appearance be expressed? If you take the usual love songs, you will often find comparisons with nature. It seems to me that this is trivial. If you want to present it passionately, then the text should be like that. Our people are hot-tempered people. Why can Turks sing such songs, but we can't? Tatars are said to be modest, but I disagree with that. We have the most beautiful young women, the most passionate. I think these are all stereotypes.
There is no vulgarity in these songs. It's not vulgar, but beautiful. Even a simple one — “I wish you this night” — does not exist in the current Tatar songs. More precisely, there were no such songs, but now there are.
I can't even remember any analogues. That's why I say it's new. So far, maybe our people are not ready for this. I started it abruptly, and I feel like people are slowly taking a closer look. It takes time. I'm talking about the Tatar world of songs in general. We are used to a certain stereotype, and therefore the same tracks follow each other. And then something completely different arises — stylish, high-quality, different — you need to get used to it.
How do you see the future of your author's project?
This is the kind of creativity that I want to do. And the first solo concert of original songs is just the beginning. In the future, I'm thinking of going on tour all over Russia.
However, it must be understood that this is a very complex organisational process. To do this, you need to gather your team, and it's not easy. We have a very strong talent shortage in managers, concert directors, and producers. They don't teach this anywhere in Tatarstan, and specialists most often stay in Moscow, where big money circulates.
At the moment, I'm just creating. Perhaps in the future I will do some large-scale projects — musicals, rock operas. But now the priority for me is the song genre, which needs to be promoted. I want to do this. I like it. A lot has not been done yet.
Music and its accessibility have changed so much now. If we used to wait months for a new single to be released, and even more so for an album, today you fill in a track and the whole world can hear you right away. There is a huge oversaturation of music. Anyone can create it at home simply using a computer and a sound card. Music has become very accessible to those who are more or less familiar with it. Moreover, now everything can be done with the help of AI, and not bad. It's an amazing thing.
Today, the main thing is to be able to stand out from all this. You can only hold on to your image, for uniqueness, for individuality.