Central Asianists rejoice! In this episode, Rustin speaks with Scott Levi, Professor and Chair of History at Ohio State University. He is the author of [The Rise and Fall of Khoqand, 1709-1876: Central Asia in the Global Age (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2017)](https://www.upress.pitt.edu/books/9780822965060/) Dr. Levi gives an overview of the history of the Khoqand Khanate, a dynastic polity centered around the Ferghana Valley in the heart of Central Asia. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Uzbek Ming rulers extended their rule across and beyond the fertile valley, establishing important political and economic linkages with Imperial China, Russia, and the Indian Subcontinent. Throughout the discussion, Dr. Levi stresses the importance of "connected history" and highlights how globalizing forces, environmental changes, and demographic shifts brought about the rise and fall of the Khoqand Khanate. Rustin closes out the episode with one of his favorite Soviet-era Uzbek songs, [Bugmacha Bilagim by Rano Sabirova (1979)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awdWWNpqGio) ...
In this episode, Kamyar and Rustin talk to Stefan Williamson Fa, co-founder of [Mountains of Tongues](https://www.facebook.com/mountainsoftongues/), a project documenting and promoting musical dialects in the South Caucasus. Mountains of Tongues showcases traditions that defy normal categorizations of "national" or "folk" music through the use of non-conventional instruments, multiple languages, and a blending of different musical genres. Stefan shares three songs from the Mountains of Tongues archive and from his most recent fieldwork in Georgia: a Georgian-Azeri bilingual Kamancha song by Sergo Kamalov, Aşıq Nargile's rendition of the Aşıq Qərib story, and a Azeri electric guitar solo from a wedding in Qaçağan, Georgia. Stefan Williamson Fa recently received his PhD in Anthropology at University College London. His research focuses on performance and lamentation rituals in Turkish-speaking Shi'i communities in Eastern Anatolia and the Caucasus. ...
In this episode, Kamyar is joined by Murat Keyder, a New York City-based musician and composer, to talk about his recent album, *[Rüya](https://open.spotify.com/album/1UgDWDZVXJRKhyhH7FjBVm?highlight=spotify:track:5OqTvH0D8t0vZBnMDR7rCd)* (2019). He is also the author of *[Learning Balkan and Middle Eastern Music on Guitar](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N6M5YYE/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0)* (2016). Originally from Turkey, Keyder is a guitarist and oud player, whose music is influenced by many different types of contemporary and classical music from Turkey, the Balkans, Southwest Asia, and other parts of the world. Keyder discusses the importance of improvisation in the creation of the album, and how he was able to incorporate Turkish maqams and other formal traditions into his songs. To listen to the album, [click here](https://open.spotify.com/album/1UgDWDZVXJRKhyhH7FjBVm?highlight=spotify:track:5OqTvH0D8t0vZBnMDR7rCd). ...
