Photo series: Rəhman Məmmədli by Azad Alizade & Sitara Ibrahimbayli, as part of Hidden Musics

Photo series: Rəhman Məmmədli by Azad Alizade & Sitara Ibrahimbayli

Tuesday Aug 29th 2023

This year, Le Guess Who? presents the fourth edition of Hidden Musics, a project that focuses on deeply localized music and features artists embedded in rich, often centuries-old musical traditions that have been developed with little or no outside influences. The first series was initiated in 2019 by Le Guess Who? in collaboration with Chris Eckman (Glitterbeat Records) and GRAMMY Award-winning producer Ian Brennan.

This year, Le Guess Who? is bringing Rəhman Məmmədli, a seasoned guitarist from Azerbaijan, to Utrecht as part of Hidden Musics.

Photography by Azad Alizade & Sitara Ibrahimbayli

Hidden Musics Photo

Within the heart of Azerbaijan emerges a seasoned musician whose strings speak volumes. Meet Rəhman Məmmədli, a devoted presence driving a musical revolution that seamlessly marries tradition with the contemporary.

Rəhman Məmmədli embodies the essence of gitara music, an Azerbaijani subculture centered around the electric guitar. His music defies simple categorization, as he harmonizes the echoes of surf music with the profound tones of his heritage.

As his fingers fret upon the strings, Məmmədli's music transforms into a conversation beyond words. Each note played bears the significance of history, a fragment of Azerbaijan's cultural tapestry. Through his guitar, he captures emotions that transcend linguistic boundaries, inviting listeners to immerse themselves in the soul of his homeland.

View the full photo series here.

Hidden Musics - Le Guess Who? 2023
This year, Le Guess Who? will bring the following musicians to Utrecht as part of Hidden Musics: Pankisi Ensemble, an all-female traditional music group from Georgia, who preserve and develop lesser-known genres of Chechen music that are rarely heard outside of their own community; Sophie Nzayisenga, the first female master of the Inanga, a traditional stringed music instrument; Rwanda’s The Good Ones, a band that was formed as a healing process after the genocide and with the original members reuniting Rwanda’s Tutsi, Hutu, and Abatwa tribes; and "the man with singing fingers”, Rəhman Məmmədli, whose blazing, psychedelic guitar music sprang from one of the most tumultuous and transformative periods in Azerbaijan’s history.

Rəhman Məmmədli performs live at Le Guess Who? 2023 on Thursday, 9 November.

Photography by Azad Alizade & Sitara Ibrahimbayli