Alibiy's meditative song - filmed and recorded by Islam Satyrov

Born in 1962 in aul Kunbatar in Dagestan into a family of collective workers who were fond of dombra playing, Alibiy Romanov was encouraged to learn the dombra at an early age. Alibiy has developed his signature style and throat singing technique by watching the Nogai aqyns (steppe poet) play and sing in the village. Alibiy composes tradition-based music and he is one of the most versatile Nogai dombra players. He describes his shertu [pluck, flip and snap] playing style as the oldest chronological layer of repertory within a more limited tonal range originally intended for a dombra with a smaller neck. The sherpte (shertu) is a variation of methods of sound articulation. It ranges from a gentle touch to a sharp touch to a forceful attack with the right-hand fingernail snapping against the instruments deck. By using sherpte Alibiy produces a melody with two separate voices – the lead upper voice and a lower voice to accompany it. Such technique allows him a subtler control over rhythm, distinguished by varied rhythmic patterns organized in a free meter. Alibiy’s knowledge of language provides an invaluable journey into the cultural legacy of the Nogai people. It is known in the nomadic world that songs are attached to rituals. When a ritual dies out, then a song gets forgotten. Some incomprehensible words in songs are in fact forgotten traditions of a mysterious context. His impeccable command of Nogai language allows him to interpret obsolete locutions.