In the mountains of Uzbekistan, sounds once carried by shepherds and wedding processions are finding a new life online. A thin, breathy note from a bone flute, the sharp cut of a surnay, and layered percussion echoing like distant footsteps are being recorded, digitised, and made freely available through a new cultural platform called Ohang.
This initiative, backed by Uzbektelecom, aims to preserve and catalogue rare musical traditions that have long remained outside global audio libraries. As contemporary music producers increasingly draw on traditional motifs for pop, hip-hop, and electronic tracks, many original sounds remain undocumented or disconnected from their cultural origins. The project seeks to bridge that gap.
“Non-specialists often confuse local motifs with Arabic, Azerbaijani, or Turkmen music,” said Uktam Khakimov, an expert in intangible cultural heritage. “When searching on music stock platforms using queries like ‘Uzbek music,’ relevant results are often missing, or platforms suggest unrelated tracks.” Ohang is designed as a free digital catalogue, bringing together core melodies, instrument recordings, and sound samples for open use by creators.
Field Research and Rare Discoveries
The project began with field expeditions in Tashkent and the surrounding region. Researchers visited workshops, remote villages, and studios in search of traditional performers and instrument makers. “We conducted our first expeditions in December,” project coordinator Maftuna Abdugafurova explained. “We searched for musicians performing traditional music, as well as craftsmen creating traditional instruments.”
Recordings were later completed in a professional studio, where musicians participated in both solo and ensemble sessions. The result is an archive that includes 24 traditional instruments and more than 200 recorded sound samples. Among the most notable discoveries is the gajir nay, a rare wind instrument made from the wing bone of a scavenger bird called gajir. “It is a wind instrument with a very rare and distinctive sound,” Khakimov described. “In ancient times, they were used by shepherds and mountain dwellers while herding animals.”
The project also documented musical material that had not been widely performed for decades. “We recorded ancient surnay melodies that have not been performed for 40–50 years,” Khakimov noted. “As far as we know, such recordings do not exist elsewhere.” Other materials include sibizga, regional doira patterns, and Bukhara percussion traditions, some of which were reconstructed during the process.
Maintaining the original sound of traditional instruments during studio recording was a central concern. “For us, it was important that professional recording did not change the authentic sound,” Khakimov said. “We worked with sound engineers who understand how these instruments sound in real life.” He added that technical precision alone is not sufficient: “The main task was not to improve the instrument through processing, but to capture its true, original sound.”
A Free-Access Cultural Platform
The Ohang platform will be fully free to use. “There will be no paid functions or subscriptions,” said a representative of Uzbektelecom. All recordings will be released under a public user licence, allowing free use in personal, creative, and commercial projects. “Users can download tracks and use them in video, film, advertising, or music,” the representative explained. The only restriction applies to the resale of unaltered content. The project emphasises both accessibility and cultural respect: “We want these recordings to be widely used, but not misused in ways that distort or disrespect culture.”
The platform is scheduled for official launch in June. Initially, it will feature recordings from the first expeditions in the Tashkent region, with further expansion planned. “This is only the beginning,” said Abdugafurova. “We will continue expeditions across Uzbekistan and gradually expand the catalogue.” Beyond archiving, the platform is also expected to evolve into a creative space, potentially including remixes, user-generated content, and collaborations between traditional and contemporary musicians. Creative director Sardor Babayev sees this as a natural development: “We already see interest from DJs and producers.”
This effort echoes broader trends in digital preservation across Europe and Central Asia, where initiatives like the Silk Road Instruments project have similarly sought to document and share endangered musical traditions. For an international audience, Ohang offers a rare window into sounds that have shaped the region's cultural identity for centuries.
