TATAR KYZ:LAR (allapopp & Dinara Rasuleva)

AŞ – the Online Ritual

Part of “Every Day. Every Day: Feminist Struggles in Post-Socialist Europe”

Digital Art
Music
Online

German / English / Russian / Tatar /

The immersive ceremony “AŞ” is an audiovisual online project based on the new music album by the artist duo TATAR KYZ:LAR by allapopp and Dinara Rasuleva. The album is partially produced with a self-trained virtual Tatar choir – a self-trained AI model. At HAU4, visitors embark on a journey between childhood memories, futuristic visions and disappearing cultural heritage. They listen to songs in the Tatar language, but also in English, German, and Russian that reflect the resilience of marginalised communities. At the centre of the project is the “AŞ” ritual, a Tatar tradition where family and friends gather to share ritualistic meals, and exchange offerings to mark events such as deaths, births, and other significant moments in life.

In the digital space, the audience gathers in a memory space: an old log country house with a long table set with Tatar delicacies and milk tea. The voices of the “Virtual Tatar Choir” create an ethereal, timeless atmosphere, encouraging exploration to uncover tangled elements of cultural memory through images, sounds, stories, and songs. Following the centuries-long suppression of the Tatar language and culture in Russia, the project takes up an ancestral ritual and explores it with the perspective of queer artists. The virtual ritual thus is an act of quiet resistance and reconnection with a disappearing heritage.

Cast

Songs: TATAR KYZ:LAR, feat. Aigel Gaisina & Sveta Ben / Lyrics: Dinara Rasuleva, Sveta Ben, Tatarische Volkslieder / Sound production, web sound design: allapopp / Sound co-production: Valentin Oellers / Vocals composition: Aigel Gaisina, Tatar folk song / Vocals, accordion composition: Sveta Ben / Concertina: Dinara Rasuleva / Story, gameplay: TATAR KYZ:LAR / Visual design: Teresa Schönherr / 3D assets: Sasha Grom, Almaz Galiev, allapopp / 3D assets, character design: Dinara Rasuleva / Tech implementation, 3D design: Warja Rybakova / Concept virtual Tatar choir: allapopp / Training data collection: allapopp, Dinara Rasuleva, AYGYUL (mit freundlicher Unterstützung von Yummy Music Label) / Model training, technical implementation: neuton.ai