Fut-Fut-Fut-Freestailo
How did I miss this? About one year ago, in December of 2007, during the Superstar KZ (Kazakhstan’s version of American Idol or Pop Idol) auditions a guy came on clearly from the villages with a cheap sweater and a bad haircut. He was holding a dombro and the judges perhaps expected a typical Kazakh folk song about beautiful women or fast horses. Instead they got techno translated onto the two string lute and a Kazlish translation of “Freestyler,” which in Russian refers to a rapper who freestyles or a DJ who creates music. Instead of freestyler the world was introduced to Freestailo:
The judges, a well-known Kazakh actor/gameshow host/spokesperson and a famous Kazakh estrada singer, were clearly amused, if intrigued. If not for the magic of YouTube, this might have been the end of the saga. But someone put this guy on YouTube, it is unclear which freestailo video is the original. And it got remixed, put behind video of Borat dancing, mashed up with the techno songs people believed he was imitating. One of the better remixes is here for your viewing pleasure, with scenes of jumpstyle dancing:
At some point, it got picked up by a Kazakh band, R. Lizer, who added words in Kazakh to make a full song, and the video was passed around Kazakhstan from cellphone to cellphone (which is the rural Kazakh substitute for You Tube). Evenutally the clip made it onto Khabar TV, the official channel of the Administration of the President!
It also got remixed by Sound Brothers and Klubbshakers (download the MP3) and is I understand playing in discos and clubs all through Europe. You can even get the music transposed for guitar here and anyone who has ever touched a dombro will be able to easily translate it back for dombro.
So has this poor guy, apparently from a remote part of Kazakhstan, seen a penny for his fame? For the millions of views of YouTube his videos and remixes have gotten? He certainly knows about his fame because he got invited back for the final concert of the Superstar KZ 2007 season, where he really did freestyle, sans dombro:
They certainly gave him a more stylish wardrobe and hair cut. Hopefully he’s somewhere recording the new Freestylo style album. Which is to say, techno played on Kazakh traditional instruments. Based on the comments on YouTube, he’s popular around the world and doing a lot to erase the memory of Borat!
Anyone with any information on this song, this guy, please feel free to post in the comments. I’d love to clear up the mysteries of how he got on YouTube, how R. Lizer picked it up, and where he is now. And also whether the preferred spellling is Freestylo or Freestailo
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Great to finally discover the lineage of that 3rd video. I hadn’t realised that it was a remix/incarnation of previous efforts. Also glad that that last video was not entirely produced without tongues occasionally firmly seated in cheeks. I was sure we played it to you one night over Angel Delight & deep fried fries :)
Comment by ChrisM — 16 January 2009 @ 8:31 pm
this is brilliant, the song is actually really catchy, thanks for posting
Comment by Alex — 17 January 2009 @ 12:42 am
Chris: Yes, I forgot to mention that I learned about the third video with R. Lizer in your living room. Where did you get it?
Alex: Yeah, I really like it too. Thanks for commenting.
Comment by KZBlog — 17 January 2009 @ 9:14 am
It was another one of those mobile phone/work e-mails that did the rounds. We didn’t realise it was supposed to be a little… … amateurish looking, and assumed the producers were playing it straight…
Comment by ChrisM — 19 January 2009 @ 9:05 pm
What’s his name?
Comment by X — 17 February 2009 @ 11:43 am
Re: X
I wish I knew. He appears to be anonymous. Maybe someone else knows.
Comment by KZBlog — 17 February 2009 @ 12:10 pm
would you happen to know what the r. lizer (or, for that matter, the original) version says? I’ve been dying to know!
Comment by ardyan — 21 May 2009 @ 5:33 am
Ardyan: I’ve been getting that request a lot. Finally put up a seperate post for the original version: here. Still hunting for R. Lizer lyrics.
Comment by KZBlog — 21 May 2009 @ 9:35 am
Oyğa da şıqqan büldirgen!
Qırğa da ösken büldirgen!
Aynalayın qızdar-aw!
Qadiriñdi kim bilgen!
Oqa-oqa wey!
Süyesiñ be?
Bärin tastap, sen mağan tïesiñ be?
Comment by C — 17 June 2009 @ 7:47 pm
same with me, i just know this yesterday
good stuff hahaha
Comment by mheidzira — 7 November 2009 @ 3:29 pm