Yalla (band)

Yalla (Cyrillic: Ялла; pronounced [jælˈlæ] in Uzbek) is a folk rock band from Uzbekistan. They appeared in 1970 and in the 1970s-1980s, were popular all over the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact countries. The most prominent song of Yalla was Uchquduq - three water wells, and it was once the most popular hit in USSR in 1980s. They sing in Uzbek, Russian, and occasionally some other languages, such as Arabic, German and Tatar.

The leader of the band is Farrukh Zokirov. The members of Yalla are graduates of the Ostrovsky Theatrical Art Institute and the Ashrafi State Conservatory in Tashkent. They are not Russian but Uzbek, a Turkic nationality from the crossroads of the ancient Silk Road. Their music incorporates traditional ethnic folk tunes and poetry of Uzbekistan and other Central Asian and Middle Eastern cultures, along with contemporary pop and dance influences, into a unique international blend. They perform songs in more than 10 languages, including Arabic, Persian, Hindi, Nepalese and French as well as Uzbek and Russian.

Formed in the early 1970s, Yalla has appeared on Soviet national television as well as performing in Moscow and elsewhere in the Soviet Union, and on concert tours in Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America, including featured appearances at the "Voice of Asia" festival. The Yalla band had some changes at the time of Collapse of Soviet Union. The Immigration of Rustam Iliasov (bass guitar) to the United States and independence of Uzbekistan Made Yalla change they're songs more local. Some new hits came out such as Uzbekistan, bez lubimyh Glaz and some more. Yalla invited a dancer Roza Abdulhairiva to make a some more dance show mixed with singing. Yalla has invited Tolkin Isakov who was a percussion teacher at the Tashkent State Conservatory. He replaced Rustam Iliasov. Percussionist Ibragim Aliev was a good addition to Yalla with a brilliant performance on Uzbek national percussion instruments. It was another pick of Yala for few years (1994-1999).

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