REPORTAGE – “Le Fig Mag” continues its grand tour of the former Soviet republics in Kazakhstan. Long considered subservient to Russia, the largest country in Central Asia is now seeking to assert its place and identity against its powerful neighbour.
Jour 1 – Suburbs of Almaty, the breath of a new era
« We want to communicate to the country and to our fans our desire for freedom, for something new. Looking to the future. » Dulat “Zaq” Mukhametkaliev pauses for a brief moment. His manager whispers a few words in his ear while his three other companions finish having their make-up done backstage from which the clamor of the public can be heard. These four young men form “91”, read Ninety One, a Q-pop boy band which has established itself in a few years as a real social phenomenon for Kazakh youth. Why 91? For the date of the country’s independence. And why Q? “The K was already taken”, jokes Zaq, referring to South Korea’s K-pop that has been sweeping the West for several years. “But more seriously, the Q is also a way for us to assume and claim the change we want to embody. » This change of letter may seem innocuous for the layman arriving…
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