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Singer-songwriter and artistic researcher Aizhan Sultan draws inspiration from Kazakh traditions and modern music. For Sultan, music is a form of activism. In her songs she reflects on her travels around the world, political issues, and discrimination related to gender, nationality, and disability.
In the artist’s song Näin on (2025), sung in Finnish and Kazakh, she delivers a feminist anthem celebrating courage, self-worth, and the right to follow one’s own path.
On stage, Sultan transports the festival audience to the open landscapes of steppes and mountains with the hypnotic and soothing melodies of throat singing and the ancient munni harp. The singing is accompanied by Saku Liimatainen‘s electronic elements, which bring the modern sound of Finnish music to Kazakh nomadic culture.
As an artist living with achondroplasia, Sultan also addresses stereotypes related to disability in her work and advocates for accessibility. She is involved in developing the All Abilities Band, which aims to open up music education to more people.
To fight back the violent and the powerful, we need to be together more than ever. – Aizhan Sultan
