Ay Yola
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ay Yola | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Ufa, Russia |
| Genres | Folk-pop |
| Years active | 2024–present |
| Label | MTS |
| Members |
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Ay Yola (Bashkir: Ай Йола)[1][2][3] is a Russian Bashkir-language folk-pop musical group, which was formed in Ufa in 2024.
Ay Yola is most famous through its 2025 debut single "Homay", which went viral internationally, notably in the Turkic states: Kazakhstan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan.[4][5][6][7] Additionally, the song topped the airplay and streaming charts in Russia and got into top 10 of airplay charts in Commonwealth of Independent States, Kazakhstan, Latvia, and Moldova.
The name of the group is Bashkir in origin. Connecting the group name to the Ural-batyr legend, member Rinat Ramazanov explains its meaning to be "universal laws, charter", "set of rules of the universe": don't kill, don't steal, respect your elders, protect your juniors.[4]
Members
The group has three members:
- Adel Shayhitdinova. A vocalist, songwriter, guitarist, and dombra player, she is the daughter of Ruslan Shayhitdinov[4][5] and Honored Artist of the Republic of Bashkortostan.[8][9]
- Ruslan Shayhitdinov. A keyboard, bass guitar and kobyz player, Shayhitdinov is a musician, sound engineer, and producer. Named Honored Artist of the Republic of Bashkortostan,[8][9] he is also known as DJ Ruslan Sever.[4][5]
- Rinat Ramazanov. The vocalist and the quray player of the group, Ramazanov is a musician, public figure and Honored Artist of the Republic of Bashkortostan.[8][9] Additionally being the soloist and leader of the folk-group "Argymak", he was Chairman of the All-Russian Kurultai of the Bashkir Youth from 2016 to 2025.[10]
Support of Russian invasion of Ukraine
Kazakh journalist Azamat Omarov and Ukrainian media reported that the leader of Ay Yola, Rinat Ramazanov, has openly supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine on his VK page.[11] His social media account included a repost raising funds for the Russian army and a post of Ramazanov sending his brother off to the "special military operation". Ramazanov is noted as previously being an active member of pro-government organizations, including as Chairman of the All-Russian Kurultai of the Bashkir Youth.[12]
History
The Ay Yola group[13] was founded from representatives of two other musical groups. Ruslan and Adel Shayhitdinovs began their creative work in the Musume project in 2010, and Rinat Ramazanov is the lead singer and leader of the "Argymak" ethno group. Ruslan Shayhitdinov and Rinat Ramazanov met in 2024 while writing the song "My Ufa", dedicated to the 450th anniversary of the founding of Ufa. Acquaintance and joint work inspired the musicians to create a new project, in which modern sound is combined with ethnic motives and the epic of Ural-batyr. Thus, within 10 months, a music album of the same name with the Bashkir epic was created. The second track Homay[14] was especially viral in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan[15][16] and Russia.[17]
On 3 August 2025, it was announced that the band had become one of the official ambassadors of Intervision 2025.[18][19][20]
Style
The band's musical style is characterized by a monotonous rhythm reminiscent of the clatter of hooves and the use of repetitive musical phrases. A special atmosphere is created by a deep, monotonous bass. The song Homay additionally includes throat singing.[21]
While the single Homay was met with a lot of praise, some Bashkir listeners criticized its pronunciation of the Bashkir-language words, and encouraged the lead singer to "take a few lessons to improve her pronunciation". Shaykhitdinova replied that she is not bothered by the comments, stating: "I'm half Bashkir and half Russian. There are no native speakers in our family. But that doesn't stop me from being interested in the culture and singing in the native language".[22]