AM054

Dihaj
The musical group from Azerbaijan are
mesmerising with their artistic nature.
Their music ranges across incredibly
deep and moving pieces, bright and
quirky moments, mellow and
contemporary songs and more.
Their single ‘We Shall See Them
Sometimes’ featuring Uran is a special
release to support those with mental
health issues, it comes together with
the following statement: A society’s
mental state is determined by its
attitude to people with mental health
problems. The story follows a young
boy who has had to battle mental
problems for the most part of his life,
but he is pushing through and
following his dreams. The tones
encompass the good and bad times
very well together with the heartfelt
video, the contrast with the tough rap
vocal against the soft chorus further
pulls at your emotions.
Dihaj proudly represented their
country in Eurovision Song Contest
2017 with the powerful ‘Skeletons’
and their debut album ‘The End Of
Sunsrise’ was also release later in the
year. We had the pleasure of speaking
with the group’s singer Diana.
Diana, tell us a little about yourself and
how you started in music.
I was born in a family where everyone
loves music with all their hearts. So at
the age of 3 when I was singing, my dad
recognized a song “You’re simply the
best” by Tina Turner. So it was obvious
that my parents brought mw to music
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school where at the very beginning I
launched a folk/jazz ensemble called
“Bary Bakh”. The time passed and I went
through lots of transformations. I
graduated from Baku Music Academy as
a choir conductor, then from the
Institute of Contemporary Music
Performance in London, was developing
my love for jazz music singing at Baku
Jazz Center etc. In 2014 I finally
understood that I am ready to make my
own band and brand. So now Dihaj is
existing.
Who are Dihaj?
Dihaj is the name of project lead by me.
We are three of us. Ali on drums and fx,
Anar on guitar and synth and me on
vocals, keys and controllers. When we
met we all were playing in different
bakuish bands. The time came, we got a
friendship and the same and familiar
“mood” in creation of music. We started
and there are no plans to stop. We
describe our trio as a triangle where all
the corners are equal. We found
soulmates in each other so working
together is pretty much easy. This is how
it should be. So our unique sound is the
conclusion of our hearts, souls and of
course brains.
You represented Azerbaijan at
Eurovision Song Contest 2017, can you
tell us about the experience?
For me Eurovision was a side but very
serious project. Besides an honor, it was
a huge responsibility. Eurovision itself
is a school of stage performance, artistic
behavior and stabilizing of vocals. So it
was a priceless experience which I am
not regretting at all.