Zulya Nazipovna Kamalova (; ; 8 August 1969 – 18 September 2024) was a Russian-born Australian singer. She resided in Australia though toured Europe frequently.

Life and career

Zulfia (Zulya) Kamalova was born in Sarapul but grew up in

Tatarstan Tatarstan, officially the Republic of Tatarstan, sometimes also called Tataria, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. It is a part of the Volga Federal District; and its capital city, capital and largest city i ...

and began performing and writing music at age of 9. She was of Volga Tatar background. She left home at the age of 17 and eventually moved to the City of Perm to work in a factory and study English and French at the Perm Pedagogical Institute. In 1990, she was selected to travel to California as part of a Perestroika-era whitewater-rafting youth exchange − where she met John Weir, an Australian adventure guide. They married, and moved to Australia in August 1991 (the exact time the USSR dissolved), settling in Hobart, Tasmania. They separated less than 12 months later. In 1992, Zulya met Martin Tucker, a Hobart musician, who became her collaborator and partner. While in Hobart, she studied at th
Conservatorium
worked as a translator fo
CCAMLR (Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources)
and started to play her own music and record albums (limited-run cassettes and a full-length album Journey of Voice) with the support of like-minded people, particularly Martin Tucker. In 2001 in Hobart, she met her the love of her life, Andrew Tanner, who became her companion, collaborator and father of their daughter Zifa. From 2002–2003, they moved to Moscow, allowing her to explore Russian and Tartar audiences and her connection with her homeland and family. They subsequently moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia and formed the band ''The Children of the Underground.'' In 2004 she signed to Melbourne-based independent record label Unstable Ape Records. Zulya and Andrew settled in Coburg in 2005, where their daughter, Zifa was born in 2006. They remained in Melbourne apart from brief stints in Berlin and Kazan, Tartarstan in 2010 and 2014. Zulya was a recipient of many awards, including an ARIA Award in 2007 for Best World Music album for her second album with her Melbourne Band, the Children of the Underground, as well as being decorated with a prestigious title of an 'Honored Artist of the Republic of Tartarstan', presented to her in 2012 by Rustam Minnikhanoff, the president of Tartarstan. During many years of creating and producing music, Zulya's achievements included: * recording 10 albums, * writing and performing a one-woman musical play, * composing an opera with Opera Queensland, and * other projects which earned her wide audience acclaim in Australia and Europe, particularly in Russia and her homeland Tartarstan. In 2020, Zulya earned a Masters of Creative Industries in 2020. In 2022, took on the role of director o
The Boite World Music Cafe
In February 2024, she was diagnosed with stage four cancer. Kamalova died on 18 September 2024, at the age of 55, of cancer, two days before her sister Alfia arrived from Russia to see her.

Musical style

Kamalova was known for her interpretations of Tatar and Russian music, often playing with a backing band Children of the Underground. Instrumentation typically includes

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

, double bass, percussion, guitar, brass and string arrangements and occasionally

jaw harp The Jew's harp, also known as jaw harp, juice harp, or mouth harp, is a lamellophone instrument, consisting of a flexible metal or bamboo tongue or Reed (mouthpiece), reed attached to a frame. Despite the colloquial name, the Jew's harp most like ...

. She often combined Tatar with jazz or other folk music, which was novel for Tatar performers, and, at the same time, made the music easily accessible for international audience.

Discography

Albums

Awards and nominations

Kamalova is an Honored Artist of the Republic of Tatarstan.

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions o ...

. They commenced in 1987. ! , - ,

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, ''Elusive'' , Best World Music Album , , ARIA Award previous winners. , - ,

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, ''3 Nights'' , Best World Music Album , ,

Music Victoria Awards

The

Music Victoria Awards The Music Victoria Awards (previously known as The Age EG Awards and The Age Music Victoria Awards) are an annual awards night celebrating music from the Australian state of Victoria. They commenced in 2006 and are awarded in Melbourne Music W ...

are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2006. , - ,

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, Zulya and the Children of the Underground , Best Global or Reggae Act ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kamalova, Zulya 1969 births 2024 deaths People from Sarapul Perm State University alumni Russian multi-instrumentalists Russian women musicians World Music Awards winners Jaw harp players Soviet emigrants to Australia Volga Tatar people Westpark Music artists