5.59

Activities

To date, the band has released their first album - Hamisi Bizdendir (“All of us").
5.59, along with singer Aysel Guluzadeh, recorded the soundtrack for the Azerbaijani film "Ultionis", directed by Nijat Gafuroglu.

The band has participated twice at the music festival South by SouthWest (SXSW), which takes place in Austin, TX US. 5.59 performed alongside the American rock band Filligar on Filligar’s tour through Azerbaijan. 5.59 performed as the house band for an Azerbaijani late night TV show, which was featured on the local Azerbaijani broadcast station ANS TV. Today, the band carries out joint projects with many well-known musicians from Azerbaijan, including Elkhan Zeynalli (Qaragan) and the mugham ensemble "Garabagh".

Honors

Former US Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Richard Morningstar, awarded 5.59 with letters of appreciation for performing at the 4th of July concert at the US Embassy Baku. The Director of Youth and Sports Binagadi district of Baku, Gudsi Bayramov awarded certificates of appreciation to the band for their performance at the national thanksgiving concert in 2013.

History

It all began in the summer of 2011. In the city of Sumgait (Sumgait city, Azerbaijan), on bus №7, two young musicians, Elchin and Seymour, happened to meet each other. Elchin was at that time already involved in solo performance with his repertoire and had recorded a few songs. He was already quite well known in music circles. On that day, Elchin was going to the studio to record another song. By that time, Seymour (current drummer) had also composed and recorded some of his own music on his home computer, playing the guitar. He wanted to form a band and therefore was actively looking for other musicians to join him in his efforts. That chance meeting in a public transport further resulted in the implementation of the general idea. Follow-up meetings - exchange of experience and knowledge in music rehearsals. The result of these meetings was the idea to create a band. For the full sound they were looking for, the guys needed a bass guitarist and a lead guitarist. Subsequently, their mutual friend and musician, Hasan Rzayev was invited to the band. Meetings and rehearsals were held at Seymour’s house. In those days, Seymour was primarily rhythm guitarist. And so the question was who would play which instruments. In the process of finding a place for rehearsals (which is not so easy to do in Sumgait) meets a trio with Eldar, guitarist of the band "Dastan". He offered to help them by playing lead guitar in their performances and thus formed part of the initial band of four: Seymour - rhythm guitar; Elchin - bass guitar; Eldar – lead guitar; Hasan – drums. After playing for a few weeks, the band members realized they had different interests, so the guys went each their own way.

Elchin was primarily interested in solo concerts, and Seymour wanted a band. Yet soon, Elchin decided to perform in a concert with the band. Together with Elchin (guitar, vocals) were Rovshan Bayramov (lead guitar, background vocals), Evez (bass guitarist of "Dastan") and Hasan (drums). Seymour, at the time, was trying to find some new musicians. Since the band was still unstable due to the other member’s commitments, Seymour and Elchin reconnected and began searching for new musicians. By that time, Elchin had firmly decided that he would be rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist, with Hasan on drums. Sometime later, Jamal joined the band as lead guitarist. Elchin met Jamal on the internet and extended an invitation to him to join the band. With the arrival of Jamal, the band became more stable and began to improve their skills greatly. The band then decided to move to Baku.

On October 15, the band invited Firuz Salamzadeh to play bass guitar, which filled the missing link. Thus was laid the foundation of the band "5.59" - one minute until the morning. Firuz, upon arrival, suggested the name 5.59. The guys loved the idea. At the time, the band had the following members: Elchin (rhythm guitar, vocals), Jamal Baris (lead guitar), Firuz Salamzadeh (bass guitar) and Hasan (drums). At that time, Seymour (current drummer) was not officially in the band because he did not really like the style that the guys played. He would attend practices, fill in for Hasan or Firuz and was actively involved in the management of the band. With this lineup, the band played their first concert. Many changes in the line-up then followed. The first change in the line-up occurred when the band had a clash in style with Hasan. He was then replaced by a friend of Jamal’s named Zaur Huseynov. His playing style was much more in-line with the style of the band. The band continued its activities, and with their new drummer, the band played their second concert. But, unfortunately, Zaur did not stay with the band for very long.

One day, Seymour and Elchin, met at their favorite cafe, to discuss their plans for the next future. Elchin unexpectedly asked Seymour if he would like to be the drummer for 5.59. Seymour said yes, but on the condition that he would be the temporary drummer for 5.59 until he was able to form his own band. The guys agreed among themselves. But the idea of a being a temporary drummer disappeared very quickly for Seymour. And in September 2012, after a year of playing with 5.59, Seymour finally officially joined the band as the drummer. Due to personal circumstances, bassist Firuz Salamzadeh was also forced to leave the band and was replaced by Tural Tahir, who previously played with the band, "Sirat". With the addition of Tural came new background vocals and original bass lines. And thus remains the current membership of 5.59.

Performances

The band's first performance was November 26, 2011 at Baku's Sound Factory Club, performing three original songs. The initial performance received rave acceptance and was voted as the best performance by the audience. They presented their first rock party in Novkhani on December 28 at the AF Club with six original songs. A solo concert in Sumgait in 2012 and a continuation of new songs in performances and recordings followed.

On March 17, 2013 the band presented a "Silent Night" music party in the Baku Jazz Centre in Baku. On May 19, 2013 the band performed at the Sumgait Rock Festival, the first rock festival in Azerbaijan sponsored by Youth Association and received a great reception.

The band was chosen to tour and perform in July 2013 with the US band Filligar. They opened for Filligar in Park Bulvar on June 27, on the shore of the Caspian Sea, inside the courtyard of the US Embassy in Baku on July 3 celebrating American Independence Day, and on the main square of the Culture center of N. Narimanov in the city of Sumgait on July 6. They recorded with Filligar a cover of the Azerbaijani rock song "Xezerin Sahilinda," or "Caspian Sea," by the Azeri band Yuxu.

The band performed on August 28, 2013 in a show organized by Desperado Music School in the Binagadi region and received recognition from the local government. On December 22, 2013 the band performed at the International Trade Center in Baku at Guitar Festival organized by Desperado Music School. "5:59" was chosen as the band which had the most successful show by the voting of the participants.

In February and March 2014, the band traveled to the US and performed and recorded in Austin Texas. They participated at the University of Texas in classes and discussions about creating their music and the study of music in Azerbaijan. They met with students at the Butler School of Music at the University, demonstrating Azerbaijani traditional music and their special merging with mugham music joined by the Azerbaijani student mugham group from the National Conservatory in Baku, Qarabagh Ensemble. Their music was presented on Public Radio in Austin and they were introduced and interviewed by John Aielli on the KUTX radio show "Eklektikos". They performed at the Deutche Haus COOP in Austin, the Texas Union, and on March 17 as a guest artist in "Tradition and Innovation: Two worlds of Azerbaijani music" at the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas.

Discography

Source 5.59 discography

1. Hamisi Bizdendir
2. Yaghishim
3. Sen qoca deyilsen
4. Gorushek
5. Uzaqlardan
6. Son defe
7. Dostum
8. Elvida
9. Bir isteyim var