This article, first published by Entrepreneur Georgia in early 2023, highlighted the announcement of the public launch of a project that has been a lifelong creative endeavor for me.
Reading it again today, I’m reminded of the challenging mission. This project was never just about technology, VST plugins, or the simple act of “digitizing”. It is an act of preservation. It’s about capturing the soul of Georgia – the sound of our mountains, our unique polyphony, our history – and ensuring it doesn’t just survive in a museum, but that it evolves and thrives in the modern creative world.
Like many ambitious projects, this one was forced into pause due to the familiar pressures of life, finances, and time. But the fire behind it never went out.
This article is the foundation. It is the “why.” Now, it is time to resume the “how.”
Digitized Unique Georgian Instruments and Polyphony – An Interview with Zurab Kostava
By Elene Lomsadze | Jan 17, 2023 (Originally published in Entrepreneur Georgia)
“My plan and my dream is for Georgian instruments to end up on my favorite composer, Hans Zimmer’s, computer.” — Zurab Kostava
The unique sound of Georgian instruments has been created and developed over centuries, accumulating historical experience, folk knowledge, and the musical thinking of society. This historical memory, collected over time, needs preservation and future development, which digitization makes possible in the age of technology.
It is for this purpose that the young artist, Zurab Kostava, initiated a project for the digitization of Georgian instruments and polyphony. Within this project, the initiative’s author will travel to different regions of Georgia, discover both well-forgotten and new Georgian sounds, digitize them, and make them accessible to any interested person.
How will Georgian instruments be digitized, and what should the Georgian society expect from this initiative? Entrepreneur spoke to the author of the initiative, Zurab Kostava, about these questions:
How did the idea to digitize Georgian instruments and polyphony emerge? Why is the existence of such a project important?
The idea came to me as soon as I started making music. At first, I often listened to ethnic instrument parts in various music genres. I thought that live instruments converted really well into the modern music industry, and their creative use had begun. Of course, a musician doesn’t have access to every real instrument; the solution for this is virtual instruments. Nowadays, a musician can easily fit the entire world’s collection of instruments into their laptop without having to travel around the world and share different cultures.
We are not yet spoiled with having digital versions of Georgian instruments. In my opinion, our instruments are in no way inferior to Chinese, Indian, and other popular ethnic instruments. When I was working in a Georgian studio, I always heard the same rhythm, timbre, and chords of Georgian instruments. I always observed what good sounds each instrument had and why it was doomed to these frames. After this, I decided to make a kind of digital library of all Georgian instruments and polyphony. In general, there are so many interesting sounds hidden in Georgia that this will be a discovery for the whole world. This is precisely what makes it special.
As a result, my goal is not only the global popularization of the Georgian musical tradition but also for all musicians on the planet to use Georgian instruments creatively in any genre.
An outdated interface used for beta testing.
What stage is the project at currently? Do you have a ready prototype, and what do you need to increase the scale?
At this stage, I have a real prototype of one Panduri and one Doli with its interface and recordings. It is currently in the alpha testing process, and if I am to implement its wider-scale realization, studio recordings and sessions with musicians will be necessary, as all the recordings I have at this stage were recorded at home. I plan to post a short review of them on my YouTube channel in the near future.
In general, it is quite a time-consuming task because when dealing with natural instruments and making them sound as realistic as possible on a computer, it is necessary to record countless audio files, note velocities, and variations. To explain it a bit technically, there are individual notes that are distinguished by their natural sound. It is almost impossible to tell them apart from the real instrument. As I mentioned above, it will be played with a MIDI keyboard just like a piano, but it will play the Panduri, Chonguri, Salamuri, Doli, etc. It will also feature various live-recorded Georgian and modern rhythms (Loops).
Various resources, more communication, interest, and support are vitally important for the project.
Who is behind this project?
For now, only I am working on the project based on my own experience. My brother, Joni Kostava, is one of the strongest Georgian programmers, who will soon get involved in its development to make the program more multi-platform. At this stage, he provides the financial side of the project and is my closest and constant supporter. I want to mention Beburi Asatiani, a Georgian artist working in New York, who showed interest from the very beginning and helped me a lot with equipment. My friends also help me in obtaining good instruments. The talented musician Gogi Gunia, who actively uses Georgian instruments in his work, recorded Panduri rhythms for me, and his music is one of my sources of inspiration. I want to express my deepest gratitude to each of them for their support!
What are your future plans? Ultimately, what do you envision for the product, and how do you plan to enter the Georgian market?
The digitization of Georgian instruments as a project will exist permanently and will be refined, diversified, and grow every year. Within this framework, I am also thinking about creating my own instruments and digitizing them. As for the Georgian market, VST (virtual instrument) culture is quite common among musicians in Georgia, and the demand is very high.
In general, the idea is that a Georgian artist will have the choice to download a virtual Panduri instead of wasting entire days buying a real one, and the rest of the world’s musicians will discover a new sound and use it in their compositions. My plan and dream is for Georgian instruments to end up on my favorite composer, Hans Zimmer’s, computer.
Who is this project intended for, and what is your business model?
The project is intended for anyone interested in music. This could be an amateur musician or a professional performer. Its use will be interesting even for non-musicians. For example, a few days ago, I made the Panduri play various classical pieces (MIDI), and I want to note that it was very relaxing. So, I might work on this theme as well.
As for the business: at this stage, I am working independently and purely on enthusiasm. Due to my stable job, I dedicate less time to it. However, I believe this is not a matter to be taken lightly, and my hard work to achieve the highest quality will need appreciation. Accordingly, I plan to commercialize it. In parallel, I am writing a business plan and looking for a potential investor who will make the product more global.
Tell us more about your experience and activities. Is your main activity also related to music?
In general, I don’t like talking about my profession because I haven’t decided which field to choose and what should be written next to my name and surname. I certainly can’t say that I am an expert in this profession, but my whole life I have been trying to do what I love and enjoy—this is both experience and profession for me. I am probably more of an artist, which implies everything that an artistic person can create.
I was always interested in music. Due to a hard life, I used to draw piano keys on the table with a pen and played various rhythms on dishes with hazelnut sticks. I started making real music about 10 years ago, and this became my most indescribable pleasure, which is as dear to me as my native language, and I think it is the ideal way to turn my feelings into a story.
The Mission Resumes
This article is more than an archive. It is a promise.
After a longtime pause, the work on digitizing Georgia’s unique auditory signature is resuming.
My mission remains unchanged, and I will state it again: I am creating a comprehensive, world-class digital library of Georgian instruments and polyphony. This isn’t just for us; it’s for the world. My dream is that these unique, powerful sounds will find their way into the studios of the world’s greatest composers.
I am working to ensure that the unique signature of our country, our sonic DNA, will one day be a tool in Hans Zimmer’s computer. I want to hear the soul of Georgia in the next great film score.
The work continues. Stay tuned.
არაჩვეულებრივი გადაწყვეტილებაა,შესანიშნავი პროექტი!
პროფესიონალი მუსიკოსო ვარ:მუს.კრიტიკა,პიანისტი,ვოკალი,კომპოზიციათა შექმნა-არანჟირება.
ვცდილობ ჯაზ და ბლუზ ჰარმონიათა,ასევე რიტმების, ქართულ მუსიკასთან ინტეგრირებას და ურთიერთგამდიდრებას.
ასე რომ,პირადად ჩემთვის და როგორც ვხედავ,ქვეყნის (და არამარტო საქართველოს)ინტერესებისთვის ძალიან კარგი,საინტერესო წამოწყებაა.მადლობას გიხდით,როგორც ჩვეულებრივი მოქალაქე და თუ რაიმეში გამოსადეგი იქნება ჩემი გამოცდილება,დიდი სიამოვნებით დაგეხმარებით.