When female rock singers become pregnant, they usually cut back on gig commitments or step out of the limelight. But not Gulzhan Ibraveya, lead singer of Edinburgh band Universal You. She has decided to embrace being a rocker mum after hearing about the benefits of exposing babies in the womb to music.
Gulzhan, along with her band mates – husband Paul Finnie and Mark Grant – will be performing a unique, one-off concert for her unborn child and an audience of pregnant mums at Edinburgh’s Voodoo Rooms on November 2. Dubbed Wombstock, the gig will be a free, early evening gig which is also open to the women’s family and friends. And Gulzhan herself will be eight months pregnant when she performs at the gig.
She said: “Paul and I first had the idea for the gig after finding that our child kicked a lot during rehearsals and midwives now tell mothers that music can really stimulate babies when they are developing. We’re really looking forward to the gig which people have been calling Wombstock and a room full of pregnant women rocking out should be a sight.”
The band are inviting pregnant mums from all over Scotland and beyond to attend the truly unique performance.
They hope the gig will show the world that pregnant women can rock as much as anyone else.
Kazakhstan-born Gulzhan, who goes by the stage name Gi, has been described as the diminutive singer with the big voice.
They recently played a free, sell-out gig in Kazakhstan, attracting an audience of over 12,000.
The band has an unusual line-up, in that they don’t have a drummer or a bass player, and their sound is based around soaring vocals and raucous guitars.
Paul and Gulzhan first met in Kazakhstan when both were working in the oil business.
They started writing songs together and performing for their co-workers and the locals.
Their first single, ‘Your Sin City’, was released to rave reviews and gained considerable media coverage worldwide.
This month Universal You will release their new single, ‘Iskala’, a cover of a famous Russian song, which they have translated and recorded in English.
The song was produced by world renowned producer Michael Brennan, who has worked with bands such as Snow Patrol and Super Furry Animals.
Universal You will be touring throughout the UK to support the release of the single.
For more information on the band or Wombstock, log on to www.universalyou.co.uk.
