‘Piyala’ by AIGEL: The 2020 song now making waves on TikTok & music platforms

It’s nearly impossible to scroll through your TikTok or YouTube shorts feed without coming across this song. While some bloggers use it to set the mood for atmospheric and melancholic videos, others are chopping salads, all to the beat of this catchy tune. 'Piyala' has become a bona fide folk sensation.

The track was released in 2020 by electronic hip-hop band ‘AIGEL’. The duo consists of poet Aigel Gaisina and musician Ilya Baramiya. Aigel, with Tatar origins, hails from the city of Naberezhnye Chelny in Russia's Republic of Tatarstan.

‘AIGEL’ duo: Aigel Gaisina and Ilya Baramiya

AIGEL

‘Piyala’ is their most popular song and the title track of their eponymous album. The composition is sung in the Tatar language. The word 'piyala' translates literally as 'piyāla', which is a ceramic bowl from Central Asia. In Tatar, ‘piyala’ also means 'glass' and ‘glass fragments’. 

According to Aigel, the song’s lyrics tell the story of a girl who experienced pain and heartbreak at the hands of a loved one. 

‘Piyala’ was originally released in 2020 and even made its debut on Russia's main TV channel ‘Pervy Kanal’ ('First Channel'). It was initially planned for the Russian TV show 'Topi', but it never ended up featuring in the series’ soundtrack. 

The real success came in 2023, as the song was included on the soundtrack of the hit new TV show ‘Slovo Patsana: Krov na asfalte’ ('The Boy's Word: Blood on the Asphalt').

A still from 'The Boy's Word: Blood on the Asphalt'

Zhora Kryzhovnikov/Toomuch Production, 2023

The show, about teenagers' struggle in the criminal world of Soviet Tatarstan just before the collapse of the USSR, premiered in Russia in November 2023. 'Piyala' is often used to accompany the most intense moments of the series. 

It quickly topped all the Russian music charts and platforms, including Yandex Music and VK music, and went viral on Tiktok in Russia. Soon, it also headed the world’s top lists on Shazam, Apple Music and Spotify, while entering the TikTok Billboard Top 50.

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