Ari Peiderezek

Ari Iaitz Peiderezek (born 6 December 1982), also known under his occasional pseudonym Soyan Belupo is an Bapho-Azkali singer, songwriter, dancer, and activist. Over his two decade career, his music achievements have broken species boundaries in Baphia, contributing to the widespread popularity of art rock and pop, particularly his self-described "overpop" style. He is regarded as an important figure globally, both for his music and his public activism against authoritarianism, kali slavery, and anti-kali racism. He has popularized street dance moves including the moonwalk, the robot, popping, and the anti-gravity lean. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 21st century, particularly for his albums Mujekesi Soyandoze, Castle of Broken Dreams, and Ele, of which are considered among the greatest albums of all time.

Ari Peiderezek was born in Otzeipao, Azkali, in the midst of the Otzeipao plague outbreak. In 1985, he was kidnapped by Baphian soliders during the closing months of the First Bapho-Azkali war and after being held for several years, was sold into slavery, forced to work in the outskirts of Turku in a quarry. He witnessed the deaths of tens of thousands while enslaved, including his parents and the Azkali singer Kazo. After escaping slavery in 1999, he fled into Yamahat, being housed and protected by [yamahati], whom he would later marry. After being taught to read and write Baphian, he released Mujekesi Soyandoze in 2001, under the pseudoynm Soyan Belupo. Mujekesi Soyandoze would become the best-selling Baphian album of 2001, establishing his solo stardom. Under his real name, he would release Castle of Broken Dreams in 2003, and Ele in 2007 respectively, popularizing EDM-trap, overpop, and art rock in Baphia. Both Castle of Broken Dreams and Ele would both be given the Album of the Year award by the Baphian Music Society in 2003 and 2007 respectively. Peiderezek further established his position as a global superstar with the release of his album sozhe in 2010, lauded as his most artistic and socially conscious album. In 2013, along with A.M. Sancuki, co-founded the record label PC Music, under which he would release his latest album, Shile Biyefonu, in 2017.

Peiderezek is one of the best selling music artists of all time, having sold an estimated 300 million records over his twenty year long career. He has had 10 Ukilen-Music Top 100 singles (the fifth-highest in Ukilen-Music history, and the highest of any kali). Peiderezek was inducted into the Pop Hall of Fame, Baphian Rock Hall of Fame, Azkali Music Hall of Fame, and the Ukilen Dance Hall of Fame (the only recording artist to be inducted). Peiderezek is one of the most awarded musicians in history, receiving over his two-decade long career twenty three Baphian Music Society Awards (he highest of any kali) including the Artist of the Century award; eighteen Sunteria Awards; twelve Baphian Rock Society Awards, the highest a solo artist has ever achieved; five Azkali Music Society awards, and two Ukilen awards.

Early life

Early childhood and kidnapping

Ari Peiderezek's childhood apartment in Madiako, Otzeipao, Azkali, photographed in 1904.

Ari Iaitz Peiderezek was born in Otzeipao, Azkali, on the 6th of December 1982. His mother, Eiako Peiderezek (1949-198?), was a librarian before the Azkali plague epidemic, and was a Šertist. His father, Nerezkei Peiderezek (194?-198?) (né Iriak), was a boxer and a middle-school teacher before the Azkali plague epidemic. At his birth, Ari had an older brother, Hiko Peiderezek (19 February 1970-9 December 1982). Peiderezek was born in the midst of the Otzeipao pandemic, which had been delayed by months due to efforts of the city government. Shortly after his birth, however, the city experienced an epidemic of plague, resulting in the abandonment of most of the city; over half of the city's population was killed, including his brother Hiko.

After the death of Hiko, he and his parents fled the city, along with most of the surviving population; they fled to the half-abandoned city of Mikiliz in northern Azkali, where Peiderezek's paternal grandfather, Athoko Peiderezek (1921-1983) resided. The Peiderezek family moved into the home of Athoko. In early 1982, the population of Mikiliz had been almost all killed due to the plague, but the city had received an influx of refugees fleeing the plague and civil war in late 1982; most refugees were attempting to gain asylum in Baphia. On the evening of 6 October 1983, the 1st Bapho-Azkali war started, and early the next morning, the Baphian military entered Mikiliz, where a small garrison of Azkali military personnel alongside local police forces engaged in the First Battle of Mikiliz, the opening military confrontation of the 1st Bapho-Azkali War. Mikiliz was taken hours later, and as "punishment" for resistance, a vast majority of the town was shot, in what would later be known as the Mikiliz massacre. During the battle, Peiderezek and his parents fled the city and walked into the outskirts of the city, where they were kidnapped and sent to the Mikiliz concentration camp, straddling the pre-war border between Azkali and Baphia.

It was in the Mikiliz concentration camp where Peiderezek has his earliest memories. He recalled in a 2010 interview witnessing the hangings of

Discography

• Mujekesi Soyandoze (2001)
• Castle of Broken Dreams (2003)
• Ele (2007)
• sozhe (2010)
• Shile Biyefonu (2017)