Biography

Akmaral Mergen (Zykayeva) is Kazakh Independent Artist, singer, composer, professional musician and sound producer. A distinctive feature of Mergen as an artist is a bold mix of nomadic and modern sounds.

Graduating from Kazakh State Conservatory as a violinist in 2008, she later earned a degree from the Musician Institute in Hollywood, LA, USA, in 2010. In 2011, she completed her IT degree from Kazakh State Technical University. Starting her career as a singer-songwriter named Mergen, Akmaral gained experience in sound and music production while working in television and studios in Almaty. In 2011, she ventured into the film industry as an ADSR/Foley sound engineer at Kazakhfilm studios. Later, she took the helm of the record studios at Bilim Media Group to oversee the production of diverse content, including cartoons, TV shows, and educational-themed documentary films. In 2013, she revolutionized Kazakh folk songs' interpretation with the compilation album Qazaq Lounge.

Her film composer career began in 2018-2019 with 'Horse Thieves: Roads of Time,' directed by Yerlan Nurmukhambetov and Lisa Takeba (featured at Busan IFF - Opening Film 2019, Tokyo IFF 2019). During this time she contributed to one of Kim Ki Duk's last films, 'Dissolve,' and also composed music for 'Hostages of War' by Yeldar Kaparov, Aliya Uvalzhanova, and Shinju Sano. In 2020, Akmaral participated in Berlinale talents as a film composer. In the same year, she made her acting debut as the leading actress in the short film History of Civilisation (2020) directed by Zhannat Alshanova (Silver Leopard prize at Locarno IFF 2020). Additionally, she received the award for Best Actress at the Baiqonur IFF in 2021 for her role in the short movie 'Qus' (the Bird) by Begaly Shibekeyev."

In 2022, Akmaral wrote music for 'QAS,' directed by Aisultan Seit, where she played all the instruments herself. The film won the New Talent Award for Best Director at the Shanghai IFF 2023. She also received a nomination at the Asian Film Academy Awards 2024 for Best Original Score in Hong Kong.

Last year, she led a mentoring residency for young composers in Central Asia - BatyrLab, provided by the Batyr Foundation. Akmaral continues to release solo albums as a singer to this day; she has already released four full-length solo albums under the artist name Mergen.
- IMDb mini biography by: Kim Aliman