top of page
Search

Half-blood | Laylo (Song)

  • Oct 26, 2025
  • 2 min read

Half-Blood is the first chapter of the Roots series – a project exploring psychological continuity in Central Asia and how historical events have shaped the collective and individual mental health of its people.

This song reflects the fragile experience of people of mixed heritage amid rising nationalism and global tensions. While new waves of patriotism are helping nations heal from shared post-colonial pain, the pursuit of cultural revival can sometimes lead to exclusion of those who embody multiple identities and cultures within themselves.

I created this song and video to explore how good intentions can turn harmful when the idea of national pride overshadows empathy, and how communities can overlook those who exist at the intersection of many fragmented stories.

This project also draws from my own experience as a young adult whose life was shaped by the constant idea of migration – growing up in an Eastern environment while forming a mindset influenced by Western culture.

That dissonance often leads to loneliness, confusion about identity, and a longing to find a place where one can simply belong. Yet even after moving to a new environment, many realize that while their mindset may align with Western ideas, their emotional and behavioral patterns remain deeply rooted in their regional psyche.

This creates a paradox – feeling like a stranger at home, yet still disconnected from the culture they’ve migrated to.

Through this contrast, I wanted to show that being half-blood is not only about mixed ancestry, but also about mixed mindsets, values, and identities shaped by globalization. In that sense, each of us carries traces of multiple worlds – culturally, ideologically, and even genetically, which makes all the prejudices and bullying – senseless.

My message is to stay kinder and not to forget to stay human being in pursuit of national pride.

– Laylo

~

Stream “Roots” on all the platforms: https://band.link/layloroots

Credits: Artist/Director/Producer/Editor: Laylo Rikhsieva Cinematographer: Rakhim Turganbaev

Like an echo All my life I was split between my dreams and what I saw with my eyes I′m not free I’m not tied

People calling me freak but inside I′m alright I cry I got older I’m a stranger at my home that I’m in love with I don′t mind I got something inside

Saw their lives tried to be the same Hid my past, tried to change my name I was dreaming of my one way flight Lived on delay Now I′m not running away

I’m made from the pieces I think I′m falling apart

People only call me when they hate me so I’m crying on my own (so I′m crying on my own)

I just wanna leave it But I know that other land won’t be my home (land won′t be my home)

Imma different That’s alright

Imma Lego A half-blood

Imma different That’s alright

Imma Lego A half-blood

Imma different That′s alright

Imma Lego A half-blood Half-blood, yeah

~

Songwriter: Laylo (Laylo Rikhsieva)

Content Source/Artist: Laylo

 
 
 

Comments

bottom of page