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Nothing production-related here, just some very interesting music from Central Asia. They're mp3s of tunes by my pals/teachers Huun-Huur-Tu, master instrumentalists and khoomei singers from Tuva. I can guarantee that most of you have never heard anything like it.

 

http://www.atech.org/khoomei/hht/

 

Enjoy,

 

Steve Sklar/Big Sky

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Have fun! And keep in mind that there are no autotuners, vocoders, nada. And one guy, lead singer Kaigal-ool Khovalyg sings 90% of what's on those cuts. Anatoli Kuular sings on "Borbangnadyr" and Albert Kuvezin of Yatkha sings the humongously deep lead on "Mezhegi Valley."

 

Steve

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I saw these guys play at McCabes Guitar Shop in Santa Monica about 2 tears ago. The recordings are just a shadow of the live sound. I got them to sign my CD after the show. The Jews Harp solo was STUNNING!

 

Orphans Lament is my favorite CD of theirs.

 

Robert Morin

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I've heard that McCabes is a good place to see 'em. Though my favorite spots so far are on the banks of the Yenisei River or on a mountain pass in Tuva. Hey, Robert, Sayan has an instrument named after you (Morin Xuur)!

 

http://www.cbc.umn.edu/~sklar/oldman.jpg

 

http://www.cbc.umn.edu/~sklar/sam8.jpg

 

Steve

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Great stuff. I've never liked the gutteral stuff which is why I favor "Hard to Be Parted", but "Orphan's Lament" is extreamly interesting: how and more importantly *why* did this evolve as it did is baffling.... The curious brief dissonances are intriguing.

 

 

Have you read Richard Feynman's book "Tuva or Bust"?

 

http://www.mp3.com/chipmcdonald

Guitar Lessons in Augusta Georgia: www.chipmcdonald.com

Eccentric blog: https://chipmcdonaldblog.blogspot.com/

 

/ "big ass windbag" - Bruce Swedien

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Originally posted by Steve Sklar:

I've heard that McCabes is a good place to see 'em. Though my favorite spots so far are on the banks of the Yenisei River or on a mountain pass in Tuva. Hey, Robert, Sayan has an instrument named after you (Morin Xuur)!

 

http://www.cbc.umn.edu/~sklar/oldman.jpg

 

http://www.cbc.umn.edu/~sklar/sam8.jpg

 

Steve

 

Wow I have an instrument named after me!

 

Steve,

I'm sure that a riverside concert in Tuva is a great venue to see them. But for me I only knew about the show at McCabes 8hrs before it started. If the show would have been in tuva I most likely would have been late for it. Besides they dressed much better at McCabes than in the pictures you posted. I still can't get over the Jews Harp solo, It sounded like the guy had a Lexicon reverb in his mouth.

 

Enjoy the music

Robert Morin

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So, you prefer this getup?:

 

http://www.huunhuurtu.com/images/HHTjaro1b.JPG

 

I agree, they DO sound best when they look like that http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/wink.gif Did Tolya do the "look ma no hands" trick, where he turns the khomus around and plays it with his tongue? Hendrix woulda been proud.

 

HHT's web site is at www.huunhuurtu.com Don't miss the pictures of my sofa!

 

Also, they are no longer with Shanachie. They do have a new CD of live tracks that they're selling on tour in Europe, but I don't know about distribution yet.

 

Steve

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Hey, wow, my kinda thread!

 

There is a really great compilation of Tuvan music entitled "Spirits of the Steppes" that offers a great overview. Then, there is also "Vocal and Instrumental Music of Mongolia", which is also great fun.

 

I almost decided to go to Tuva this summer because of these compilations! But alas, it is not to be for this year...

 

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Ken/Eleven Shadows/d i t h er/nectar

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

music*travel photos*tibet*lots of stuff

"Sangsara" "Irian Jaya" & d i t h er CDs available!

http://www.elevenshadows.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Ken wrote, "I almost decided to go to Tuva this summer because of these compilations! But alas, it is not to be for this year..."

 

It's a hell of a trip! I was there in '95, and hope to return soon. I'm about to start looking for a publisher who's interested in a book on Tuvan music/Khoomei, as I've been talking with Kaigal-ool and Sayan about collaborating on such a project. A li'l advance would help with that trip.

 

Steve

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From the "Blowing my own Horn Dept":

 

I'm nowhere near the league that these guys are in. But, if you're interested, I've been working on incorporating the traditional Tuvan singing styles/techniques into contemporary western music. You can hear the results so far on Big Sky's songs "Fire in the Water" and "Siberia" at mp3.com/bigsky . More examples coming soon.

 

Also, I forgot to mention that there are rare QT videos of HHT, other Tuvan and Mongolian singers, and yers truly at http://www.atech.org/khoomei/khoomei.html Just click the video link.

 

Steve Sklar/Big Sky

 

This message has been edited by Steve Sklar on 04-06-2001 at 02:56 PM

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Originally posted by Steve Sklar:

So, you prefer this getup?:

 

http://www.huunhuurtu.com/images/HHTjaro1b.JPG

 

I agree, they DO sound best when they look like that http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/wink.gif Did Tolya do the "look ma no hands" trick, where he turns the khomus around and plays it with his tongue? Hendrix woulda been proud.

 

HHT's web site is at www.huunhuurtu.com Don't miss the pictures of my sofa!

 

Also, they are no longer with Shanachie. They do have a new CD of live tracks that they're selling on tour in Europe, but I don't know about distribution yet.

 

Steve

 

Steve,

I don't think that Tolya did the "look ma no hands" thing, but I had my eyes closed some times. I will be on the look out for the live CD.

 

Super cool group indeed!

 

Robert morin

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Steve...been reading the sites and checking the songs...fantastic stuff! My wife swears she heard similar music growing up in Uzbekistan and Kazakstan...do you know of particular connections or any other background info that could relate the Tuva style to what she was exposed to in those countries?

 

thanx again for the links...

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Hi Rader,

 

No, I'm not aware of Khoomei from those regions. However, they do have traditional forms of singing with very tense throats, giving a sound that at times nearly splits into different notes.

 

My friend Ted Levin from Dartmouth College is probably the leading American expert on musics of the "Stans." He is currently in NYC, heading the Silk Road Music Project with Yo Yo Ma. Check out his book, "The Hundred Thousand Fools of God" for great info, insights, and stories about the music of this area. BTW, "Fool of God" is what they call musicians!

 

I just returned from several days in Montreal where I taught and performed at the First Annual Montreal Throat-Singing Festival. Did many interviews for Canadian Radio, etc., taught workshops, performed, and got to chant with Tibetan Monks from Drepung Loseling Monestary. The Chantmasters were amazed that I could exactly duplicate their sound, asking what monastery I trained at! Big, big fun!!!

 

Steve

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