Last night I spent the evening at our local Borders store, browsing and reading and drinking coffee. Oh, and way too much cheesecake.
I bought the most amazing CD. It's an album by Okna Tsahan Zam. He plays the dombra, which is beautiful to hear, but it is his voice which is breath-taking. I know that's a corny expression - but this literally does stop you in your tracks. He is Kalmyk, a Mongolian. He sings using overtone chanting, called hoomii. The CD came with a bonus DVD on which you can see him doing this chanting. He can produce two notes at the same time, which then resonate together. It has to be seen and heard to be believed. The music on the album is stirring, soul reaching music. It is interspersed with fragments of sounds of the landscape. The whole album is something that you really should hear.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Hello
i am currently learning the tuvan
throat singing method from arjuna, a teacher and phenominal singer in joshua tree, ca. i too am interested in this CD by okna and came across your blog.
onward.
toni la bone
Thanks very much for your comment. It must be amazing to be actually learning how to throat sing. I gather it is very meditative and great for the health. Okna has just recently toured the UK - I didn't get to see him though. Presumably we will see another album from him at some point.
By the way - I took a look at your blogs - what are they about? Is it some sort of discussion group?
Stuart
Post a Comment