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Artist: Yat-Kha
Category: Asia/ Pacific (Winner)
Read an interview with Albert Kuvezin of Yat-Kha.
Yat-Kha are currently the most high profile band from Tuva. The small land locked republic at the very heart of Asia is part of the Russian Federation and Yat-Kha's music reflects not only their Tuvan roots but also the recent history of Russia.
In the former Soviet Union, huge State Ensembles were created to play adapted folkloric music of the diverse ethnic groups in each region. Though this involved considerable compromise, it also brought together traditional musicians who might not otherwise have met or even gained employment. Thus the scene was set for the musical revolution which followed Glasnost, Perestroika and the break-up of the USSR. Groups like Huun-Huur-Tu subsequently formed and began to remodel Tuvan traditional music, in the process spitting out musicians with unconventional vision like Albert Kuvezin.
He founded Yat-Kha, who took a more avant-garde approach. 'I think we represent the modern Tuvan generation,' explains Albert.
Just like Huun-Huur- Tu, Yat-Kha use exquisite traditional stringed instruments like the igil and the morinhuur (Mongolian cello), as well as otherworldly overtone singing techniques. Vocalists produce a drone as well as its harmonic, which is bent into a melody that soars above the music. These eerie sounds combined with subtle atmospheric percussion evoke the wide open spaces of the Tuvan steppes and mountains, giving their music an uncanny sense of place. Horses seem to whinny and canter through their recordings and you can almost hear the icy wind blow through it.
The group is named after another traditional instrument they use; the giant Tuvan zither. Albert's grinding rock guitar combines with these folk elements, giving their music a punk sensibility. That's underlined by a droll stage presence which seems at odds with their shimmering folk costumes.
Four albums into their career the band have been through several line-up changes, largely brought on by two key members taking 'paternity leave'. They are currently a five piece and one of the new members is Sailyk Ommun, who has introduced the bluesy singing style typical of Tuvan women. Yat-Kha tour regularly and their latest project involves playing improvised music to accompany a 1928 silent film called 'Storm over Asia - the Heir To Ghengis Khan'.
Biography by Jon Lusk, November 2001
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