Announcing AlashFest in Tuva, July 4-5
❀U.S. Summer Tour Coming Soon❀SCHEDULE❀
Alash are masters of Tuvan throat singing, a remarkable technique for singing multiple pitches at the same time. They are also masters of traditional Tuvan instruments. Deeply committed to traditional Tuvan music and culture, they are also fans of western music. Believing that traditional music must constantly evolve, these talented musicians subtly infuse their songs with western elements, creating their own unique style that is fresh and new but still true to their Tuvan musical heritage.
What does throat singing sound like?
“Imagine a human bagpipe—a person who could sing a sustained low note while humming an eerie, whistle-like melody. For good measure, toss in a thrumming rhythm similar to that of a jaw harp, but produced vocally-by the same person, at the same time.” — Newsweek (March 17, 2006)
“[Tuvan throat singing] sounds like the bewitching, remarkably harmonious marriage of a vacuum cleaner and a bumblebee. . . . [It] sounds as though the singer has ingested a set of bagpipes, with a low drone and a high melody issuing simultaneously from the same mouth.” — New York Times (August 3, 2013)
Where is Tuva?
Tuva (sometimes spelled Tyva) sits at the southern edge of Siberia, with Mongolia to its south. Over the centuries, Tuva has been part of Chinese and Mongolian empires, and shares many cultural ties with Mongolia. In 1944 it became part of the USSR, and until the late physicist Richard Feynman drew attention to it, was largely unknown to westerners. The Republic of Tuva is now part of the Russian Federation.
- Maps
- Tannu Tuva (1935)
- Google map
- Bing map
- Regional map
in Kyzyl, Tuva
Republic of Tuva
Alash's U.S. tours are sponsored by Juniper Green, LLC
