ART
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Water color with colored pencil by artist Jean Esther Inspired by Alash's performance in Lancaster, PA in 2010. |
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Watercolor by artist Mairin-Taj Caya Made during Alash's Spring 2009 tour. |
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Three Watercolor Sketches by artist Rami Efal Made during performance at Judson Memorial Church (28 June 2007) |
VIDEO [back to top]
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Susquehanna Folk Music Society [1:36:34] Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (11 February 2023) Video of entire concert at Unitarian Church of Harrisburg, sponsored by the Susquehanna Folk Music Society. |
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Riverside Music, World Music Series [3 videos] Rochester, Minnesota (7 March 2020) This sold-out performance capped off a series of mini-concerts in Minnesota schools and libraries. Alash was joined by special guest Shodekeh. |
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Cross-Cultural Show with Shodekeh and others [7:49] Baltimore, Maryland (10 October 2019) WTMD radio station hosted a live album recording conceived by Bady-Dorzhu Ondar and Shodekeh, with guest artists Wendel Patrick, Jasmine Pope, Eze Jackson, Erik Spangler, Joyce J. Scott, and others. The album was later released as Embodiments. |
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Alash at the Riddu Riđđu Festival [2 videos] Kåfjord, Norway (July 2019) A short interview with Alash, followed by "My Throat the Cuckoo." Riddu Riđđu is an annual international indigenous festival featuring worldwide indigenous music, art, theater and dance, youth camps with workshops, and more. |
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"Ediski deg Boostaamny" (My Throat, the Cuckoo) [3:53] Montréal, Québec, Canada (February 2019) Song recorded by Beehive Productions at the 2019 Folk Alliance International Showcase. |
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Sonic Meditations with Fifth House Ensemble [4 videos] Chicago, Illinois (2018-2019) The Fifth House Ensemble, an innovative chamber ensemble dedicated to expanding the perceived limits of classical music, joined with Alash in a year-long cross-cultural project culminating in an unusual series of concerts. |
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Sunrise Concert at the Edge of the World [5:12] Cap-Bon-Ami, Forillon National Park, Gaspé, Québec (12 August 2018) Sunrise concert by Alash in a spectacular outdoor setting. Video by Festival Musique du Bout du Monde in collaboration with La Fabrique Culturelle. |
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Throat Singing Styles Explained [7:58] Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC (1 September 2017) When Smithsonian Folkways released the album Achai, they asked Alash about the basic throat singing styles. Sean Quirk explains and the members of Alash demonstrate xöömei, sygyt, and kargyraa. (Explanations start at 0:40, after song.) |
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Video Tribute to Kongar-ool Ondar [4:57] Kyzyl, Tuva (5 June 2017) This video was produced for Alash Ensemble's album release "Achai" ("Father"). Music by Kongar-ool Ondar (March 29, 1962 – July 25, 2013) and Alash Ensemble. |
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“Bashtak Joke” with Shodekeh [3:09] American Folk Festival, Bangor, Maine (August 2016) Beatboxer Shodekeh joins Alash in a lively performance of “Bashtak Joke.” |
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Alash at TEDxBaltimore [13:46] Baltimore, Maryland (14 January 2016) The theme of TEDxBaltimore was Outliers, ideas that challenge traditional thinking. Alash is joined by beatboxer Shodekeh halfway through the video. |
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Bady-Dorzhu Ondar on Accordion with Shodekeh [2 videos] Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (4 November 2014) Bady-Dorzhu and Shodekeh gave an impromptu performance at Liberty Bellows while Bady's bayan (accordion) was being repaired. |
| ↪ More Video . . . |
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Fifth International Xöömei Symposium [0:49] (in Russian) NTV coverage of the Xöömei Symposium held in Kyzyl, Tuva (24-28 July 2008). Alash members are among the performers. |
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"Singing the Blues in Siberia" [2:29] (in English) Russia Today's coverage of the Fifth International Xöömei Symposium. Bady-Dorzhu Ondar is shown winning a car as grand prize (8 August 2008). |
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Alash performs at a concert for Vladimir Putin [1:15] Por-Bazhyn, Tuva Coverage by Russian television channel 1-TV (13 August 2007) |
RADIO [back to top]
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Science Friday: “The Science of Tuvan Throat Singing” [6:38] Alash provides examples of Tuvan throat singing as the guests explore the science of how it is done. Scroll down the page for associated video (10 March 2017). Science Friday airs nationally on public radio stations. Alexa Lim, producer. |
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The Marc Steiner Show [22:44] Performance by Alash and interviews with Sean Quirk, beatboxer Shodekeh and director Michael Faulkner. WEAA 88.9FM Baltimore (13 January 2016). Marc Steiner, host. |
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World on 3 with Mary Ann Kennedy [36:30] Interview with Sean Quirk and performance by Alash. BBC Radio 3 studio. (15 May 2015). Mary Ann Kennedy, host. |
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Live and Local [36:32] Interview with Sean Quirk for WILL-FM 90.9, Illinois Public Media. (4 April 2014). Kevin Kelly, host. |
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In-Studio Live Performance: Alash [23:35] An in-studio live performance and interview for KEXP 90.3 FM. Seattle, Washington (14 December 2010). Jon Kertzer, host. |
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Transpacific Sound Paradise: Alash (edited selections) Six songs and one interview segment recorded live for WFMU 91.1 FM. Jersey City, New Jersey (24 July 2009). Rob Weisberg, host. |
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Live Performances: Alash Live performance and interview segments. WGBH 89.7 FM. Boston, Massachusetts (21 July 2009). Richard Knisely, host. |
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Lake Effect: Alash [12:30] Performance and interview on Milwaukee Public Radio WUWM 89.7 FM. Milwaukee, Wisconsin (28 April 2009) |
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Sound Check: Alash [17:05] Performance and interview on New York Public Radio WNYC 93.9 FM. New York, New York (18 December 2008) |
| ↪ More Radio . . . |
AUDIO [back to top]
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Songline Choice: Alash Ensemble (Tuvan throat singer Bady-Dorzhu Ondar) (12 March 2016) For the podcast Simone's Songlines, musical nomad Simone Walraven travels the world in search of inspiring stories and special music. In this episode she interviews Bady-Dorzhu Ondar, with Sean Quirk as interpreter. The introduction is in Dutch. |
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Jam Sessions: Alash and the Extra Special Terrestrial Guests The Rotunda, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (18 June 2007 and 29 January 2008) Two audio tracks from the video by Jason Fifield, and one audio track from the recording by Brendan Krivda. |
NEWS & REVIEWS [back to top]
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Inside the layered, global music of The Pathless (4 November 2020) Alash was part of composer Austin Wintory's "global jam band" which recorded the soundtrack for the videogame The Pathless, released in November 2020. (video) |
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JuuriJuhla Folk Festival in Songlines: Live Reviews (June 2019) The world music magazine Songlines reviewed Alash's performance at the JuuriJuhla Folk Festival in Espoo, Finland. |
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Tuvan throat singing gives voice to a unique way of life (eScienceCommons, 26 January 2016) "... they create a musical landscape that is almost extraterrestrial in terms of the sensation it gives you." |
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May's Global Music: Alash; Lila Downs; Trio Brasileiro; Inti-Illimani and Los Panchos We Want Music Without Borders (5 May 2015) ... Alash's musical journey spirits us away on their sturdy steeds across the mountains & steppes as they sing of beautiful women and horses.... |
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AUDIO: Alash ensemble of Tuvan throat singers performs at Webster (The Journal, 2 May 2012) An eerie low-pitched humming sound came from the mouths of the Tuvan throat singers. Simultaneously, the three men raised and lowered their pitches. |
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Alash Ensemble at the Triple Door (SSG Music, 27 April 2011) ...Composed of four of the best throat singers on earth with enough instrumental skill to put entire Western conservatories to shame, this group performed music the average Seattle concert goer has simply never heard.... |
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Alash on the Road (Thimblewicket, 3 April 3 2010) ...When they began singing, the listeners fell stone-quiet, no doubt wondering how four human voices can seem to split into an infinite number of them like that.... |
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Throat singers use their voices in way that 'really gets to you' (Portland Press Herald, 25 February 2010) ... "It (the Tuvan tradition of throat singing) is a very expressive and extremely beautiful method of using the human voice," Quirk said. "They have this amazing ability to filter sound -- the sound of their voices. They subtract frequencies."... |
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Béla Fleck and the Flecktones @ the Paramount Theatre (Denver Post, 21 Dec 2009) ... The quartet [Alash] played ... traditional songs from their homeland, most of which involved stories about horses and women[, and] had a near-capacity audience enthralled and dead silent during each piece.... |
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Bela Fleck puts beauty and brrr in Yule tunes (Star Tribune, 15 December 2009) ... Throw in special guests, the Alash Ensemble (Tuvan throat singers/folk musicians), and this was not only one of the most remarkable Christmas concerts this year but one of the most rewarding performances of all of 2009.... |
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Bela Fleck and Flecktones reinvent Christmas holiday tunes (Capital Times, 14 December 2009) ... As the men [Alash] sang a slow, mesmerizing chant that reverberated throughout the theater, your ear could pick up a faint, high-pitched whistle emitted behind the drone that sounded strangely familiar. Wait . . . is that "Jingle Bells"? Moments like that were a breath of crisp fresh air blowing through the stale Christmas music genre, where everyone from the Jonas Brothers to Twisted Sister bangs out a quickie holiday album to make a few bucks.... |
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When the Alash Ensemble Sings, the World Listens (MichiganLive.com, 10 December 2009) ... Tuvan throat singing (or "xöömei"), where the whistle of birds, the groan of camels, the rhythm of galloping horses and rushing rivers combine in a singer's throat, often with multiple notes at the same time.... |
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Alash Rings in the Holidays as Guest Artists of Béla Fleck & the Flecktones (Tuva Online 9 November 2009) The Tuvan throat singers Alash are flying to the U.S. from reindeer country to perform "Jingle Bells" and other Yuletide favorites with the legendary American group Béla Fleck & the Flecktones, to promote the Flecktones' Grammy-winning CD Jingle All the Way.... |
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With the Sounds of Khoomei (Tuva Online, 1 May 2009) One of the most interesting chamber concerts last week in Krasnoyarsk was a performance by the group "Alash" together with the khoomeizhi Radik Tyulyush.... |
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Alash at SXSW (Time, 25 March 2009) Coverage of the popular music festival South by Southwest (SXSW) briefly highlights Alash, who appear 3 minutes and 52 seconds into the video. |
| ↪ More News & Reviews . . . |
REFERENCE [back to top]
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Alash in Wikipedia |
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Alash profile on World Music Central See also: all World Music Central articles about Alash. |
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Alash in TyvaWiki |
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Kongar-ool Ondar in Wikipedia Kongar-ool Borisovich Ondar (March 29, 1962 – July 25, 2013) was a master Tuvan throat singer and a member of the Great Khural [legislative body] of Tuva.... |
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Kongar-ool Ondar biography Singing My Life by Valentina Suzukei, ebook published in 2014 |
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Kongar-ool Ondar obituary, Reuters (25 July 2013) |
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Kongar-ool Ondar obituary, New York Times (3 August 2013) |
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Kongar-ol Ondar in Everything2.com Tuvan throat singer Kongar-ol Ondar was born in 1962 and first learned his musical craft from his uncle.... |
