Hailing from the Republic of Tuva in the high pastures of the Altai Mountains in south central Siberia, the quartet Huun Huur Tu employs one of the most remarkable singing techniques in the world. Each singer can split their voice into several notes at once and then move the higher notes melodically over a drone. Also intriguing are the group’s carved instruments depicting Tuva’s horse-based culture. Surprisingly evocative of music from the other side of the world from Tuva, Huun Huur Tu can create a meditative figure straight out of the western avant garde; the rhythms derived from galloping hoofs with spacious, pastoral strings sound like an imaginary American prairie music. These descendants of isolated herdsmen make some of the most unusual, but beautifully approachable music on the planet.
Presented in partnership with WDET-FM