Description
Unusual new sounds from the Republic of Altai! New Asia, the ensemble around singer and instrumentalist Dobrynya Satin, comes from southwestern Siberia. The region borders Kazakhstan, China and Mongolia. A land of ice-cold rivers, snow-covered peaks and barren steppes, as New Asia describe their homeland. The music of the region is characterised by throat singing and numerous traditional instruments. Epic heroic tales are still alive in Altai today, as are shamanic rituals accompanied by chants and tambourine sounds. “Chorchoc”, the title of the debut album by the five musicians of New Asia, can be translated as “fairy tales” or “legends from ancient times”. The band feels particularly rooted in Siberian, Central Asian and Mongolian musical styles. New Asia play traditional musical instruments of the Altai Republic.
These include the topshuur, a two-stringed lute. Since time immemorial, it has accompanied the tales told by storytellers about the exploits of great warriors. But the topshuur is also used as an accompanying instrument for meditative and even funny songs. The fact that it sometimes plays the role of a “background instrument” is considered more of a distinction: when people converse to these sounds, it is considered a form of spiritual self-improvement in Altai.
GENRE: World Siberia
BARCODE: 4251329500467
