Yat-Kha Mongolian Music CDs

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Russian: Ят-ха

Bridging the gap between ancient Mongolian throat-singing and Western hard rock, Yat-Kha, led by musical pioneer Albert Kuvezin, must be one of the most unique bands on the planet. From Tuva, a small Russian republic with much in common culturally with Mongolia, Kuvezin plays the guitar and the yat-kha (a kind of zither) and applies his own unique type of throat singing to a private musical universe that is as cool as it is inspired.

Yat-Kha plays rock and roll, but in a solidly Tuvan way. Or, if you prefer, the band plays traditional Tuvan folk music, but with a modern twist. Actually, the group seems to take both approaches as the mood strikes them. The result is an incomparable blend of acoustic and heavy metal guitars, Tuvan folk instruments, and Kuvezin's distinctive brand of rumbling throat singing.

The band grew from an ensemble featuring Kuvezin and avant-garde Russian musician Ivan Sokolovsky in 1991. After appearing on traditional Tuvan folk group Huun Huur Tu's first album, Kuvezin devoted his efforts full-time to Yat-Kha (without Sokolovsky, who left to pursue his own career).

Yat-Kha has released several albums, each featuring a different mix of traditional and modern sounds. The group's most popular album to date is their 2005 collection of cover songs called Re-covers, featuring versions of songs by Led Zeppelin, Motörhead, and Iron Butterfly, among others.

The band also wrote music for a long-lost silent film called Storm Over Asia. The movie is a scathing attack on imperialist politics (both Russian and otherwise) from the late 1920's. Yat-Kha commissioned a full version to be restored from a rare survivng print (the movie was banned and heavily censored for decades), and screens the nearly two-and-a-half-hour movie while performing the music at their concerts.

The membership of the band often changes, with Kuvezin being the main musician/instigator. Yat-Kha was nominated for an award at the BBC Awards For World Music in 2006.

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Yat-kha CDs