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Arts & Entertainment

ALASH - Tuvan Throat Singers

Don't miss this rare opportunity to hear ALASH, a quartet of master throat-singers from Tuva. Throat-singing is a remarkable technique for singing multiple pitches at the same time. This ancient art developed among nomadic herdsmen of Central Asia, people who lived in yurts, rode horses, raised yaks, sheep and camels, and had a close spiritual relationship with nature. While throat-singers use their special music to imitate and commune with nature, their tradition also includes many folk songs about fast horses and beautiful women. Alash is dedicated to keeping all these traditions alive, and at the same time they subtly introduce western musical ideas that blend well with the old Tuvan music. So along with their handmade musical instruments you may sometimes hear a guitar, or you may detect western song forms, but the music's overall sound and spirit remain decidedly Tuvan.

The Washington Post described Alash's music as "utterly stunning," and quipped that after the performance "audience members picked their jaws up off the floor." Jeff Coffin of the Flecktones told JamBands.com, "This is some of the most beautiful and haunting music I have heard. If you have not heard them, you have no idea how incredible they are."

To learn more about Alash and Tuvan music, see them on YouTube and explore the Alash website, which is full of information and more audio and video clips.

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