Alash: Tuvan Throat Singing Re-Imagined

This is a very cool link for some Tuvan throat singing...

WNYC, January 14, 2009 - For years, the territory that makes up Tuva spent hundreds of years changing hands. The semi-autonomous republic is now technically part of Russia.

But Tuvans boast a musical identity all their own, featuring a vocal tradition that has put them on the world-music map: throat singing. The Alash Ensemble honors that heritage with a modern twist. Its influences include all the modern throat singers, but also American innovators such as Jimi Hendrix and Sun Ra.

Alash recently visited WNYC's Soundcheck for an in-studio performance. Between songs, Sean Quirk, the group's manager and translator, fielded questions from host John Schaefer.