OKNA TSAHAN ZAM
SHAMAN VOICES
A journey in the steppe
INFORMATION BOOKLET
OKNA TSAHAN ZAM, a
descendant of Genghis khan will conquer western audiences with this exceptional
album.
« SHAMAN VOICES : a journey in the steppe »
OKNA TSAHAN ZAM was the revelation of the
Cannes MIDEM 2003. 3 000 professionals were blown away by his voice and his
charisma. They gave a standing ovation to this Shaman from the Steppes of
Central Asia, a great master of Throat Singing (a remarkable and spectacular
vocal technique that involves singing two tones simultaneously).
« He was the star of the night » said Justin Hayward of the Moody
Blues on his website the day after they performed at Alan Simons
« Gaia » world event concert at the 2003 MIDEM. The
« Gaia » concert also featured members of Supertramp and Fleetwood
Mac, Manu Dibango, Anguun, Billy Preston, to name just a few.
Everyone was surprised that Okna had no Cd available. We are happy to
announce that his album« SHAMAN VOICES, a journey in the steppe »,
produced by Claude SAMARD, is ready to be released.
Recorded in France, Mongolia and Kalmykia, with outstanding musicians
coming from 4 continents, this CD is a 57 minute-long hypnotic journey accross
the steppe. It's a successful blend of ethnic authenticity and modernity. You'll
be carried along the way by great songs, roots pieces, peaceful instrumentals,
hypnotic overtones mixed with original nature sound Fx that open a door to an exotic other world.
The suggestive power of his voice, allows him to communicate with all
audiences, whether he sings in traditional style, whispers, hums, rumbles or
improvise cosmic overtone leads. OKNA and his album « SHAMAN VOICES »
reconciles nature and technology, East and West, lo-tech and hi-Tech.
« SHAMAN VOICES » opens the way to the second generation of
World Music.
You only need to listen to this work to understand its wondrous beauty
and tremendous potential.
AVAILABLE
DOCUMENTS
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1
CD, pre-mastered
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1 .avi video clip WARNING ! Its not a DVD. To open the
file, simply double click on the icon « CLIPCLAU.AVI ».
THE ARTIST : OKNA TSAHAN ZAM
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Okna Tsahan Zam (« The white road »), aka Vladimir Kharouev,
was born in 1957 on the long road used by the Kalmyk people when returning to
their own land after deportation to Siberia by Stalin. « The White
Road » is the road that leads to Joy and Happiness. Okna belongs to an
ancient Baatud tribe.
According to the legend this Mongolian tribe was founded by the second
son of Doa-Sokhor the Cyclops. After a series of dreams, Okna Tsahan Zam gave
up his engineering career and devoted his life to Throat Singing (Khoomei),
the Mongolian vocal technique of his ancestors. This vocal technique is very
spectacular : it allows the singer to sing two or more voices at the same
time.
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Today this unusual and impressive personality is the #1
"Khoomei" soloist in the world. He's given concerts on Moscow's Red
Square, Japan and the US
He is an absolute must in all major Khoomei events.
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His first tour in Europe was in 1991 for the « Silk Road »
Festival. He then followed up with other Festivals in Paris (« Epic
poetry from central Asia », « Tribute to the Horse »). All his concerts at the « Thιβtre de la
Ville » in Paris were sold out. (1998 / 2002)
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After
he met Claude SAMARD (French musician-producer) he was invited to open with him
for Roger Hodgson (ex -Supertramp) at the prestigious Paris Olympia Theater.
This first fusion attempt was a great success. Then Claude introduced him to
Alan SIMON, the creator and producer of the « GAIA » project. Alan
offered him the opportunity to sing a title on the studio album where he shares
the bill with the very best in pop and world music : Cesaria Evora, Manu
Dibango, Anguun, Supertramp, Zucchero, Midnight Oil to name just a few. He then
played at the « GAIA » night (Palais des Festivals) for the 2003
MIDEM where he impressed the audience and his peers as well.
He
composed the movie sountrack for « Shimkent Hotel » (2003), a film by
Charles de Meaux starring Romain Durys and Melvin Poupeau, that received
critical acclaim.
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· National Kalmyk Epic Singer (Djangartchi)
· Member of the Union of Russian
Writers
· Winner of « The Russian Soul
contest » 2002 (Award in Traditional category)
· Distinguished Member of the Academy
of Nomadic Cultures (Mongolia)
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« Golden
microphone » 2002 (Song of the Year) for his recording of Edjin Duun.
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This
album is the result of my meeting with Okna Tsahan Zam 4 years ago. We have a
common passion for Mongolian music and we want to share it with others. We
believe that the only reason why music from the steppe and the extraordinary
technique of throat singing have not become well-known is a lack of proper
production and promotion, since the talent emanating from this region is truly
nothing short of astounding.When i met Okna I met the emblematic artist who can
bring this music to the foreground.
For
the first time, here is a world-class album by an artist who will guarantee
that this spectacular and spiritual music will generate the response it
deserves, satisfying the needs of all listeners who seek authenticity and new horizons.
« SHAMAN
VOICES, a journey in the steppe » is very evocative. Listen to his album,
close your eyes and you'll see horses, yurts, the steppe and the stars in the
sky and maybe more. A true shamanic experience !
Okna
Tsahan Zam is truly an exceptional artist, and this album allows his multiple
talents to really shine. It's a wondrous blend of ethnic authenticity and
modernity. This album is not simply another feeble attempt at mixing loops,
synth pads and abstract vocal samples. However, a « remix » of
« Davour » featuring the electro guru Snooze is also available as a
bonus track.
The
challenge was to create an album that would please the connoisseurs and non
specialists as well. Feedback from listeners indicates that we have succeeded
in the attempt to fuse authenticity and
pleasure.
The
album contains 28 different varied musical pieces : great songs with a good
commercial potential, rough « roots » pieces with Okna and his
dombra. Khoomei (throat singing) had to be present in the form of solo tracks,
so we have three of them in the album, which reinforces its hypnotic side. On
one cut Okna overdubbed 8 tracks of Khoomei, building a whole choir from his
own voice ! Very impressive, with tasty touches of Merun Kuur (mongolian
cello). A few short instrumental tunes create a good tension-release effect and
the natural music of the steppe (nature sound Fx) makes an evocative unifying
thread.
From
a more technical point of view,
Okna Tsahan Zam is a fan of Pink Floyd and he was open to giving tradition a
modern touch. We associated traditional instruments with today's musical tools.
The only rule was that both musical approaches (Hi-Tech and Lo-Tech) had to
enhance the magic of the voice and the emotion of the music. We selected what
best fit each song ,best, the gallop of horses, or the latest in sound design,
Okna's two-string traditional dombra, or subtle touches of electro.
« ShamanVoices »
has a strong organic and acoustic flavor. No loops or cheap samples here. All
the drums parts are played by percussion instruments from all regions of the
world thanks to Steve Shehan (Paul Simon, Bob Dylan) who added his magic to the
project. All the traditionnal instruments have been played by top mongol or
kalmyk musicians.
Electronic
elements, electric and acoustic guitars, dobro, didgeridoo, jaw harp strings
orchestra blend in this organic musical universe to create an original
soundscape that make this music wholly accessible.
This
homogeneity guarantees a 57 minutes non-stop hypnotic trip.
Claude
SAMARD, producer
KHOOMEI : A VOCAL TRADITION IN MONGOLIA
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It's a very spectacular vocal technique, particularly developped in
Mongolia and Tuva. Khoomei designates a large
family of singing styles and techniques. Also known as Throat-Singing. It
permits the vocalization of 2 or
more notes at the same time.
Western terms for Khoomei include Harmonic Singing,
Overtone Singing, Diphonic Singing, Biphonic Singing, etc... All refer to
similar, but not necessarily identical vocal techniques.
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Throat-Singing: any technique that includes the
manipulation of the throat to produce the desired sound. Generally, this
involves applying tension to the region surrounding the vocal cords (folds),
and the manipulation of the various cavities of the throat including the
vestibular folds, mouth, sinuses, lungs
Very often it's related to shamanism. « Sounds
make the connection between space and the souls of our ancestors. It's an
accumulation of energy and the revelation of our consciousness » as Okna describes it.
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Music from Mongolia is very original but it sounds
familiar to Western ears. Some tunes sound as if they come from Ireland or
Kentuky. They use the same pentatonic scales.
The traditional instruments include lutes like the Kalmyk dombra, the
Shadz, some sorts of Zither, flutes (limba), jaw harp (choomus) violin, other
bowed instruments like the Khuurchi and Igil.
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The two main sympbols of Mongolian music are Khoomei (Throat-Singing)
and the Morin-huur. The morin
huur is the most important instrument of the Mongolian people. It is a bowed
string instrument with a trapezoidal body supported between the performer's
legs. The two strings are made of horsehair. The instrument acquired its name,
which literally means « horse's lute » in Mongolian, on account of an
ornamental carving in the form of a horse's head at the top its neck.
In a shamanic approach the morin-huur and Khoomei
singing imitate the sounds of nature and animals.
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OKNA TSAHAN ZAM is from Kalmykia. The Oirats (Kalmyks) and the Mongols
are descendants of two brothers : Duo Sokhor and Doa Mergen. They lived in
the IX century. In the beginning of the XVII century a large part of the
Kalmyks moved toward the Altaο and the Volga delta on the Caspian sea. They
still have an intact passion for horses and Genghis Khan.
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120 000 inhabitants live in this republic which is part of the Russian
Federation. The steppe covers most of the territory. Elista is the capital.
The Republic of Kalmykia stretches to the south-east of the European part of
Russia between the Volga and Don rivers. In the south-east it is bordered by
the Caspian Sea.
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PRODUCED BY: CLAUDE
SAMARD
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M.A. in French litterature (Grenoble University, France) and Graduate
from Berklee College of music (Boston USA).
Studio musician, (guitars of the world specialist), composer and
producer with several gold and platinum credits to his name, including
Midnight Oil, Patricia Kaas, Jean-Jacques Goldman, Supertramp, Rita Marley to
name just a few. Now he spends most of his time composing and producing.
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He enjoys mixing lo-tech and hi-tech recording approaches in his own
studio in Paris. He has composed and arranged several award-winning projects,
including movies (« Bo Ba Bu », voted best music at the Shanghai
International Film Festival in 2001), video games (« Rayman », the
famous worldwide hit by UbiSoft) and many others.
He released a solo album « Unplugged journey » (Koka) and has
his own show where he plays and demonstrates more than twelve « guitars of
the world », pedal steel, oud, banjo, dobro, guitars, bozuki
He is also a regular columnist for Guitarist magazine.
For a more complete bio, and more info about Okna (Pix, mp3, RealAudio,
links) visit his website at : www.claudesamard.com
1.
INTRO 00:37
2.
EDJIN DUUN 03:36
3.
Firecamp in the
steppe 00:26
4.
KHOOMEI solo with
strings 01:48
5.
Chanz musician in the
distance 00:28
6.
AKHNER DUNER 03:40
7.
Wolves in the windy
steppe 00:36
8.
VOLKI 02:37
9.
Djinguenur solo 00:49
10.
Deportation train. 00:29
11.
SIBIRE 03:42
12.
In the village 00:58
13.
EDJIN DUUN acoustic version 02:57
14.
Horses 00:29
15.
STRING DUET 02:28
16.
SAMARINE 04:25
17.
Under the stars 00:27
18.
KHOOMEI three voices 03:02
19.
VOLKI#2 feat.
Bavaush 02:11
20.
Thunder in the steppe 00:32
21.
DJANGAR 03:03
22.
After the storm 00:16
23.
AR BUMBIN ORN 02:53
24.
Meditation 00:15
25.
KHOOMEI CHOIR 03:03
26.
OUTRO 01:04
BONUS TRACKS
27.
DAVOUR (remix) feat. Snooze 06:08
28.
SIBERE
BLUES 03:38
Total time : 5657
