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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
EDJIN DUUN (« Song for mother»)
This is a song of praise for mothers.
« All i see around me, the steppe, the sky, rivers, horses,
remind me of my dear Mother. She taught me all about life, holding me againt
her breast.. She took care of me. When I hear the sound of cranes in the
steppe, I remember her ».
AKHNER DUUNER (« Younger and older brothers»)
A beautiful praise song, for love and friendship. One interesting
musical caracteristic of this catchy hymn is that Khoomei is included in the
melodic line, it's not an ornament, it blends beautifuly with traditional singing.
« Our
beautiful horses beat the ground in the sunshine. They are ready to leave for a
long journey. You all who are gathered here for this feast, have a nice life,
full of love, prosperity and happiness! ».
VOLKI (Wolves)
Hunting for fun is bad for nature, it's only good for one's food. That's
the ecological message of this song. Even though wolwes are not as emblematic
as horses, they belong to the steppe universe and they are very present in the
kalmyk and mongolian imagination and legends.
« It
was a long time ago, there was a beautiful woman called Muhkna Tzagan. She was
very brave and she was hunting wolves. One day, after she had killed a mother,
she saw the young cubs next ty her house. They were crying and howling. Mughna
Tzagan could not stand seeing them like this and she died of a broken
heart ».
SIBIRE
The theme of this song is the deportation of the Kalmyk people to
Siberia by Stalin during World War II. A lot of them died of starvation and
cold. It was only in the 50's that they were allowed tocome back to Kalmykia,
along that « White Road » that gave Okna his name.
SAMARINE
« It's
about a skillful shepherd who tended horses in the steppe. He could stop the
runaway horses just byshooting an arrow that would ring in their ears. With his
favorite horse he wanders through the steppe and communicates with nature and the cosmos ».
DJANGAR (Djangar the All mighty)
Djangar is the hero of the
Kalmyk epic, this song is about his feats.
«
Long ago, at the beginning of time, Djangga ruled. He was the Khan above all
the Khans. With his ten fingers he held a banner yellow as the sun. He watched
over the world and protected it like his own child, giving loving, care to all
who live there.
AR BUMBIN ORN
This song is the perfect exemple of the power and richness of Okna's
voice. A mysterious and meditative piece. He just breathes and speaks but the
magic is here.
« It's
an incantation, Bunbin Orn is the Holly Grail, the land of Djangar. It's a
praise song for Father Sky and Mother Earth and to Djangar so that they watch
over us and show us the way to happiness and wisdom ».
KHOOMEI CHOIR (Khoomei choir)
Okna Tsahan Zam overdubbed eight different khoomei parts to form this
impressive and highly hypnotic choir. That's real shamanic feel.
DAVUR GAZEN
For a Kalmyk man there are two treasures in life : his horse and his
wife. This dance song tells his admiration for the gallop of a horse which can
be compared with the beauty of the love of a man for his wife. The rythm was
perfect for a remixed version which is featured as a separate bonus track on
the album.
Arranged and produced by Claude Samard
Composed by Okna Tsahan Zam except « Ar
Bunbin » (Karouev/Samard)
Recorded at Studio 124, Pigalle Sound, Safar Sudios (Paris), Elista
(Kalmykia) and Ulan Bator Studios (Mongolia). Field recording in Mongolia and
Kalmykia : Okna Tsahan Zam
Engineers : Jean Marie Knapp, Seb,
Christan Lieu and Claude Samard.
Management : Igor Charghinoff
Cover design : Alexandre Cιcilia et
Nicolas Brιgeau
Photos : E. Chamakov, Gabrielle Roda,
Mondomix
Inner sleeve notes : Okna Tsahan Zam, Claude Samard
Translations : Guilliana Tchetirova, Natasha Gabounchina
Voice, dombra : Okna Tsahan Zam
Guitars, dombra, dobro, programming : Claude Samard
Percussions : Steve Shehan, Fab Driguθs
Bass : Laurent Vernerey
Double bass : Peter Herbert
Strings arrangements : Jean Musy
Morin-Khuur : Epi,
Oleg Mankuev
Khoutchir : Oleg Mankuev
Flϋte : Nadbid Mandjiev
Violin : Merguen Natsinov
Djinguenuur (cymbalum) : Elza Sarangova
Dombra : Viktor Pitkeev, Bavaush
Dombra alto : Viatcheslav Kenzeev
Accordeon : Alexandre Badma-Goriaev
Chanze : Rosa Boursakova
Remix Drums Programming : Snooze
