Mongolian Throat Singing Dance Mix

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Many years ago I met a small group of artists from Mongolia who mastered a fascinating singing technique that sounds almost extra-terrestrial: throat singing. What would be the result of mixing this ancient tradition with modern trance beats? Hear for yourself.

Throat singing is a special kind of overtone singing. While there are different kinds of overtone singing in the western world, laryngeal singing comes from Central Asia and is practiced by different ethnic groups, for example in Mongolia. Similar types of singing are also found in other cultures. Around the Altai Mountains, in Mongolia, Tuwa and in the south of Siberia, these songs are known as Khoomei or Khööömii .

Since I have been fascinated by these sounds for a long time, but I am also a friend of modern electronic sounds, it was only natural to combine them and see what comes out. Since you intuitively imagine the vastness of the Mongolian steppe when enjoying this music, I also included some natural sounds in my mix:

Video

?  You can also download this song.

How does throat singing work?

Here’s a -quite technical- explanation: the singer narrows parts of his larynx and his so-called pocket folds, the false vocal lips. At the same time, the epiglottis is used to narrow the aryepiglottic folds, creating a resonant cavity in the larynx, which leads to an amplification of the overtone in relation to the keynote.

The Central Asian laryngeal singers, like the Xhosa, use an undertone technique called Kargyraa. The first undertone is used as the keynote and the overtone spectrum of the singer is extended. The throat chants of the Tibetan lamas, the semen from Lapland and the Inuit, for example, use a different technique, these are called undertone chants. The classification is not always unambiguously to be carried out. Partly, the techniques of laryngeal singing are used today in western music styles to achieve certain effects.

The strange and exotic sounding throat singing of the different cultures is something special for Western ears. Especially the songs of the people in Mongolia and the surrounding area give the impression of deep religious, meditative music. The voice of the larynx sometimes sounds almost as if the tones were not produced by a human voice. The songs are used for ritual festivals and secular celebrations and form an important part of the Central Asian culture. The learning of singing techniques is part of the formation of clergymen in Central Asia and Mongolia, but it is also practiced as light music.

A fascinating technique – especially in today’s world, where we are used to modulate a singer’s voice with electronic effects instead of learning such a difficult vocal technique for years.

You think this article raised lots of questions? Or you're interested into this topic and would like to know more about? Want to express your personal oppinion? Then feel free to drop a comment here.

Author: Mike vom Mars
A couple of years ago, Mike emigrated from his home planet to Earth to study and examine the human species. His findings offer a deep insight into the nature of human beings and their strange society.

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