°Huun Huur Tu
Huun Huur Tu is THE Tuvan super group. If you have never heard throat singing before, these guys are the best. Many cultures around the world developed throat singing, the ability to sing multiple notes at the same time, producing complex harmonies with just one voice. For my money, the Tuvans do it the best. Huun Huur Tu is comprised of four men, each specializing in a unique type of throat singing and traditional tuvan instrument. But don't be mis-lead, these guys are playing very avant-garde music, at least for Tuva, taking traditional folk songs and adding layers of complexity and instrumentation never heard before. In fact, their percussionist invented most of the instruments that he plays, including a rattle made of a bovine's scrotum filled with goat knuckles. Seriously. I had the great privilege of seeing these guys play live back in 2002, which was actually one of the most amazing performances I have ever seen. LISTEN NOW!
°Slim Gaillard
Slim Gaillard was a jazz man from the 1940's who rocked so hard I don't even know what to do about it. He skillfully played just about every instrument you could throw at him. In fact, he played every instrument on just about all of his solo recordings, whether it be Piano, guitar, bass, drums clarinet, you name it. He was known to competently play the piano with the backs of his fingers, palms up(!) He often sung/spoke in a kind of jazz pidgin called gaillardese, so if you don't know what the fuck he is saying, don't worry. LISTEN NOW!
Ignore the blatant minstral show-ish racism in this clip and just acknowledge that back in the 1940's, people were having more fun than you ever will.
1 comment:
"rattle made of a bovine's scrotum filled with goat knuckles."
Dude, what are you talking about, I totally invented that first.
Also, thank you for these music posts! It's really great exploring interesting new music.
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