Yat-Kha

Please note, this is a fan site and the information is from Yat-Kha's official website at www.yat-kha.com I will try and post more songs soon!



Recognized at the "Voices of Asia" festival competition in Alma-Aty (Kazakhstan) in 1990 by one of the international judges (Brian Eno), Yat-Kha hail from one of the most remote parts of the planet -the Tuva Republic - high up in plains and snowy mountains of southern Siberia, a place famous for extraordinary multiple "khoomei" throatsinging vocal techniques, beautiful songs and wild eagles.



Led by ultra-bass singer and guitarist Albert KUVEZIN, the band has worked steadily touring the world and recording CDs such as Antropofagia and Yenisei-Punk, which won the French RFI "Decouvertes Est" prize (and also pushed the boundaries between the traditional and modern). They were signed by Paddy Moloney of The Chieftains to his "Wicklow" label in 1998 and the next CD Dalai Beldiri won the German Critics Prize in 1999. Yat-Kha toured constantly for the next 3 years across both Europe and the USA, releasing the acclaimed follow-up CD Aldyn Dashka on their own label (distributed by Harmonia Mundi USA)



More tours followed - playing major venues across the USA as guests of The Chieftains and again in Europe - playing prestigious music festivals, arts centres, reindeer herder conventions, sweaty punk clubs and open-air arenas from Estonia to Palermo. At the same time, with the help of UK-based film event producer and director Marek Pytel, Yat-Kha developed a radical new live film soundtrack project entitled "Storm Over Asia", which reintroduced the great Soviet director Pudovkin's 1928 silent classic "Potomok Chingis Khana". In addition to the soundtrack work, the film was restored to its original length. Restoration uncovered fascinating new scenes of authentic life in Tuva and Buryatia in the 1920s during and after the bloody civil war. This unique marriage of film and music was performed with great success at London's NFT (National Film Theatre) and a US tour that included performances at the Chicago World Music Festival, The Kennedy Center and Harvard University's Sanders Theater.



Following the tour, the WOMEX 2001 conference delegates nominated Yat-Kha for the Asia/Pacific category of the BBC Radio3 "Awards For World Music" which they went on to win. With radio, TV and webcast coverage from the January 28th performance in London's new Ocean venue, the award was presented - once again - by Brian Eno.



Yat-Kha are without doubt one of the more remarkable musical groups to emerge, not just from Asia but from the whole world. Their ability to merge and develop their traditions within modernity in a way that never finds itself swamped by western clichés is a marvel to behold. Add to that a wicked sense of humor, stunning musicianship and a quiet passion for life and you have a world music group in the most true sense.



Yat-Kha's new album, Re-Covers, has been released in Europe to outstanding reviews across the board. A US release is planned for summer of 2006.