My sweet larynx
Dhani Harrison on joining forces with Tuvan throat singers Huun-Huur-Tu
Huun-Huur-Tu:
“Wecontinue to sing as our ancestorsdid”
I 've always been obsessed with that Tuvan throat-singing style,” Dhani “I’VE Harrison tells Uncut. “Even my dad was. When people can do that, they’re more evolved with their bodies. They’re so in tune with nature that they’re able to convey a frequency, whether it’s a mountain stream, wind through the hills or birds in the trees, and then hit you with this freight train of three notes at once that are modulating.”
A new album, Dreamers In The Field, teams Harrison with the group Huun-Huur-Tu, throat-singing masters of 30 years’ standing from Tuva, in the Russian Federation’s far east. The ancient vocal style involves them singing notes and their overtones simultaneously; on the a cappella “Kaiglo Prayer”, they hit deep, throbbing frequencies of jet-engine resonance and sacred intent. More often, Harrison and the album’s third collaborator, American producer Carmen Rizzo, cast their traditional vocals and instrumentation within lushly cinematic soundscapes, adding orchestral ambience and psychedelic textures.