A few years ago, Huun-Huur-Tu, a folk group from the Republic of Tuva, set up a Mongolian enclave on the Fringe and charmed the socks off everyone with their amazing throat singing and songs about horse herds and weather patterns on the steppes.
The eight-strong folksong and dance team Anda Union are Huun-Huur-Tu's successors with (Tibetan) bells on. Their songs, many of which have been handed down through their families, take the throat singing phenomenon, where the singer produces two or more notes simultaneously, into another dimension entirely. This is the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young model, with amazing group harmonies and all the more impressive when it transpires one other-worldly chord pattern is coming from the flute player, who is playing his instrument while singing a "solo" piece.
Accompanying these songs that tell of ancient legends, female rustlers and holy mountains, are bowed, two-string cousins of the cello, assorted percussion and the occasional guitar which create urgent, sometimes ruggedly impressionistic sounds. After their galloping horses adventure, we didn't so much need a translation of the song's title as to be dissuaded from finding a shovel.
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