Comments on: kyrgyzmusic.com

kyrgyzmusic.com

hama7 — Sat, 19 May 2007 15:16:39 -0800

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Sat, 19 May 2007 15:23:52 -0800

Wonderful! Cool find hama7. Am really enjoying the various clips. Thanks.

By: DenOfSizer

DenOfSizer — Sat, 19 May 2007 16:59:52 -0800

Wow, the first sample I went to on the vocal music page had a guy singing a single note for like, 10 days, it was so long. Wicked!

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Sat, 19 May 2007 17:01:42 -0800

Yeah, hama7, very nice find. Thanks!

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Sat, 19 May 2007 17:34:15 -0800

Love that image on the top page, with the words "Welcome to Kyrgyz Music!" emblazoned across the hills like the "Hollywood" sign.

By: kozad

kozad — Sat, 19 May 2007 17:49:51 -0800

Thanks. I've been fixated on music from North Africa to Central Asia for years now...including the crossover artists, like the incomparable Natacha Atlas. (OK, Parisian, I think, but Arab/African/pop crossover has become genuine now, unlike twenty years ago, when I wouldn't touch Euro-Arab fusion with a ten foot stick.)

By: psmealey

psmealey — Sat, 19 May 2007 17:50:35 -0800

Yes, this is particularly awesome. Btw, anyone know how one should pronounce Kyrgyz? Is it essentially kur-jizz, or is it something totally different?

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Sat, 19 May 2007 17:54:46 -0800

how one should pronounce Kyrgyz? Good question. In my head, I've been saying "keer-giz" (with a hard G). That's probably wrong, though.

By: noahpoah

noahpoah — Sat, 19 May 2007 18:15:17 -0800

flapjax, as far as I know, it is a hard g. I found this site a while back while looking for information about Jan Yrgagy, a Kyrgyz 'duo' that I saw live a few years ago (at the lotus festival, for what it's worth). I put 'duo' in scare quotes because they just took turns, never playing together simultaneously. One guy played an odd little two stringed bowed instrument that would alternate between sounding like a bowed instrument and a flute (depending on the register), and the other guy would play very metal-y riffs (and do very metal-y stunts) on his little lute/ukelele thing and sing some of those unbearably long notes. It was one of the most amazing shows I've every seen. In case you guys haven't made it to this particular link from the site, make sure you check out Shüüdüngüt's Road [mp3] for a fine example of metal from the steppes. Before you know it, there'll be tens, maybe even scores, of us Kyrgyz music fans out there...

By: PeterMcDermott

PeterMcDermott — Sat, 19 May 2007 18:23:01 -0800

how one should pronounce Kyrgyz? Just call it Borat-beat.

By: k8t

k8t — Sat, 19 May 2007 18:28:44 -0800

Keer-geez is how most Americans pronounce it, but it is closer to "kur-guz."

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Sat, 19 May 2007 18:37:09 -0800

Keer-geez is how most Americans pronounce it, Of course, it's probably more accurate to say that most Americans don't pronounce it at all. ;-)

By: EricGjerde

EricGjerde — Sat, 19 May 2007 20:26:22 -0800

I'm one of the dozens- central asia has been a place of total fascination for me, ever since childhood. I just finished listening to a wonderful set of CDs from Turkmenistan, and this link has set me down a new path for yet more fantastic music from the Silk Road and beyond. You might also *really* like this CD, called "Music Furthest from the Sea: Pop Sounds of the Unstan, Vol 1" (it's a free download- the whole album, as MP3's). It's pop tracks from East Turkestan, or the Xinjiang province of PRC. Great stuff. Track number 1, "Dutarim", is a very catchy little song, which doesn't always hold true for central asian material. (I love it all, but you know what I mean...) I'm endlessly happy that there are people here on MetaFilter who have the same quirky tastes. Best $5 I've ever spent.

By: Abiezer

Abiezer — Sun, 20 May 2007 01:47:36 -0800

Thanks hama7. Had to access it via proxy for some reason. I would also like to poutily point out that I linked the Uyghur pop music in Eric's comment previously.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Sun, 20 May 2007 02:12:45 -0800

central asia has been a place of total fascination for me, ever since childhood. EricGjerde, perhaps then you'll already know something about this: The Shaman Turks of Tuva I came across it while gathering material for the FPP I did yesterday on Tuvan throat singing. I found it fascinating, though not appropriate for inclusion in the FPP, since these musicians don't use the throat singing technique. Seems appropriate to link to it in this thread, though.

By: Egg Go Boom

Egg Go Boom — Sun, 20 May 2007 08:21:27 -0800

That's the weirdest bluegrass I've ever heard.

By: EricGjerde

EricGjerde — Mon, 21 May 2007 06:45:40 -0800

Ah, Abiezer - my apologies! I thought I saw that link from mefi, but I couldn't seem to track it down. still getting the hang of this website. I am very thankful to you for posting that, it is fantastic. Much appreciated! I'll have to check out the Tuvan link when I'm not sitting behind the great firewall of china that we have here at work. I know it's important to keep the users from wasting all their time on YouTube, but there's singing Tuvan Shamans to watch! C'mon!

By: Abiezer

Abiezer — Mon, 21 May 2007 07:49:58 -0800

Only joking Eric - good on you for continuing to spread the word. It's not like I did more than paste a link.

By: Smedleyman

Smedleyman — Mon, 21 May 2007 10:35:21 -0800

There can be only one