Throat singing = Tom Waits?

Saw a Khakassian band on Saturday night. Khakass being the oblast to the northwest of Tuva, the ethnic groups being close cousins to one another. It was a trio, two men and a woman. The men would alternate between a mid-range singing voice and the gravely anti-falsetto that serves as the base tone for throat singing. About every third song included a refrain or passage in which the voice would split into multiple tones.

It was haunting. Not just the throat singing, but the music itself. Sometimes you think of Asian music as dissonant or jarring in some other way. Not this. This was downright pleasant.

www.sabjilar.com


That and a nice dinner on Sunday served as this year's anniversary. I remain head of heels smitten, and am looking forward to many more years of joint decision making, cohabitating, and daily sharing of all the little joys that make up marriage.