Karen Ponzio Photos
Alash
It was yet another hot and humid summer day in New Haven, which has seemed almost empty at times due to summer breaks and vacations. But the air-conditioned Cafe Nine was well packed with an audience that were transported for an hour or so on their own little break — to the center of Asia.
Almost exactly one year ago, Alash Ensemble, a trio of throat singers from Tuva, brought down the house at Cafe Nine as they kicked off their 2017 North American tour. This year they came back as part of their 2018 tour to play another show, this time on a Sunday afternoon as part of Cafe Nine’s Sunday Buzz series.
Tuvan throat singing is magical to witness (watch the videos to witness it yourself). The singers can produce more than one pitch in their throat at the same time, some reminding one of the sounds of nature, some sounding like musical instruments themselves. The combination of them along with other musical instruments creates an almost otherworldly effect. Each member of the trio is a master of the technique, enough to conduct workshops in it.
The three members of Alash — Ayan-ool Sam, Bady-Dorzhu Ondar, and Ayan Shirizhik — came to the stage together amid applause from the crowd. Shirizhik offered a “good afternoon” and asked how everyone was.
“We are from Tuva. We play traditional songs about mountains, horses, and girls,” he said with a smile and received much laughter from the audience.
The trio took their seats and opened with a song that truly showcased their vocal talents. Lyrics were interspersed with sounds that brought to mind a tambourine and a whistle, and if you closed your eyes you could almost imagine that someone was up there playing those instruments rather than using their voice to make those sounds. They immediately received rousing applause after they were done, and then went into a song Shirizhik said was about ancestors, adding that it was “for Tuvan ancestors, your ancestors, all the ancestors.”
The band added instrumentals to this song and many others that followed. The multi-instrumentalists used a variety of traditional Tuvan instruments, among others. In a see-it-to-believe-it moment, Sam performed a solo utilizing a mouth harp and added throat singing simultaneously much to the amazement of the audience. In fact, this reporter almost dropped her camera while filming it (you can see the camera shift during the video).
Each member of the trio performed a solo as well as harmonized together, the sounds ranging from the “high style” of Shirizhik to the “low style” of Ondar, who also added an accordion to his solo. Despite the distance from here to the center of Asia, Tuvan music has something in common with American music. At times one got the sense of a bluesy folk rock. Other times there was an old country feel. At times it even felt like a psychedelic jam of sorts. A few times the beat picked up and audience members were seen nodding heads and tapping toes, but for the most part they were held captive. This was the most continuously enraptured audience I believe I have ever witnessed at Cafe Nine. You could see mouths open in awe, many wide smiles, and even a few teary eyes, but there was minimal if any chatter for the entire set. Applause resounded after each and every song.
The set ended as it began, with the trio layering their vocals upon each other, and for those moments it was not difficult for me to feel as though I was near the river in Tuva the band is named after, hearing the water ripple and the birds and animals tell their stories to each other. It was an unexpected journey out of my own head and into a mini vacation of my own. And speaking of journeys, Shirizhak mentioned after receiving prolonged cheers and applause that they would be driving next to Chicago.
“We are happy playing for you,” he added.