Walking down a side street one day, I noticed the sign of a road side bar that read "Live House". Wondering if it was referring to live music, I ducked my head in to see. I found a fairly new, trendy bar. I immediately noticed the minority style rugs and dombra hanging on the wall next to the small stage. "Do you guys have live music?", I asked. They did indeed have live music but unfortunately didn't start for several more hours that evening. Heading home I made a mental note to come back.
It was several weeks before I made it back over there. The first set was a middle-aged woman doing covers of lame pop songs. She had a decent voice; that style just doesn't do it for me. Just as she was ending, three guys walked in and began setting up. I was intrigued to see a dombra as part of the set up (the dombra is a two-stringed instrument from the lute family played by Kazakhs throughout Western China and Central Asia). I knew I'd found something special as soon as they started playing. Talking later to the members of Jiang, I discovered a local guy that has taken an interest in the historically nomadic cultures of Northern Xinjiang. His music pulls from the traditions of Kazakhs, Mongolians, and Tuvans. He's learned to play domba, Jews Harp, and a rare flute called the sybyzgy. Jiang even taught himself Khoomei (throat singing) that he incorporates in his music. What was particularly striking was that Jiang is not actually from any of these ethnic groups and is still able understand and skillfully weave these folk styles into his music. Below is one of my favorite songs by Jiang, a Kazakh folk tune called Iligay. Thanks go to Jeremy for the video footage!
It was several weeks before I made it back over there. The first set was a middle-aged woman doing covers of lame pop songs. She had a decent voice; that style just doesn't do it for me. Just as she was ending, three guys walked in and began setting up. I was intrigued to see a dombra as part of the set up (the dombra is a two-stringed instrument from the lute family played by Kazakhs throughout Western China and Central Asia). I knew I'd found something special as soon as they started playing. Talking later to the members of Jiang, I discovered a local guy that has taken an interest in the historically nomadic cultures of Northern Xinjiang. His music pulls from the traditions of Kazakhs, Mongolians, and Tuvans. He's learned to play domba, Jews Harp, and a rare flute called the sybyzgy. Jiang even taught himself Khoomei (throat singing) that he incorporates in his music. What was particularly striking was that Jiang is not actually from any of these ethnic groups and is still able understand and skillfully weave these folk styles into his music. Below is one of my favorite songs by Jiang, a Kazakh folk tune called Iligay. Thanks go to Jeremy for the video footage!
This second clip features the Jews Harp. Listen carefully. Be sure to catch the Khoomei (throat singing) and Jews Harp done simultaneously.