CDs from Central Asia

Yat Kha - tuva.rock - $16.99
(cdRoots# wp-tuvarock)
As the title implies, there are moments where this is the most 'rock' recording by this contemporary Tuvan ensemble to date, a hard hitting, electric exploration of Tuvan roots and western rock. But just as often it is a gentle, folky and beautiful tribute to the folk music. Possibly YatKha's best to date.

Albert Kuvezin and Yat-Kha - Re-covers - $17.99
(cdRoots# wp-recovers)
OK, it had to happen, and Tuvan singer, electric guitarist and experimentalist Kuvezin is certainly the one to do it: Tuvan rooted recovers of pop and country 'hits' (although some here fall into the category of minor). So Led Zepellin's "When The Levee Breaks" gets an acid-rock throat-singing treatment to entrancing if somewhat unsettling results side by side with music from Kratfwerk, Motorhead, Hank Williams, Iron Butterfly, Paul Mauriat, Captain Beefheart ("Her Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles" is one of the gems of the set!), Joy Division and a few Central Asian hit-makers as well. Irresistible fun, and occasioanlly brilliant. (This is the 2006 US release)

Asiaminor - Along The Street (Ethno-Jazz, Turkey) - $18.99
(cdRoots# face-007)
Ethno-Jazz from Turkey

Ensemble Georgika - Tbilissi Vol. III - Traditional songs - $18.99
(cdRoots# face-015)
Traditional songs of Georgian men

Ensemble Mzetamze - Vol. I- Traditional songs of Georgian women - $18.99
(cdRoots# face-016)
Traditional songs of Georgian women

Ensemble Pesnokhorki - Vol. 1: Traditional Songs of the Cossacks - $18.99
(cdRoots# face-017)
Traditional songs of Cossacks

Bolot and Nohon - ÜÜch Süümer - Epic from the golden mountains of Altai - $18.99
(cdRoots# face-018)
Epic from the golden mountains of Altai

Ensemble Pesnokhorki - Barnaul Vol II - $18.99
(cdRoots# face-019)
Traditional songs of Siberia

Nohon - Altai Maktal - $18.99
(cdRoots# face-020)
from the golden Altai Mountains

Duo Temuzhin - Altai-Khangain-Ayalguu - Traditional songs of Mongolia - $18.99
(cdRoots# face-023)
Traditional songs of Mongolia

Ensemble Ardiin Ayalguu - Solongo - Traditional songs of Mongolia - $18.99
(cdRoots# face-024)
Traditional songs of Mongolia

Ensemble Temuzhin - Altai-Khangain-Ayalguu 2 -Traditional songs of Mongolia - $18.99
(cdRoots# face-026)
Traditional songs of Mongolia

Ensemble Tumbash - Ayalguu Vol. I- Traditional songs from Mongolia - $18.99
(cdRoots# face-027)
Traditional songs of Mongolia

Ensemble Tumbash - Höömij Vol. II- Traditional songs from Mongolia - $18.99
(cdRoots# face-028)
Traditional songs of Mongolia

Ensemble Tumbash - Urtyn duu Vol. III- Traditional songs from Mongolia - $18.99
(cdRoots# face-029)
Traditional songs of Mongolia

Ensemble Mzetamze - Vol. II - Traditional Georgian women's songs - $temp out of stock-18.99
(cdRoots# face-030)
6 women from the Tbilissi Conservatory - Ketevan Baïashvili, Nino Shvelidze, Ketevan Nikoladze, Nat'o Zumbadze, Nino Makharadze and Nana Valishvili - join together to form an ensemble dedicated exclusively to the musical traditions of Georgian women.

Ensemble Khreshchaty Yar - Vol. I- Traditional songs from the Ukraine - $18.99
(cdRoots# face-031)
Traditional songs from the Ukraine

Ensemble Karot - Vol. I- Traditional songs of Armenia - $temp out of stock-18.99
(cdRoots# face-033)
Traditional songs of Armenia

Ensemble Bürler - Vol. I- Traditional songs of Kazakh - $18.99
(cdRoots# face-035)
Traditional songs of Kazakh

Ensemble Üch Süme-R - Traditional songs of the Khakass and the Altai people - $18.99
(cdRoots# face-038)

Ensemble Khan Bogd - Ayalguu - Vol. I - Mongolian Impressions - $18.99
(cdRoots# face-043)
Traditional instrumental and vocal music from Mongolia.

Ensemble Khan Bogd - Magtaal - Hoomij - Vol. II - $18.99
(cdRoots# face-044)
An ensemble founded in 1997. All Khan Bogd's members have studied at the academy of music in Ulaanbaatar. This volume is a presentation of praise songs (magtaal) and throat singing (höömij).

Ensemble Khan Bogd - Chinggis Ayalguu - Vol. III - Traditional songs from Mongolia - $18.99
(cdRoots# face-051)
The ensemble was founded in 1997 by members of the Academy of Music in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. They use a number vocal styles: khöömij (throat singing), magtaal (praise songs) and traditional songs for women accompanied by tovshuur (lute), morin khuur (horse-head fiddle), yoochin (table zither), khuuchir (a spike fiddle), yatga (large tubular zither) and small percussion; as well as intrumental pieces for dance.

Ensemble Khan Bogd - Ardiin Ayalguu - Vol. IV - Traditional songs from Mongolia - $18.99
(cdRoots# face-052)
The ensemble was founded in 1997 by members of the Academy of Music in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. They use a number vocal styles: khöömij (throat singing), magtaal (praise songs) and traditional songs for women accompanied by tovshuur (lute), morin khuur (horse-head fiddle), yoochin (table zither), khuuchir (a spike fiddle), yatga (large tubular zither) and small percussion; as well as intrumental pieces for dance.

Various - Tuva: Voices from the Center of Asia - $13.99
(cdRoots# fw-40017)

Sainkho Namtchylak - Aura: Solo, Duo, Trio (3 CD set) - $36.99
(cdRoots# hm-sainkho-aura)

Sainkho Namtchylak - Time Out (Seven Songs for Tuva) - $16.99
(cdRoots# hm-sainkho-time)

Huun Huur Tu - Ancestors Call - $17.99
(cdRoots# hm-wv468107)
Huun-Huur-Tu come from the former Soviet Autonomous Republic of Tuva, a sparsely settled region of grasslands, boreal forests, and mountain ridges that lies 2,500 miles east of Moscow Russia, situated at the center of Asia, north of Mongolia. On this 2010 release (recorded in 2008) the ensemble stays on the acoustic side, exoploring new ideas while staying true to the roots. An excellent idea after some rather tepid recent outings into the world of ambient-fluff! Listen and Listen again

Altiplano and Siyavush Kerimi - Transatlantic Non-stop - $18.99
(cdRoots# kkv-316)
Altiplano from Ecuador and Chile and Siyavush Kerimi from Azerbaijan have created a unique and uplifting recording together. 'Salam-Hola' was the working title of the project, suggesting just what you hear, a striking mix of South American moods and Brazilian samba twists, sliding into the oriental Mugam improvisations with unexpected turns. The Andes and Caucasus seem to have an affinity, at least when brought together by these musicians.

various - Ethnology - Sketis Music - $13.99
(cdRoots# sketis-eth)
14 track sampler of the Russian Sketis lable features Reel, Volga, Drobinska, Samosad Band, Ivan Smrnov, Namghar, Tellen Gwad. A mix of ethnix and modern-roots derivitives from Russia and central Asia.

Sergei Sverev - Olonkho Doidutui Toiyuga - $14.99
(cdRoots# sverev1)
Sergei Afanas'evich Zverev (1900-1973), also known as Kyyl Uola, is considered by many to be one of the greatest Sakha musicians of this century. This is a restored and re-mastered edition of his first recording, made in 1951.

Topic World Series - Vocal and instrumental music of Mongolia - $special order
(cdRoots# topic-909)
The peoples of Mongolia prize singing and sung poetry, and this album, collected by Jean Jenkins, includes remarkable examples of highly ornamented lyrical song. The accompaniments and instrumental music are chiefly on the morinxuur (two-stringed fiddle) or limbe (flute), but there are also recordings of the yatga (zither), yenchin (hammered dulcimer) and jew's harp. (Special order item... e-mail for info)

Various Asian Artists - Before the Revolution - $special order
(cdRoots# topic-921)
A 1909 Recording Expedition In The Caucasus And Central Asia By The Gramophone Company, music from Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Chechnya and other culture groups in the northern Caucasus, as well as Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Xinjiang in Central Asia

various - Songs From The Steppes: Kazakh Music Today - $special order
(cdRoots# topic-929)
Invited to judge a classical piano competition in the Kazakh capital, Astana, music critic Michael Church stumbled on a parallel competition for players on the flute and horse-hair fiddle, and for ballad singers self-accompanied on the lute. Realising that the cultural heritage of this vast and politically crucial land was unknown in the West, Church went back to record Kazakh nomad music in both Astana and in the old capital, Almaty, near the border with Kyrgystan. Church's recordings reflect the vigour of Kazakhstan's present-day bardic tradition, and the virtuosity of the horse-hard fiddlers. It also reveals the music young musicians are creating with ancient instruments like the jew's harp and zither which combine with the richness of Kazakhstan's vocal music. A unique look at a culture not often heard from.

various - Falak, The Voice Of Destiny: Traditional, Popular and Symphonic Music Of Tajikistan (2 CDs) - $special order
(cdRoots# topic-932)
Falak, (literally "sky" or "destiny") is a characteristic musical genre of the rural mountain regions of Tajikistan in Central Asia. Falak songs "cry to the sky" of the transient nature of life and separation from loved ones induced by a perceived inescapable fate. Tajik mountain music also comprises folk, dance and wedding songs, as well as a tradition of epic singing and settings of Persian classical poems. This double CD highlights the crossover – the continuity and change – between rural and urban, traditional and modern, old and new, and includes exciting contemporary popular and symphonic music. Whether rooted in local practices or borrowed from elsewhere, all these musical expressions belong ultimately to the Tajik people and forma fertile musical world with a distinctive Tajik character.

Various - Songs Of Defiance - Music Of Chechnya And The North Caucasus - $19.99
(cdRoots# topic-934)
In this first ever survey of the music of this region, Michael Church shows us a vibrant musical tradition. The small but troubled Republic of Chechnya is a member of the Russian Federation, located in the North Caucasus Mountains between the Black and Caspian Seas. With a population of a little more that one million, its fight for independence has kept it in the news and kept visitors out. Michael Church has recorded and compiled the stunning music on this disc, partly in Chechnya itself. Some of the tracks are love songs and circle dances, others are living history, accompanied by balalaika, violin, drum and accordion, these songs celebrate heroes and denounce genocidal crimes.

Various (2 CDs) - Songs Of Survival - Traditional Music Of Georgia - $24.99
(cdRoots# topic-935)
Georgia lies on the Black Sea to the west, shares borders with Turkey and Armenia in the south and Azerbaijan in the east. Formerly part of the Soviet Union, Georgia is a small, very mountainous and poor country with a population of under five million but with a rich and ancient cultural life, mainly centring around music. Considering itself European, Georgia is at the crossroads of the east and west, a Christian country influenced by its Muslim neighbours. Songs of Survival is a comprehensive survey of the traditional music of Georgia with well over two hours of mostly vocal music celebrating the three part polyphonies that lie at the heart of its musical life. There is a 28 page illustrated booklet with copious background notes as well as notes on the songs and performances - hymns, carols, lullabies, work songs, wrestling music, wedding songs, healing songs, city songs. Georgia's male polyphony is one of the musical wonders of the world. Both archaic and modernist, and melding influences from east and west

Anthology of World Music - The Music of Azerbaijan - $17.99
(cdRoots# roun-5142)

Shu-de - Kongurei - $17.99
(cdRoots# rd-shude)
voices from Tuva' - instrumental and vocal music from Central Aisa

Zulya - elusive - $17.99
(cdRoots# wp-elusive)
Contemporary music from the steppes of Tatarstan. Zulya Kamalova creates and album of exquisite songs inspired by both the music of the world and by her own Tatar heritage. Accompanied by a sparse, ingenious ensemble (of everything from Tartar fiddle and jews arp to accordion and bass), this is an artful, beautiful recording.

Zulya - Aloukie - $17.99
(cdRoots# wp-aloukie)
From a musician with roots in Russia, Tartarstan and Australian, Zulya sings original and traditional songs in her Tartar dialect, accompanied by a diverse, global ensemble of kora, oud, bouzouki, piano, litungu, jaw harp, kalimba, tuba, flugel horn, sax, tabla, ghatam, violin, accordion, and others. This is her 2000 release.

Various Afghan artists - Afghanistan Untouched - $17.99
(cdRoots# tc-afghan)
2 CD sets explores the many different musical springs in this country, including Uzbek, Tajik, Pashtun, Hazara, Herati, Kazakh and Turkmen