TURKIC THROAT SINGING MUSIC

Coming in with a quite extraordinary vocal technique, the "Throat Singing Music" refers to traditional music by Altai of the South Siberia, Hakas, Tuvinians and Mongols. Derived from the thousand years old saga, Shaman prayers of Shamanism and melodies; the throat singing music simply mirrors history to our present day. We are going to introduce this very special music with a very special artist.

Performing throat singing, a music of the South Siberian Turkic community and the Mongols; Akdeniz Erbaş started his undergraduate studies at the Japanese Language and Literature Department at the Faculty of Language, History and Geography/Ankara University, he is currently enrolled at the Contemporary Modern Dialects and Literatures at the Faculty of Literature/ Hacı Bayram Veli University.

As a throat singer, Akdeniz Erbaş performed the thousands years old music at Altai Festival in South Korea in addition to a set of concerts he appeared at the universities including without limitation Başkent, Hacettepe, Ankara, Gazi, Osmangazi, Anadolu, Pamukkale, Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli, METU, TOBB in Turkey.

Performing this very special music in Anatolia which originates from the homeland of the Turks, Akdeniz Erbaş shared with us his works and opinions on throat singing music.

Shamans are in contact with the spirits on the earth and heavens. They convey the holy knowledge of the nature to people by using the sounds of nature.

How did you come across with the Turkic Throat Singing Music, and how did you learn singing it?

Actually it was by chance when I saw it on YouTube. I saw a video wherein Kongar-ool Ondar of the Tuvinian Turks appeared on a TV show in USA. After that, I came across with the throat singing music from different regions, namely, Altai Kai, Alash, Khusugtun. I listened again and again and created my own melody out of it. This is how I got to learn it.

What is the philosophy of the Turkic Throat Singing Music?

Basically, the throat music mirrors the nature. This music reflects the nature sounds, the wuthering of the winter winds, the cry of a camel, which is called weeping, and the thunder. Shamans are in contact with the spirits on the earth and heavens. They convey the holy knowledge of the nature to people by using the sounds of nature. This music is influential not only on us as we somehow still have a cultural bond with the Turks and the Mongols living there, but also on all the people on the earth because, I guess the music is not that much detached from the nature after all.