Eerie, but cool "Janglyk" by Kambar & Kutman on Kyrgyz jaw harps

In Kyrgyzstan ethnic culture the Jaws or Jews Harp is known as the Temir komuz which literally means "Iron Jaw harp". Shaped in the form of a broken, stretched circle with two prongs, and attached to the center is a steel plate. The shape and size of the instrument provides the fundamental note that the reed produces.

In the video below we experience two master musicians from Kyrgyzstan, Kambar Kalendarov and Kutman Sultanbekov,  playing their Kyrgyz jaw harps, performing a piece entitled "Janglyk", or "Novelty", which is available on their debut album, JAW, from Cantaloupe Music.

Reminiscent of the mesmerizing entrancing Tuvan throat singing, Kambar & Kutman entertain us with their Kyrgyz Jaws Harps expelling ringing exotic tones of canorous harmonies creating an eerie psychedelic density that is undeniably spooky, but cool.

Mesmerizing Entrancing Tuvan Throat Singing

is rooted within their interaction with their environment. The sounds and soundings within it have inspired them to create a style of singing in which two or more pitches sound simultaneously over a fundamental pitch.

Tuva a tiny republic of southern Siberia, reverberates in long eerie wind swept cadences, together with whistling birds, bubbling streams, howling wolves and brutishly cold wide open country of icy lakes, fields and the occasional mountain range.

Truly interactive with nature geographically situates Tuvan's oral tradition within what we understand as onomatopoeia or the word that describes words which "sound like they are".

The actual lyrics that the ethnic Tuvan lads, are singing in this first video, are

"Channna ham nah channa channa

OOOOoOOooOOOoeAaaAAaAAaaAAAhHHHhhHheeeEe­EEeEAaAaeEEEEEeeEEeE AAaaEeeEeeeaaaaAAaAaaEEeEEoOoOOooOeEEeAA­aAahHHhhhHEeeEeEEEoO ooOOO"

So in case your wondering how it maybe possible to sing like the Tuvan's, Vocatrix, demonstrates, in this next video his interpretive assessment of low throat oscillation singing, where he likens it to the sound of the Didgeridoo. Nevertheless I'm really taken aback by Vocatrix's ability to create on the fly beatbox rhythm with low throat singing, towards the end of his tutorial.



Read and listen to  the many variants and styles of Tuvan throat singing,  here or equally fascinating are their guitar like instruments.