Cutting through the ego with song...

August 31, 2011 8:31 AM

We've talked about throat singing on the Blue before, but Mongolia and Siberia aren't the only places where throat singing is practiced. In Tibet, an ancient collection of traditions called Bön keeps throat singing alive and well.

Some scholars*[PDF] say that Bön is the remnants of a pre-Buddhist religious tradition, while others say it’s merely a persistent selection of local beliefs that arose after Buddhism’s arrival. Either way, overtone singing is an integral part of their practice. Feast your ears on some cross-cultural sacred chant by listening to the eerie, beautiful recordings of a Moscow-based group of Tantric Voice singers. Perhaps one day you might even try it yourself.

*For a brief summary of Bön historical accounts, see page 7

posted by WidgetAlley (5 comments total)

(After more than 5 years, my first post on the Blue! I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I enjoyed putting it together.)
posted by WidgetAlley at 8:32 AM on August 31, 2011

This album, released a couple of days ago, features an American guy doing some pretty nice throat singing along with his cousin Kurt on instrumentals.
posted by kozad at 1:13 PM on August 31, 2011

The ancient Buddhist roots of industrial music
posted by homunculus at 2:47 PM on August 31, 2011

Raquy and the Cavemen are a nice group that I stumbled upon while camping in West Virginia a couple of weeks ago. They absolutely blew my mind while I was umm, you know, looking at the stars man...
posted by XhaustedProphet at 9:48 PM on August 31, 2011

Thank you WidgetAlley! I really appreciate this!
posted by EricGjerde at 3:28 PM on September 2, 2011