Two years ago, a song "Lost Rivers" was widely disseminated on major social networking sites in China, and the various voices in the song that challenged the limits of human beings made the song's hits and comments exceeded hundreds of thousands, and many people commented that the song "ordinary people can't insist on listening to it for 10 seconds", and the original singer of this song, the female singer Sanko · Sainkho Namtchylak has also entered the eyes of more Chinese audiences. Shanko has performed in China many times, and on May 24 (this Friday), she will once again appear with the band at the Beijing Poly Theater with the band, bringing "Shanko and the Band: The Naked Soul" concert.
Courtesy of the organizer
Born in 1957 in the Republic of Tuva, Sanko was the first soprano of the Tuva Republic Orchestra, and she has an excellent vocal range spanning seven octaves, and has been called "the most amazing super girl in the world today". It is reported that Shanko learned to sing since she was a child, and when she grew up, she went to Moscow to learn vocal music, and in addition to the traditional Humai singing method of Tuva, she also acquired many traditional vocal techniques of lamas and shamanicism.
After settling in Europe, Shanko has long been in the experimental and jazz circles, combining Tuva's Humai with Western jazz, classical music, and ambient music, and using powerful vocal techniques to shape an experimental style of Oriental music.
(Note: "Humai" is a overtone chant technique that sings "double voices" through throat tightening.) "Double voice" refers to a person's ability to make two different sounds at the same time when singing, which is the most touching place for the listener. Hume tones can be higher than 4200 Hz or less than 50 Hz, far beyond the average person's 100-400 Hz sound range. ）
The Beijing News talked to Shanko to explore more possibilities of sound.
Lost Rivers: You can't scream like you did 26 years ago
Beijing News: Do you know that your work "Lost Rivers" is popular on Chinese music platforms and video sites? Can you share the birth process of this work?
Sanko: I know, but Lost Rivers is a 50-minute music album, not just a 7-minute scream track. In 1993, I published Out of Tuva in Belgium and Lost Rivers in Germany, and both albums were well received.
The cover of the Lost Rivers album, the screen-skimmed song of the same name, is from the album.
Out of Tuva is a 60-minute album that represents the beauty of Tuvan songs and interprets world music in a modern form, while Lost River is a 50-minute experimental avant-garde music that I try to express all my feelings about the transformative Russian and Tuvan society of the time. I sincerely hope that Chinese audiences will hear not only my 7-minute cry about the river disappearing, but all the other songs on this album. It may be interesting to find that it bears similarities with many traditional Chinese cultures, such as Peking Opera, but that the music was created in another form.
Beijing News: Your voice experimental performance is loved by many audiences, but there will also be voices that do not understand. What do you think of those incomprehensible eyes?
Sanko: There are always many aspects of the art of singing, not only sweet sounds, but sometimes disturbing or dramatic sounds are also needed, depending entirely on each person's personal choice, but the possibility of this choice must be given to the listener. I want my listeners to be wise enough to respect me for interpreting my story in different forms in my songs, or to preserve my narrative of the life I saw or felt. That 7-minute scream in Lost Rivers is the most extreme thing I can do, but that was 26 years ago, and now I can't scream like that because I'm a lot older, and the power of my voice is producing different values.
Sankoe performs in state. Courtesy of the organizer
Tuva: The magic land of overtone singing culture
Beijing News: For Chinese audiences, Tuva is a mysterious country. What memories do you have of the land that nurtured you?
Sanko: Tuva is a magical country, and it's hard to explain why, but it's true, maybe because of the overtone singing culture. In fact, there are many beautiful places in this world, such as when I passed through Siberia, I saw many Tuva-like landscapes, but I will never confuse them with my land. I'm a small-town girl who spent many summers living in the countryside with my parents, and maybe that's why a lot of my music is about nature, summer, and beautiful landscapes.
Beijing News: The first time you came to China was in 2003. In the past 16 years, what changes have occurred in China in your eyes?
Sanko: The changes are huge and profound. For example, on my first visit to China, we had to drive to the venue because it was difficult for taxis to travel through the bike fleet. Now I see a lot less bikes and a lot more cars on the streets of Beijing, and it's a small but powerful example of how much China has changed in the last 16 years.
Beijing News: After coming to China many times, have you met like-minded Chinese artists? Once you revealed that you are creating a related work of Wang Luobin, what is the current progress of this work?
Shanko: I got to know many artists from Hong Kong, Taipei, Shenyang, and the guitarist Lao Wu of the Tang Dynasty Band. I love this project, Wang Luobin, because he was the first person to try to integrate traditional instruments and melodies into academic music, and he is a model of outstanding Chinese musicians and popular music composers of the 20th century.
Admonition: In this age when everything sounds the same, be yourself
Beijing News: I am curious about your living state in normal times? Do you travel around a lot to absorb the nourishment of creation? Do you have your own unique way of perceiving everything in the world?
Sanko: No, in everyday life I have the same style as everyone else, and I don't think I'm special at all. I'm very fortunate to have a creative ability that can be perceived, and people care if it's a singing or shouting from the heart. So it's the hardest thing to touch people's hearts, and it's my life's work.
Beijing News: Do you know that there is an excellent female singer in China named Gong Linna, who has been your fan for many years. For these young female singers who respect and love you, what do you most want to warn them?
Sanko: First of all, I'm honored to be listened to and be their favorite singer. It's important for me to know about it. But I'm not a star, I'm just an unusual singer. One piece of advice for these singers is to come and meet me, to help me learn Chinese, and I will help them learn more about sound, art and singing, which is difficult if the language is not clear. Also, how to express it more honestly in singing? It's important to remember this. In this day and age, all standardization is making everything look the same, it sounds the same, so this is a very difficult time for us to be self-sustaining and need to get some deep ideas across to the audience.
Beijing News reporter Yang Chang Editor Tian Kaini Proofreader Li Shihui