Vladimir Okonovich Karuev (born 2 April 1957), better known by his Kalmyk name Okna Tsahan Zam, is a Kalmyk folk singer, known for his

throat singing Throat singing refers to several vocal practices found in different cultures around the world. The most distinctive feature of such vocal practices is to be associated to some type of guttural voice, that contrasts with the most common types of voi ...

and as a performer of the Kalmyk national epic ''

Jangar The epic of Jangar or Jangar epic ( xal-RU, Җаңһр, translit=Cañhr, ; mn, , Жангар, translit=Jangar, ) is a traditional oral epic poem (''tuuli'') of the Mongols. The original name of the Kalmyk is Oirats. It was long thought to be pa ...

''.

Biography

Okna Tsahan Zam does not have a traditional music education. According to an interview he gave to

Tim Cope Tim Cope (born 7 December 1978) is an Australian adventurer, author, filmmaker, trekking guide, and public speaker who grew up in Gippsland, Victoria. He has learned to speak fluent Russian and specializes in countries of the former Soviet Union. ...

, an adventure filmmaker and author, he was educated in Moscow as a nuclear engineer and worked at a nuclear power plant. He turned to Kalmyk culture in his twenties and became a performer of the national epic ''

''. He toured extensively in Mongolia, as well as in Europe. Okna Tsahan Zam performs in the Khoomei style, a type of

Tuvan throat singing Tuvan throat singing, the main technique of which is known as ''khoomei'' ( tyv, хөөмей, xöömej, mn, хөөмий; ᠬᠦᠭᠡᠮᠡᠢ, khöömii, russian: хоомей, Chinese: 呼麦, pinyin: ''hūmài''), includes a type of overt ...

, common in Mongolia,

Tuva Tuva (; russian: Тува́) or Tyva ( tyv, Тыва), officially the Republic of Tuva (russian: Респу́блика Тыва́, r=Respublika Tyva, p=rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə tɨˈva; tyv, Тыва Республика, translit=Tyva Respublika ...

and

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

. In 2005, he collaborated with

Tanya Tagaq Tanya may refer to: * Tanya (Judaism),an early work of Hasidic philosophy by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi. * Tanya (name), a given name and list of people with the name * Tanya or Lara Saint Paul (born 1946) * List of Mortal Kombat characters#Tany ...

, a Canadian Inuit throat singer, and Wimme, a

Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise net ...

yoik A joik or yoik (anglicised, where the latter spelling in English conforms with the pronunciation; also named , , , or in the Sámi languages) is a traditional form of song in Sámi music performed by the Sámi people of Sapmi in Northern Europ ...

er from

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, to release the recording ''Shaman Voices''. According to ''The Concise Garland Encyclopedia of World Music'', he "intersperses traditional Mongolian stringed and wind instruments and throat-singing styles with natural steppeland sounds and experiments with urban remixes". Okna Tsahan Zam is a recipient of the Mongolian

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of the ...

, the highest civilian award Mongolia can present to a foreign citizen. In 2002, he was awarded the Mongolian ''Golden Microphone Award'' for his song ''Edjin Duun''.Okna Tsahan Zam
''Last.fm''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Okna Tsahan Zam Living people Kalmyk singers Throat singing 1957 births