When Bob Dylan first plugged in his guitar, he was castigated by purists for violating folk tradition. Eventually, they got over it. So it went for Albert Kuvezin, musical visionary and founder of the Tuvan band, Yat-Kha.
Albert grew up with the Siberian Republic's traditional folk music, based around the impossible sounding art of throat singing, but with the help of illicit tapes and western radio broadcasts he developed a passion for blues, rock, and punk, and wanted to blend it all. Local Communists repressed his fusion, saying Kuvezin had "a bad mind".
With perestroika came a greater acceptance of Yat-Kha's sound, and the band is now on its first American tour. Yat-Kha - It's Tuvan punk - thundering across a new continent and our studio.
