New Oidupaa Sample

[throatsinger]

As you may know, last summer I recorded 8 tracks by Vladimir Oiyun Oidupaa. Very high quality, originally 1-bit 5.86 MHz DSF recordings, super intimate, mixing to 44.1k/ 24-bit. Working now on final mixes, liner notes, translations, etc. I'm hoping to have it all ready to sell via downloads (no plans for physical copies) in a month or two.

Here is a sample, his song "Only You" (high-quality mp3): http://khoomei.com/mp3s/onlyyounewmix

If you like this, PLEASE be sure to buy the final release versions!

[Synapse309]

Wow. I bet this would mark the first time a "traditional" Tuvan singer's recordings are sold exclusively digital. A milestone indeed. The 21st Century hi-tech Tuvan record. It's so awesome an idea, it might have been thought up by a Canadian.

I am serious, this is cool. I'm a total tech geek myself and virtually ALL my music is digital. A lot of my old CDs have long since been lost or are scratched or cracked beyond repair, I do not own a turntable, and since my cassette walkman died, I don't really have the songs I own on tape any more, either. It makes me feel fuzzy to imagine owning a "CD" without ever having to experience the loss of the liner notes, the whole case or the disc itself.

Aside from that: the mix is beautiful. Good leveling, Steve You DID improve this track. I heard the raw version of this and this mix is really good.

You'll post how to get it, when you're done, right? (duh, like I needed to even type that...)

[BrianQ]

That was interesting, and well done!

I did not hear the raw version, but none the less, sounds great. Good luck on the project.

Thought you lost this when you got riffed in Mongolia, glad I was wrong.

[throatsinger]

No, when Andrew got ripped-off, he lost his computer, Zoom recorder, etc. He had a backup of the session; we also have a video backup.

Fortunately, I hauled a Korg MR 1000 DSD recorder, condenser mics, cords, shock mounts, power supplies, a zillion batteries and such across Mongolia and Siberia, to a combination of amusement and chagrin for those with me. But I'm glad I did.

[Synapse309]

Wow, talk about thinking ahead, eh?

[throatsinger]

Well, if it's worth doing, and all that, right? We could have brought a simple all-in-one unit, but I really wanted a great sound, and I think for the most part it was successful.

[throatsinger]

Here's a fun little tale from Oidupaa, close as I can recall it: " One winter when I was a young boy, starting to throat-sing, my mother told me that singing sygyt might make it snow more. But she said 'Kargyraa, now that's a fine thing for a man to sing.'"

And FWIW, I'm told he was born in Teeli.

[Synapse309]

Forgive my ignorance...

Is snow a bad thing in Tuva because of the sparse grazing grounds in winter? I mean, if Sygyt makes it snow and Kargyraa is a fine thing in contrast, it might mean that bringing more snow is not an appreciated activity.

And I couldn't find Teeli either...

I agree 100% on the decision to bring the cumbersome Korg with you. All-in-ones are backup solutions only when you really can't bring the good unit. And evidently you were truly correct in making that choice because the result is phenomenal.

[throatsinger]

Progress continues: Now we have all song lyrics in Tuvan/Russian, also transliterations and English translations. Plus remarks by Valentina Suzukei, and mixes nearly finished. Feeling very enthusiastic about this project!

[hjernespiser]

I'm looking forward to the finished product!

[throatsinger]

The Oidupaa mixes are done! Getting closer to release time... some stuff I can share:

Here's an excerpt from one of his favorite, mellowest tunes, Айлан кужум (Ailan-Kuzhum), or My Nightingale. So, no Ubai-Ubai here ;-) It's also the only cover song, written by the late Begzi Kaadyr-ool.

Эзим арга ыраажызы
Эзим чуртуг айлан кужум.
Эртенги хун хаяазынга
Эрээн каазын ырлап берем.

Айлан кужум,
Чараш кужум
Аныяк чаш ынакшылым!

Translation:
You are a singer in the forest
You are a nightingale-bird that was born in a forest.
At the early sunrise
Could you please sing your beautiful song?

You are my nightingale-bird
You are lovely
My young beautiful love!

http://khoomei.com/mp3s/Ailan-Kuzhumexcerpt.mp3

©2011 Skysong Productions, Inc.
All Rights Reserved

We recorded at the large, dead room at Radio Tuva, on my equipment that we schlepped across Mongolia and a good chunk of Siberia. Recording unit was the superlative, ultra-high quality Korg MR-1000, running at 1-bit/5.86 MHz.

We brought the Korg, extra power supplies and a ton of batteries, a few Blue cables and a few old Oktava MC-012 mics (didn't want to risk anything more expensive, plus I dug the idea of bringing the old Russian-made mics to Tuva). Used the Korg's built-in preamps and they sounded great!

I used Korg's AudioGate software to convert the 2-track files to 24-bit/44.1KHz and mixed in Digital Performer at our studio.

We had only about 3 hours at RT. We were booked for the day before, and the guy at the station was not so happy as he was starting his vacation that day, and wanted us to hurry up and leave. Fortunately, Oidupaa warmed up for a bit, and once we began recording we did each song in only one take.

For backup/safeties, we used Andrew Colwell's Zoom unit, which sadly was stolen in Irkutsk, and Johnna also recorded Digital8 video. We plan to include some of the video in a "Collector Quality" package, along with the 24-bit mixes, lyrics in Tuvan/Russian, transliterations, and English translations, some photos, and notes by Valentina Suzukei and myself. The less-expensive version will probably include 320-bit mp3s, and no video.

Enjoy, and PLEASE buy it when we release it!

[Synapse309]

I wish all CD sales pitches were this mouth-watering.... plus, the previews I heard were phenomenal, so I am definitely saving some money for this one...

[Alzin]

The two samples in this thread are the only snippets I heard of Oidupaa, and now I hope I can get the CD... hopefully even the expensive version.