Agitator

Many Songlines readers will know Radik Tyulyush through his long-term involvement with the Tuvan throat-singing ‘supergroup,’ Huun-Huur-Tu. Although he spent the early part of his career playing mostly for Tuvan rock bands (he was previously a member of Yat-Kha), Tyulyush has since embraced a more traditional side of Tuvan music. In 2005 he recorded his first solo album, Tuva: Spirits of My Land, with the help of Cambridge-based ethnomusicologist Carole Pegg. Agitator is Radik Tyulyush’s third solo album, and the second released under the banner of his Chalama Project – the word refers to coloured ribbons that appear tied on the branches of sacred trees, or at sacred places in Tuva called ovaa.

While its predecessor was recorded using entirely Tuvan instruments, on Agitator modern elements such as fretless bass and subtle electronic programming sit effortlessly alongside old Tuvan instruments including igil (a two-stringed bowed instrument), shoor (an end-blown flute) and byzaanchy (four-string spike fiddle). For the most part the music remains unmistakably Tuvan, with most of the tracks on the album being new arrangements of traditional songs. Tyulyush’s sublime throat-singing, used sparingly enough for it to seem special every time it appears, is of course one of the major highlights. Overall, Agitator is the sound of an assured and inspired artist.