Yat-Kha - Khan Party 23 - CAS

Kota Tones is proud to present our 30th Anniversary restoration of Yat-Kha's debut cassette «Khan Party 93», remastered from the original analog mixes of the rare audio tape—not to be found on the subsequent CD «Yat-Kha/Anthropophagy» from General Records or later remixes.

Recorded in Moscow between 1991-92 as the Soviet Union crumbled, this album represents the earliest manifestation of the legendary Tuvan rock band. Those familiar with their later music may be surprised by this early iteration: a predominantly industrial, psychedelic, and techno oriented experiment of juxtapositions and synthesis—encapsulating a conversation between the cutting-edge of modernity (at the time) and ancient shamanic & esoteric traditions.

«Khan Party» is the result of a collaboration between Tuvan rocker & throat-singer Albert Kuvezin and Russian post-modern composer Ivan Sokolovsky (also of the seminal Soviet darkwave band Nochnoi Prospekt). The two met in Moscow in the 1991. «It was a challenge to work with Kuvezin» Sokolovsky told the Moscow Times in 1993, «because Tuvinian singing is totally outside the European tonality».

After touring extensively with this eclectic material—performing at festivals throughout Russia as well as in Finland, Germany, and more—creative differences brought this collaboration to a close after 1993. Albert Kuvezin continued Yat-Kha along a predominantly rock & Tuvan folk inspired trajectory, and their subsequent releases such as 1995's «Yenisei-Punk» cemented the band's legacy as one of Tuva's most well-known & respected acts internationally—appealing to world music & alternative audiences alike with their iconoclastic approach to ethno-rock. In 2023 the song «Karangailyg Kara Hovaa (Dyngyldai)» from «Yenisei-Punk» was featured in the iPhone 15 Titanium Pro commercials, broadcasting Kuvezin's iconic «kanzat kargyraa» style into homes & headphones around the world.

Ivan Sokolovsky continued as a composer & electronic musician, reworking the «Khan Party» material in «Tundra's Ghosts» (1995), and collaborated on various projects over the years such as acid jazz group Soft Animals, as well as reviving Nochnoi Prospekt in the 2000s. Tragically, he passed away from a stroke in May of 2005, not long after a final performance alongside Sainkho Namtchylak & Sergei Letov. This release is dedicated to the memory of Ivan Sokolovsky (1962 - 2005), and includes a digital bonus track of «Из Жизни Ботаника И Шаман (From the Life of a Botanist and a Shaman)» from the 1991-92 recording sessions, in honor of him.

1. Albys-Shulbus (Calling of Spirits)

2. Anthropophagy

3. Spring Hunting On Sable

4. Mezhegei Valley

5. Shaman

6. Burial

7. Ergim-Sarym (Tuvan Love Song)

8. Heart of Asia

9. Haiyrakan (Mountain Spirit-Hider)

10. Shambalyg (Old Shaman Song)

11. Chaa-Khol (New Lake)

12. Samdan (Tramp)

13. Teve-Khaya

14. Ivan Sokolovsky - [Bonus Track] Из Жизни Ботаника И Шаман (From the Life of a Botanist and a Shaman)

This item was made available in the EU or NI market prior to December 13, 2024. This product is safe for use by the general public. No specific warnings apply.