By
THIRSTY
Daniel Ho is a six-time Grammy
Award-winning musician, composer, arranger and record producer who was asked by
Wind Music (Taiwan) if he would organize and oversee a recording of traditional
Mongolian music. For a Hawaiian, based in Los Angeles, it offered a unique
opportunity to participate in a cross-cultural musical enterprise with the goal
“to leave the original [Mongolian] music untouched, but reframe it in a
contemporary way to make it more accessible to audiences around the world.”
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| Daniel Ho and The Grasslands Ensemble |
The result of this effort is an extraordinary album by
The Grasslands Ensemble & Daniel Ho entitled, Between the Sky & Prairie. The
cast of performers include: Mongolian long song master Hasibatu; Evenk singer
Qiqigema; Manchurian vocalist Bayinhehe; "Prince of the Morin Khuur"
(horse-head fiddle) Han Mou Ren; and, throat singer Tamir Hargana. In addition,
the Ensemble is joined by the Hasar Band, comprised of musicians of varying
ethnicities with a mission to carrying on the legacy of folk music through the diversity
of backgrounds, vocal techniques, such as throat singing, and instruments
including the morin khuur, doshpuluur (long-necked Tuvan lute), tovshuur
(Mongolian two-stringed instrument), sheepskin drums and jaw harp.
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| Between the Sky & Prairie |
Working with
Taiwanese record producer Wu Judy Chintai, Daniel Ho has created something that
Stay Thirsty Magazine believes is
quite important in the preservation and outreach of traditional music and is
very pleased to present the following three videos that tell the story of this
extraordinary project.
Link:
Daniel Ho