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Yat-Kha "Re-Covers"

 


As promised, I wanted to immediately shift out of the 80's rock music and into something completely different.  Ah, yes, Yat-Kha...  In short, they changed my life in more ways that one, and this album in particular, oddly a cover song album, something I would pretty much never ever in a million years ever call someone's "best" album, is actually my personal favorite of this band's, and if you actually listen to a few minutes of it, I think you'll understand why.

"Re-Covers" is literally a dream album for anyone that grew up on rock but wants to hear these songs reinterpreted in a manner that is actually beyond your mind's comprehension.  Once you pick up your jaw from the floor after hearing what these versions sound like, these are also some of the most fun songs you'll ever hear from within the world music genre.

First off, I found Yat-Kha fairly early on when I started my world music deep dive back in the late 90's/early 2000's.  I was mainly listening to Malian African music at the time and couldn't get enough of it, from the likes of Ali Farka Toure and his protege Afel Bocoum, both of which will absolutely show up at some point in this blog .  I then was turned onto the Seattle weekly radio program on KEXP called "The Best Ambiance" which ran for an incredible amount of years, piloted by Jon Kertzer, of which I listened to religiously every week at work.  I would frequently jot tons of titles down that I found fascinating and the vast majority of my world music collection comes from listening to that radio program.  I still remember the day I heard Yat-Kha, though.  I was already aware of Tuvan throat singing but this band...well, it was just taken to a very different level.  Needless to say, I immediately scoured the internet to get my hands on "Dalai Beldiri" which is really honestly their best album of non-covers.  I still remember when it arrived in the mail and I first put it on; I had the biggest smile on my face ever and simply loved it beyond belief.

If you've never heard of Tuvan throat singing, well, it's hard to describe, really, and it comes in a few interesting flavors.  It's a type of singing (or almost moaning/wailing) where it can consist of very, very low notes (kind of Albert's specialty in Yat-Kha) or it can be a technique where you're singing multiple overtones and different notes all at the same time, which honestly sounds a bit like a high whistle over a low drone.  It's hard to describe - seriously.  If you're a lover of odd and/or interesting music that you can't possibly fathom, you simply don't want to hesitate - run out right now and track this down because it'll blow your mind.

I listened to Yat-Kha for a few years and at least 2 albums before "Re-Covers" was released.  When I first heard about it, I could hardly get my head around how this could possibly be a good idea, and then I thought a bit further on it.  I'm not sure if I heard a song first on "The Best Ambiance" or if I simply bought the album but it immediately grabbed me in a way that's pretty unparalleled to any other.  I also did everything I could to spread the word to anyone I knew that might also love this album as I did.

One of my serious loves in life is music that I can take both seriously and more or less, um, giggle at/with?  That's the best way I can explain it, and Yat-Kha really fits the bill, with "Re-Covers" being one of the best examples I can imagine.  The opening "When the Levee Breaks", a song by Led Zeppelin, starts innocently enough...and then you hear the Snoopy's harp, the more organic instruments, and then finally Albert's voice.  I mean, it's literally pure genius and never ceases to tickle my inner soul.  Literally, seriously, it's a dream come true.

Then, you move on into "Man Machine", an odd song in its own right by Kraftwerk, and yet Yat-Kha again takes it to somewhere that you can't imagine.  And, if that's not enough, though, the real standout here HAS to be "In a Gadda Da Vida".  Yes, you read that correctly, they covered Iron Butterfly.  I mean, just right there, how can you possibly resist, right?  And, it's every bit as delicious and you might imagine, and I'd dare say that it's possibly one of my most favorite world music songs/renditions that I've ever heard in my entire life, and that's saying quite a bit.  I'll also say, as a small side story, that back when I lived in Indianapolis for a short time, that I would ride around town with my windows down and blast this album and the looks you get from the people around you are beyond priceless.  Try it sometime.

One of my joys was to finally see Yat-Kha perform live, and even though it wasn't the entire original band by that point, it was still pretty awesome.  Nothing can top the albums, though, and I really think that "Re-Covers" is an album that belongs in every serious music lover's catalog.  If you've never heard of this album or band, yes, you're absolutely welcome :)

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