| Okna Tsahan Zam | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1957-04-02) 2 April 1957 (age 67) Kalmyk Autonomous Oblast, Russian SFSR, USSR (now Republic of Kalmykia, Russia) |
| Genres | Throat singing |
| Occupation | Folk singer |
| Years active | 1990-present |
Vladimir Okonovich Karuev (born 2 April 1957), better known by his Kalmyk name Okna Tsahan Zam, is a Kalmyk folk singer, known for his throat singing and as a performer of the Kalmyk national epic Jangar.
Biography
Okna Tsahan Zam does not have a traditional music education. According to an interview he gave to Tim Cope, an adventure filmmaker and author, he was educated in Moscow as a nuclear engineer and worked at a nuclear power plant. He turned to Kalmyk culture in his twenties and became a performer of the national epic Jangar. He toured extensively in Mongolia, as well as in Europe.
Okna Tsahan Zam performs in the Khoomei style, a type of Tuvan throat singing, common in Mongolia, Tuva and Siberia. In 2005, he collaborated with Tanya Tagaq, a Canadian Inuit throat singer, and Wimme, a Sami yoiker from Finland, to release the recording Shaman Voices. According to The Concise Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, he "intersperses traditional Mongolian stringed and wind instruments and throat-singing styles with natural steppeland sounds and experiments with urban remixes".
Okna Tsahan Zam is a recipient of the Mongolian Order of the Polar Star, the highest civilian award Mongolia can present to a foreign citizen. In 2002, he was awarded the Mongolian Golden Microphone Award for his song Edjin Duun.
References
- Russian: Владимир Оконович Каруев, [vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr ɐˈkonəvʲɪt͡ɕ kɐˈrujɪf]
- Oirat: Окна Цаһан Зам, [okˈna t͡saɣanˈzam], Mongolian: Охийн Цагаанзам, romanized: Okhiin Tsagaanzam, [ɔxiŋ t͡sɑɢaːnˈt͡sɑm]
- Tim Cope (2015): On the Trail of Genghis Khan: An Epic Journey Through the Land of the Nomads, Bloomsbury Publishing, ISBN 978-1608194469
- C. Parker (2005): Shaman Voices, The Wire, Issues 251-256
- Ellen Koskoff: The Concise Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume 2
- "Vladimir Karuev awarded the highest order of Mongolia", Kamykia News
- Okna Tsahan Zam, Last.fm