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In my life, I have planned a trip to Mongolia several times, and for one reason or another I never got to make it into reality. But I have learned in life that most of the time, when I cannot go to a location, the location comes to me… For this reason I was so pleased to discover that at the Ferrara Buskers Festival 2014 (in Italy – http://www.ferrarabuskers.com), which I covered thanks to an invitation by the organizers, I found not one but three Mongolian groups part of the line up. One of those was called Sedaa.
Mongolia was in fact guest of honour at the 27th edition of Ferrara Buskers Festival 2014; the groups coming all the way from the land of Gengis Khan were Sedaa, Khukh Mongul and Hosoo & Transmongolian. There were lots of groups and artists at the colourful festival, yet it was very easy to distinguish the Mongolians: gaudy dresses full of tassels, carved instruments with strange and distinctive names (Morin Khuur, the horsehead violin. Bischgur, the Mongolian oboe. Dombra, a two string plugged instrument. Ikh Khuur, the doublebass), unusual archaic sounds and harmonic and guttural singing (called höömii).
Omid Bahadori skilled drumming
And so, in order to better get to know these unusual presences, we have found out more about Sedaa. Nasaa Nasanjargal, Naraa Naranbaatar and Ganzorig Davaakhuu are all music graduates from Mongolia capital Ulan Bator, are professional musicians and have been living in Germany for a number of years
Sedaa has incorporated Omid Bahadori, an Iranian multi-instrumentalist, in order to create a genuinely exotic connection between Orient and Mongolian steppe. Sedaa in Persian language means ‘voice’, and this describes the amazing singing techniques, with vibrating undertone vocals, multi-tonal voices and the amazing harmonic singing. The base of their modern composition is formed by natural sounds which are produced with traditional instruments coming from their nomadic ancestors together with the melancholy sounds of the horse head violin. It is in this way that Sedaa mesmerized the audience in Ferrara: with an innovative sound – dubbed ‘Mongolian Funk’, wild rhythmic songs and tender played ballads that take the listener on a journey in the wide landscape of nature, upon which they build their modern compositions.
Ikh Khuur the Mongolian doublebass
Sedaa members confessed that being in Europe is a great experience for them, one that give them the chance to meet musicians from all over the world, to play in indoor small locations that attract an audience whose taste is trained for this kind of performance.
Sedaa have been playing together and touring in hundreds of concerts all over Europe, and have produced three albums so far, and their latest one, ‘New Ways’, skillfully expands traditional sounds with danceable rhythms. The virtuosity of these musicians has allowed them to evolve into a seasoned and confident quartet, honing their virtuosity in the various instrumental and vocal traditions.
Sedaa full formation
Sedaa are available for bookings all over Europe throughout 2015 and 2016, as a quartet or a quintet with a drummer. For booking issues you can contact Omid Bahador, Fröbelstraße 15, 30451 Hannover, Germany, Tel: 0049 174 – 78 500 25, email: info@sedaamusic.com – omidbahadori72@googlemail.com – WWW: www.sedaamusic.com
Like them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sedaamusic
For more on Mongolian traditional music, read https://asianitinerary.com/epi-and-the-secret-behind-mongolian-throat-singing-2/ or watch Epi video on https://asianitinerary.com/epi-at-the-rainforest-world-music-festival-2015/
