This is the extraordinary Anna-Maria Hefele.

There are quite a lot of people exploring overtone singing, with a greater or lesser degree of success. (I explore it on long car journeys when no-one can hear me...)

But Anna-Maria’s overtones are in a class of their own - mind-blowingly clear, precise and beautiful. And she’s even happy to explain how she’s doing it.

 


This ‘live’ MRI recording shows the tongue position that creates the harmonics.

More of Anna-Maria’s videos and her website.

 

Obviously, this is a very modern take on a very ancient musical form, one that exists in many cultures around the world.

Overtone or throat singing is probably most strongly associated with the music of Mongolia, Tuva (Siberia) and Central Asia, but it isn’t unique to these areas, appearing as it does in the musical landscapes of numerous other cultures from the Arctic to South Africa.

The extraordinary ensemble Alash, from the Republic of Tuva, are undisputed masters of throat singing and this short video from Smithsonian Folkways gives a good insight into the Tuvan style.

(If you want to skip straight to the harmonics, they start at 2:08.)

 

Unexpected items in the overtone area

So, I thought I knew a thing or two about overtone singing, until I went down this particular harmonic rabbit hole.  Turns out there are other traditions that I didn’t even know existed.

Some are sounds that I can take or leave, but some I’ll definitely take.

Sardinia, for example. This fiercely independent little island has its own ancient form of overtone singing which is recognised and even protected by UNESCO as part of their Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists, which is pretty remarkable in itself. The sound is even more so. (Your ears will definitely thank you for headphones for this one.)


 

And finally…

 

For me, the runaway winner of the “WTF?” prize in this category has to be Arthur Miles. Who? Quite.

Miles, it seems, was a cowboy country singer in the 1920s who appears to have developed a stye of overtone singing independently of any musical / cultural outside influences. Is that likely? I have no idea, but it sounds pretty Tuvan to me.

If you struggle with ‘extreme country’, you can head straight to 00:50 to hear him riding his vocal range and see what you think. (Sorry. No need…)