UUTAi – Dope

Some years ago I had the pleasure of coming across a Sakha (Yakutia)-based singer called UUTAi who left me a bit stunned and gobsmacked, as I had never seen such a wild performance with wailing and Jew’s harp.  Going forward a few years, one of my dear colleagues and friends in Siberia, Daryana, presented this album to me, and it’s a more focused, restrained and quirky affair.

I would think that a label like Real World would be quite interested in this, as it definitely presents Yakut music in a favorable light, but it supplemented with electronic music that actually borders, on some tracks, that of legendary beat-meisters like Front 242 or Talla 2XLC.  There are rave elements that, in lesser hands, would sound dated.  UUTAi manages to weave these sounds well within her compositions and avoids making these tracks sound stale.

This is fresh music from a criminally-neglected part of the world.  To be honest, if I could do what I did in Russia rather than China, I would jump at the opportunity to go exploring for new music like this.  Alas…