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• Cathartes Limited edition 12' LP

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  Limited 500 colored black with heavy white splatter vinyl. Cover features a silver foil embossment of the title and border.
  Two-sided printed insert
  12" LP under the Khei-Aat publishing.
  
  Includes AtoZ download card of the music and album art.
  
  
  
  Cathartes, the latest album by internationally acclaimed throat singer and ritual artist Soriah, is an evocative, exhilarating listening experience that invites its audience on a sonic journey to the distant steppes of Siberia (and beyond, into the celestial realm). At the same time, his music is firmly rooted in relevant and timely topics facing humanity as we grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic and socio-political unrest.
  
  Conceived and written by Soriah, who also did all the vocals and played most of the instruments, Cathartes also features notable guest musicians. Drummer Mark Slutsky, who has toured with Peter Murphy and Kylie Minogue, played on “Axca” and ЖЖЖ” (pronounced “zhê zhê zhê). The latter track also features Arrington de Dionyso, who previously founded the K Records band Old Time Relijun, on the Indonesian Suling LaLove flute. The album was mixed by renown musician and producer, Jeff Thall, who has done work for Roxy Music, as well as numerous TV and film soundtracks.
  
  Soriah - who grew up in California, but who has long divided his time between Portland, Oregon and Kyzyl, the capital of Tuva (which is part of Siberia) - has become renowned around the world for his unique blend of traditional Tuvan throat singing and modern experimental elements, resulting in a sound that is at once otherworldly and grounding. His thematic narrative on Cathartes is “the journey from life and its sacredness, passing through the terror of the death experience, which relinquishes to a transcendent existence beyond. No angels or devils or gods, just energetic flow, just being,” he says.
  
  At the same time, Cathartes offers a reflection on very tangible and topical modern-day issues that have had a direct impact on Soriah’s life, especially as he has been living through the unrest and climate crisis that gripped Portland this past year. These are issues that are relatable to anyone living through these current uncertain times, however. “Red Sky” is about climate change and what can be achieved in managing the forests as the natives did for millennia, while “Axca” is a call to action against systemic racism and police brutality. The title track, “Cathartes,” is meant as a light to shine for those who have passed because of COVID.
  
  Cathartes came about all of Soriah’s many plans for 2020 were cancelled - he had been set to perform at SXSW, on NPR, and in Patagonia for the total solar eclipse last December, and he was also going to open slot with Bauhaus in Mexico City. Plans to visit his family and further his studies were also scrapped. Instead of dwelling on this derailment of what seemed likely to become the most successful year of his two decade career so far, Soriah instead shifted all of his time and energy into writing and recording this album.
  
  Soriah’s vocals—or, rather, his seemingly supernatural ability to coax an astonishing array of sounds out of his mouth and vocal chords, from the harsh to the sublime—is a remarkable presence throughout Cathartes, serving as a reminder of the extraordinary skills that made him a celebrated Tuvan throat singer - even within Tuva itself (the first foreigner to do so, and the only one to repeatedly win the most prestigious throat singing competitions there).
  
  His astonishing range is especially clear on “Gnosis,” the only track that was recorded pre-pandemic. It is made up entirely of vocal and mouth sounds - no instruments. “It was meant as an homage to the spirit of Ayahuasca that I had the privilege of communing with in Peru a few months before recording this track,” Soriah says, and the evocative effects he creates are nothing short of mind-bending.
  
  At once timeless, transcendent, and contemporary, Soriah encompasses these seemingly disparate elements with ease. His music is a powerful reminder of humanity’s origins, a reflection on our current conflicts - and a hopefulness for our collective future that we can choose to fill with spirituality, equality, and beauty.
  
  Includes unlimited streaming of Cathartes via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more. ... more
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