“Raq Muqam of Ili” (2000) – The Uyghur Musicians from Xinjiang * LP: Music from the Oasis Towns of Central Asia * Produced by Ben Mandelson * Label: GlobeStyle
A three-minute jukebox-friendly segment from an Uyghar Muyqam, a piece of music that normally lasts for around two hours. This is the sound of the autonomous Xinjiang territory in Northwestern China made by inhabitants of “oasis towns” divided by long distances. You hear the vocals and instrumental melody lines and you imagine them as solitary dispatches ringing out from oasis to oasis. The liner notes explain that the violin on this track “attests to the Russian influence on folk music in that region” and that its “unusual gliding technique is based on the vocal style of the region.” The other instruments are two long-necked dutars and one Turkish cousin called the tambur. Producer (and GlobeStyle label director) Ben Mandelson, from Liverpool, used to play guitar in the influential band Magazine.