A Russian military convoy after being destroyed by Ukraine, Bucha, Ukraine, photo by Ukrainian Armed Forces

Strange Resemblance to Another War

Strange Things Happening in the Russian Tiaga

ALATAU

Bulgarian soldiers in a trench during WW1 The scene, pictured above, may look different from the current conflict in Ukraine, but the close proximity of the front lines and the strategic stalemate of the war zone do suggest a strange similarity between the two wars. Also of note, is the fact that the Ukraine-Russian War has now outlasted the 1914-1918 conflict.

The Siberian Band, Otyken, Posing for a Photo Op on a Frozen Lake

Single Boy

Single Boy is the latest YouTube release by the ever-popular Siberian indigenous-folk-pop band, Otyken.

Trending Towards an All-Girl Band

Over the years, Otyken has been characterized by a high turnover of musicians and a cast, dominated by women. Originally, the popular Russian band, consisted of several male members, but as of late, that number has dwindled to one. The lone survivor goes by the name of Ach. You can see him in almost every video. He is the principle throat-singer and also the only band member to have any formal music training. He is pictured above on the far left, plus he is featured front and center in their wonderfully, satirical piece, Single Boy.

Life During Wartime

One can't help but wonder as to how the ongoing war in Ukraine has affected the band. Have the missing band members gone to war, are they in hiding or have they left the country. Is the war, pushing the band towards the all female status or is it a cultural trait, where musical expression is seen as feminine sort of thing.

No matter what the reason, the results speak for themselves. dozens of highly successive videos and numerous stage performances all across Russia and Asia. If anything the ongoing conflict has kept this group from appealing more to international audiences. The war will end someday and then maybe Westerners will get to see firsthand what this band can really do. For me, that day can't come soon enough.

Single Boy is a highly entertaining musical release. It features Ach as a young man, living alone in the Siberian woods, surviving on nothing but fresh air and Ramen noodles. But fortunately, he has lots of "freedom" and female companions, which both seem to make his life (and the video) much more interesting. Between his throat-singing binges, he speaks in perfect Russian, conjuring up, such great Russian philosophers, as Pushkin and Dostoevsky to enlighten his wilderness sojourn.

And then there is the message.

Is this why powerful generals go to war? So they can decimate the male population and reap the benefits.

Wonderful parody and entertainment coming from an extremely adaptable band, just trying to survive the grim realities of the Russian winter and a prolonged war with a brutal Western Front.

Alatau (pronounced Ala-too) comes from the Siberia language(s) and is used to refer one of several mountain ranges in the southern part of the region. Literal translation is often expressed as "motley mountains".

Filmed inside a classic, rural Siberian house, this film records the band Otyken, as they sing about the mountainous regions of Siberia, collectively referred to as Alatau. Nice dive into some of the Native Siberian tongues, especially Dogon. Strangely enough, these languages fall into the Turkic branch of linguistics, very different from what is spoken in far Eastern Russia. Also, fun to watch the young women dance around barefoot and vocalize in several different modern styles, showing us once again how Otyken succeeds to adapt and transcend in the World Music scene.

P.S. Still trying to figure out who it is that appears at the door during the video. A past member of the band perhaps.