Most labels find their artists in the most banal ways—at showcase festivals, on TikTok, through friends, etc. Juergen Vonbank travelled halfway around the world to discover an artist who lived on yet another side of the world: During a tour stop in Ecuador, the DJ and Night Defined owner was introduced to the music of Mongolian artist Ts Bayandalai, and immediately fell in love. It took a while to overcome geographic borders and language barriers, but now Wind of Oirat underscores that all the effort was worth it: Following up on 2020’s »Kimel« EP, the artist’s first album is a fully-formed statement of intent.
Bayandalai takes some cues from Mongolian folklore, but as track titles such as »404 Not Found« and »Bedwetting« prove, he doesn’t indulge in visions of life in the steppe. And even though he and his collaborators might occasionally make use of instruments like the ox horn or the horse fiddle, these seven tracks draw on the more epic and even jazzy strains of rock music—they have more in common with post-rock luminaries from Tortoise to Karate and Aereogramme, or skronky and progressive psych rock groups à la Neptunian Maximalism or Dope Purple than, say, the geographically-closer-to-home IZ with their folkish industrial rock.
This is already a gripping musical mix, and Bayandalai’s vocal performance—drawn-out, slightly bluesy wails used in moderation—makes Wind of Oirat even more special. As its back story proves, you won’t find stuff like this the normal way.
Wind Of Oirat
