A blind American blues legend journeys to the little known nation of Tuva (wedged between Siberia and Mongolia) to compete in a contest of “throatsinging”. Paul Pena discovered the multi-harmonic singing on a short-wave broadcast of Radio Moscow fifteen years ago. Gripped by what he heard, he spent the next nine years mastering the unusual technique in which a singer can produce up to 4 notes simultaneously. “Genghis Blues” is the true story of Pena’s triumphant journey to Tuva where he became the first American ever to compete in a traditional competition of throatsinging held there every three years. Challenged by his blindness, thebluesman struggled to absorb the experience of fulfilling his dream. He had studied Tuvan language and mastered throatsinging, but Paul Pena could never have expected what would happen when he finally arrived in Tuva… This film was recommended for the programme by the digital-wave specialist Peter Broderick. website Genghis Blues
