Misha Maltsev comes from Pokrovsk
in the Republic of Sakha, Siberia. Before moving to London in 2000
he
was involved with the organisation of the TABYK music festival,
producing a variety of alternative and world music radio programmes
for Sakha State Radio and independent stations, publishing a music
fanzine and working with local musicians.
As well as freelancing for the BBC through radio
contributions and documentary programme making, he is also one
of London's most eclectic DJs. His film journeys include a Siberian
winter expedition on a husky dog sled team and more recently a
trek in the jungles of Laos to film the Hmong rebels. Misha is
currently studying for his MA in ethnomusicology at the School
of Oriental and African Studies
Stepanida
Borissova is an extraordinary singer from Sakha (Yakutia)
in North-Eastern Siberia. The Sakhans are an ancient Asian
people, long conquered by Russia, whose culture is deeply
rooted in shamanism. They see themselves as one of the last
outputs of a pantheist, non-Westernised culture where there
is no > separation between culture and nature - where sound
and voice belong to both. Stepanida Borissova is also Sakha's
most renowned exponent of folk theatre. In this duo program
she improvises over the nature based soundscapes created
by Misha Maltsev.
