Otyken

About

Also known as: Отукен

Otyken takes its name from a Chulym word for a sacred place where warriors laid down their weapons to talk, which tells you a lot about what this Siberian group is going for. Formed in Krasnoyarsk Krai in 2015 by producer Andrey 'Medonos' Chernetsov, the band blends the folk music and languages of Siberian indigenous peoples with pop and EDM production, singing mostly in Chulym Tatar, a language that had fewer than 50 speakers left as of 2010. Their sound layers traditional instruments like the komuz, jaw harp, igil, and leather drum over keyboards and programmed beats, with throat singing woven throughout. Their debut album dropped in 2018, and the 2021 follow up Kykakacha leaned further into pop and EDM territory, introducing a new lead singer, Azyan. The costumes, wild and eye catching, are designed by Medonos himself and blend historic, modern, and outright fantasy elements. Despite visa denials and sanctions cutting into their international reach, they have built a genuinely global audience, pulling in over 250 million YouTube views and 2.9 million TikTok followers.