As an update to the story, this was confirmed by Gabe himself: https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/gabe-newell-responds-to-fan-asking-about-bizarre-valve-throat-singing-story-3412684/
A fan then went straight to the source, emailing Newell to ask whether the story was real. In a reply shared online, sent from Newell’s Valve address, he provided more detail.
“Yeah, I had chatted with Paul Pena about it after I tried learning on my own,” he wrote. “I am entirely self taught and it shows.”
He added that he worked on the sygyt and kargyraa styles “and got to the point where I was really… annoying.”
Newell says he still hasn’t given it up entirely. “Every once in a while, I’ll pick it back up,” he wrote, adding that it takes a couple of weeks to condition his throat.
Pena was an American blues musician who taught himself Tuvan throat singing, later becoming the subject of the Oscar-nominated documentary Genghis Blues.
I dream about being the kind of rich that allows me the mental space to get hyper fixated on stuff like that.
That’s hilarious. It was a niche viral trend online, but this guy really ran with it lol
Mongolian throat singing is amazing.
You know, where I live, they have these guys coming out with leaf blowers in late April, making a racket in my neighborhood, and they just move street by street like a roving gang of crazed leaf blowers, and getting rid of all the crap that was accumulated under the snow when it thaws.
Every year, if I’m home at that time, I bring my big speakers to the window, open it wide, and blast Mongolian throat singing for them.
It mixes with the sound of leaf blowers extremely well. Whenever one of them starts wondering what the hell is going on and removes their hearing protection, I instantly mute it, and as soon as they put them back on I start blasting again.
It’s a spring ritual for me.
AUUUUUUuuuuUuUUUUUuUuUuuuuurrrrrRrRrRRRRRRrrrRrrRrrRrrrrrarrrrRrRR-iaaaaaaaAAAaaaAaaaaAawwawRrrRRrRrrrRrrrrrrrrreyooooOoOOooOooOOOoOo
Hahahahaha We don’t call him Gaben, Jesus of gaming for no reason… He’s freaking multi-talented pal and also real down to earth
Other billionaires setting up cults and trying to bring a new age to techno fascism.
Gabe’s colleagues: " sometimes he sings in his office and it’s a little annoying and distracting."
Other billionaires response: buy media companies and government lobby, manipulate the narratives. Make a mockery of the legal system while hiding behind corporate entity.
Gabe: “yeah I asked a trusted colleague for honest feedback and feel a little bad about that.”.
It’s really not hard to not piss everyone in the world off or high effort.
I hope there is a good succession plan for Valve, because losing them would be tragic for PC gaming.
I hope it ends up like one of those nature reserves with a 1,000 year lease and a charter that specifies how content creators and gamers can be treated.
Can we please transfer wealth from Elon Musk and Peter Thiel to Linus Torwalds and Richard Stallman. Unless, of course, you all want to distribute it all back
I don’t think this guy needs a lot of money:
(Although there’s a second desk in another corner, littered with hardware and a 3D printer.)
I really don’t care
Other billionaires setting up cults and trying to bring a new age to techno fascism.
Musk’s colleagues: " sometimes he makes us eat mustard and it’s a little annoying and distracting."
Musk’s colleagues: " sometimes he makes us watch him practice his roman salute and it’s a little annoying and distracting."
Ftfy
Example:
Personally I’m a fan of The HU. It’s a more modern take on throat signing. Have a listen if you’re into rock music.
I was able to see them live a couple of years ago, they were great!
Good example, but from what I can hear, it doesn’t much showcase an important feature of throat singing: emitting two notes at the same time. That comes in properly only at the very end.
P.S. Here’s a good demonstration of various styles of throat singing.
This one was my first exposure that I can remember: https://youtu.be/VTCJ5hedcVA
Buy this concert one is my absolute favorite to put on repeat: https://youtu.be/i0djHJBAP3U
Hm, they’re getting to the age where I should probably download them before they succumb to link rot.
This my favorite tune.
Love how his mother sits off camera, with equal measures pride and silent condemnation over his less-than-absolute-perfection performance.
Honestly went to a concert for “the hu” Mongolian metal band… amazing
Totally a great band, I can emulate the singing if I’m drunk enough lol
Also, apparently I’ve been in Mongolia when I was a child.
They are awesome!
Were you there when you were young?
South of Ulan Ude from what I’m told.
Sorry, I meant to ask “very young”
But yes I was also curious about the area.
Apparently I saw the Grand Canyon in the US when I was 1 year old. I don’t think that counts. (:
Sorry, I meant to ask “very young”
But yes I was also curious about the area.
Apparently I saw the Grand Canyon in the US when I was 1 year old. I don’t think that counts. (:
I can see that, unfortunately I have that curse of remembering pretty much everything. The almost 40 years I’ve been alive have been… very long.
That’s useful though! Do you have the ability to chronologically recall things?
I can remember distinct details, but I have almost no ability to remember when they happened without context clues.
I do and it actually gets annoying because as you get older you start to notice cognitive decline in friends and family. One day, they don’t remember what happened and then you realize there’s no point in making an argument over it.
Recently, my mom traveled where I lived for a bit with grandma. And this was over thirty years ago, the caveat is that I was roughly 3-4 years old when I lived there and I knew exactly where I was and how things changed over time.
I will say it was probably a weird conversation for my aunt because I could describe everything in the area and bring up old memories–some of which she didn’t remember.
Nothing like it on Earth, it is such an incredible sound. It’s amazing that the human body can even make it. It feels like the vocal equivalent of people doing the Wrong Warp in Mario 3. Like… how??? You can do that???
Huh throat goat
At least it wasn’t doing unspeakable things to kids.
Weird that it’s an either-or situation.
Wait a minute though. What does it mean that I have never heard my boss throat singing?
Sygyt is the style that sounds nasal-y but with a high pitched overtone.
Kargyraa is the really growly sounding one.
Source: im gabe newell
This video showcases a bunch of various styles.
Source: im gabe newell
Knew it
Dammit, stop it with the throat singing and release half life 3
Kargyraa is the tits!
Can you do like a 1 time grace period on family transfer please lol
And can you fix lan based voice chat where it just doesn’t work and I have to use discord
Honestly, based.
Gabe-is Khan
lol
Once you learn how to do it , it’s very addictive
Genghis Blues was a great documentary. Cool to see Paul Pena popping up again. Didn’t expect GabeN to be obsessed with throat singing.
