Aldana Duoraan is a Prague-based virtuoso of the khomus, a Sakha mouth harp. Born and raised in a small village in the Sakha Republic, she started playing khomus at the age of six, and the instrument became her lifelong companion as she learned, mastered, and preserved many traditional performance techniques. After moving to the Czech Republic, Aldana began performing solo and soon discovered a new, unexpected audience for her practice among experimental music fans. This led to a collaboration with the Prague-based ambient/electroacoustic label Řehole, which released her debut album Üs Kut in 2021.

This unlikely collaboration encouraged Aldana to rethink her repertoire and led to work with artists outside her usual field, such as Tomáš Niesner, a guitarist and free improviser from Brno, and Basel-based sound artist HMOT, with whom in 2024 they commissioned a performance for the CTM Festival (Berlin) that took place on the main stage of the techno club Berghain.

Today, using different types of mouth harp, extended techniques, and her voice, Aldana explores the sonic possibilities of traditional Sakha music, in which her practice is deeply rooted. Her second album, titled sɯrdɯk / qaraŋa, was released in March 2025 by the Czech label Stoned to Death, and a collaboration with Tomáš Niesner is set to be released by the avant-garde/experimental Slovak label Mappa Editions.

The Seeker says

“When that day came, one spirit went to the world below, the second decided to stay with us, and the third, the spirit of the air, was caught by the careless wind and carried far, far away, to return someday in another guise.”