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.
Same
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
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
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
That’s too funny, I hope this is real. But even if it’s not, pretty funny
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!
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.
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.
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.
Once you learn how to do it , it’s very addictive
Huh throat goat
Was it annoying because it was loud and out of place for an office, or did he sound like a cat being strangled? 🤔
gotta be both.
as cool as throat singing is, it’s gotta be a hell of a thing to witness the immense amount of practice that has to happen before good throat singing is achieved
or really, any singing now that I think about it
…or any music really. My partner is an enthusiastic amateur musician in several instruments, and it can get painful 🙃
same here! my partner is a saint for putting up with all the noises I generate hahaha
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.
Still a ridiculously and insanely wasteful person who’s significantly greedy.
Another shit stain billionaire that the gamer dudes fantasize about being.
he’s not diddling kids or sexually harrassing his employees, as far as we know. It’s a low bar but I’ll take it.
He’s not diddling kids: he’s just giving them gambling addictions!
You set your bars too low.
Only way I stay sane in an age of insanity.
you’re not wrong.
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."
I’m sorry, are you willfully or accidentally profoundly ignorant of the reports of what working for Musk is like?
By contrast it’s showing how dumb of a comment the one I replied to was.
Ah, gotcha, misread it as defending Musk.
Musk’s colleagues: " sometimes he makes us watch him practice his roman salute and it’s a little annoying and distracting."
Ftfy
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
I’m not that sure about a guy who eats his own toe jam in public…
I’ll take it over a guy who throws nazi salutes. I mean, the real answer is that nobody should have so much money, it can’t do any good to anyone. But if the only controversy we can find about him is that he did that one gross thing to his foot that one time 20 years ago, I’ll take it, oh how much I’ll take it
Re-watched it. Still more appealing than Elon musk
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.
Gabe-is Khan
lol
But but but Gabe is the bestest billionaire and cannot be held accountable.
I want to move to the world you’re from, where the worst the Epstein class ever did was play music too loud at the office
On the spectrum of shit billionaires are known for doing this is incredibly mild. Like ridiculously so.
Oh no he was mildly annoying
Never heard it until I watched a video just now. Sounds like a jaw harp. I can see why people trying to concentrate would be a little peeved.
Sounds like a jaw harp
Mouth harp mixed with a digeridoo.
I mean…
You show me one man who doesn’t wish they could. And I’ll do you a liar.














