Sainkho Namtchylak (RU)

About

Also known as: Sainkho, Sainkho Nahchylak, Sainkho Namchylak, Саинхо Намчылак, Сайнхо Намчылак

Sainkho Namtchylak does something most singers can't even imagine: she performs Tuvan throat singing, or khöömei, an overtone technique traditionally reserved for men in her home region of Tuva, a republic nestled just north of Mongolia. Her voice spans operatic soprano to birdlike squawks to soulful crooning, drawing comparisons to everyone from Patti Smith to Billie Holiday to Nina Hagen. She blends this ancient Central Asian tradition with avant jazz, electronica and free improvisation, making her a singular figure on the experimental music fringe. Her career took shape through Moscow's experimental scene, particularly with the jazz group Tri O, which first brought her to Western audiences around 1990. After the Soviet Union collapsed she settled in Vienna, releasing over thirty albums across two decades. Her 2001 record Stepmother City is considered her most accessible work, weaving traditional Tuvan instruments and singing together with turntables and effects. In 2015 she recorded Like a Bird or Spirit, Not a Face alongside members of the Tuareg band Tinariwen, produced by Ian Brennan, showing she remains restlessly collaborative.