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Sainkho Namtchylak

BIO

Sainkho Namtchylak is an artist born in 1957 in Tuva, Siberia. Her music is an intertwined mix of tradition and innovation which draws by the Siberian and Mongolic musical tradition to reach modern sounds, all tied by her pure and enchanting voice.

In 2001 she released with Ponderosa Music & Art, Stepmother City which reflected on her ambivalent sentiments towards her move to Western Europe and established itself as a filter through which start to get to know and appreciate Eastern spirituality. The album was followed by Time Out in 2001 and Who Stole the Sky? in 2013, still for Ponderosa Music & Art.
Namtchylak’s fourth album, Like a Bird Or Spirit Not a Face, arrived in 2016 still for the Milanese label and is the realization of Sainkho’s desire to collaborate with North African musicians.

Sainkho Namtchylak and Grammy-winning producer, Ian Brennan return in 2023 with a set of songs improvised and recorded on location across the abandoned islands of Venice in Where Water Meets Water: Bird Songs and Lullaby

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discography

Where Water Meets Water: Bird Songs and Lullabies

Sainko Namtchylak and Grammy-winning producer, Ian Brennan return with a set of songs improvised and recorded on location across the abandoned islands of Venice.
“Where Water Meets Water: Bird Songs and Lullabies” (2023)

Like A Bird Or Spirit, Not a Face

Like A Bird Or Spirit, Not A Face, is the realization of the greatest desire of Sainkho Namtchylak, the legendary voice of Tuva (with more than ten albums published), to meet and work with North African musicians.

Who Stole The Sky?

It is easy to understand why Sainkho Namtchylak is considered one of the icons of avant-garde music: she is exceptionally good at creating the unexpected. However, unlike others in her same musical field, Sainkho has also a strong propensity for melody which makes her music accessible to a wider audience. Both these strong points are shown in Who Stole the Sky?, together with a captivating atmosphere and the ever-present overtone singing.

Time Out

Sainkho Namtchylak’s voice, which easily switches from a crystalline soprano to a magnificent baritone, is put at service of the traditional songs of her homeland in Time Out. Lyrical songs, intimately connected with love and nature, and “work songs”, which are used to make more work efforts more bearable. Sainkho highlights this characteristic of the songs, pointing out the affinities with blues and folk heritage of American black people. The musical formation accompanying the singer demonstrates once again her will to freely move between different cultures and styles: guitars, self-made instruments, African percussions, sampling, and loops.

Stepmother City

Through an accurate musical research that led the singer from Tuva to Europe passing through Moscow, Sainkhowanted to blend techniques and melodies from her homeland with experiences from avant-garde and experimental music, jazz, and electronics. Stepmother City is a journey from Tuvan traditions to metropolitan sounds, a mixture of traditional Asian acoustic instruments, overtone singing, acoustic guitar, and DJ.

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