Sainkho - Naked Spirit (1999)
By popular demand, another release from Sainkho Namtchylak. The only review I could find of this said the same shit as the last one for half of it, but here it is anyway:
Sainkho Namchylak is one of the more important singers to come from the former Soviet sphere. Born and raised in Tuva, trained in music but denied credentials, she eventually went to Moscow to seek out the modern world. She studied modern composition, ancient folk traditions, and the art of multi-tonal "throat singing." As a member of the infamous avant garde ensemble Tri-O, she broke most of the rules and started to make a name for herself in the world of "new" music. Naked Spirit is her most complete work yet, as she explores jazz, classicism, shamanistic depth, and completely unfettered experiments--always centered around the voice, often layers and layers of her own voice. This is accompanied sparingly; a solo piano, a wailing dudek, a throbbing mouth harp, and a single drum are used to add color or texture to the vocal music. While Sainkho is often relegated to the "world music" bins usually reserved for folk and pop fusions of folk, she really belongs in the section devoted to free jazz and experimentations by artists like Meredith Monk or Rinde Eckert. This music is defiantly unclassifiable and all the more important for that defiance. --Louis Gibson
The first track is really amazing by the way. Also this album is tagged as Sainkho, instead of her full name, I think it's meant to be like that but I'm not sure.