Sainkho Namtchylak

Born in Tuva in southern Siberia, Sainkho Namtchylak studied the vocal traditions of Tuvan and Mongolian cultures alongside the lamaist and shamanic traditions of Siberia, then carried those techniques into avant-garde jazz, free improvisation and contemporary composition. Moving between overtone singing, throat singing, breath, whispers, cries and extreme registers with startling precision, her voice can sustain a deep fundamental while pulling high harmonics from the same sound. Her practice has also challenges the gender boundaries surrounding Tuvan overtone singing, a tradition historically associated with men, turning a technique once culturally restricted into one of the defining elements of her sound.