Sainkho Namtchylak: Stepmother City
(Ponderosa Music & Art)

It's amazing that something as esoteric as Tuvan throat singing has figured in several highly successful world-fusion experiments. (Singers from the Siberian region of Tuva manipulate overtones to produce several pitches at once.) There is a delightful Tuvan folk-rock band called Yat-Kha, banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck has featured a throat singer with his bluegrass-jazz-international hybrids, and now Tuvan singer Sainkho Namtchylak explores a more avant-garde direction. Her voice ranges from coos and whispers to gutteral incantations and shrieking explosions, mixing these varied sounds over music that alternates pop, electronica, and avant-garde jazz elements.