Namtchylak Sainkho

Compositions

# Title
1 namtchylak/mitterer

General Information

Year of Birth:  1957
Date of Birth:  11. March 1957
Country of Birth: 

Born in the Autonomous Republic of Tuva (then USSR).
During the course of her singing career, which began in 1986 with folk songs from Siberia, she interpreted nearly all singing techniques from traditional music to avant garde and improvised music. Due to her enormous vocal versatility and the magic expressivity of her overtone singing she became a renowned international soloist of experimental jazz and world music, who is Having trespassed so many regional, stylistic, and traditional boundaries, Sainkho doesn't like to be limited to a clear-cut area: "I realize ever more that my vision of freedom is only an illusion. As a folk singer, I wanted freedom and turned to avant garde and improvised music. After a few years, I realized that that was not freedom, either - it is a kind of freedom cliche. And now I can say that freedom is in my mind, in my imagination - but it has nothing to do with the musical form. It can be traditional music, improvised music, or avant garde, or free jazz." Off stage she is a very introvert personality.

Education

PeriodEducationInstrumentTeacherEducation OrganisationLocation

Gnesin Institute: studies (traditional Siberian music and singing and music theory)
Moscow, Russia

Moscow conservatory: studies (singing and music theory)
Moscow, Russia

intensive private studies of ritual Lamaist music and Siberian shamanism

Activities

PeriodActivityOrganisationLocation

poet (writes in her native tongue, English and Russian)

actress
1986

began her singing career

member of the Tuvinian National Ensemble and gained international attention in the late 80s with her Moscow avant garde formation "Tri-O"

improvising musicians like Evan Parker, Ned Rothenberg, Butch Morris, Peter Kowald, Peter Brötzmann, and Werner Lüdi frequently cooperate with Sainkho

participates in cross culture projects together with DJs and musicians of experimental rock
2006

release of the book "Karmaland"
2006

release of the book "Chelo-Vek"

Awards

PeriodAwardCompositionAwarding Organisation
2005

nomination by BBC3 for "album of the year" (for "Who stole the sky?")

Press Reviews

Sainkho's vocal art seems to be unique. First of all, this is not traditional music, but rather a kind of avant garde, incorporating the 'Höömij' (Tuvinian variation of laryngeal singing)... What we hear are the various forms of singing, incorporated in western, parly electronic music and studio technic, without renouncing traditional instruments. Sainkho's vocal range of four and a half octaves create a truly mystical atmosphere.

Discover

Adding improvisation to her ethnic roots, the Tuvinian tradition, she creates music which could be defined as “experimental world music“. In eleven compositions of her own... she combines various styles of singing with a number of percussion instruments to form impressive little paintings of sound.

JazzLive

Tuvinian shaman music and lyrics ... who could do that better than the exceptional vocalist Sainkho Namtchylak, who formed her project “Virtual Reality New Dance Music“ from these ingredients.

Jazzpodium

Discography, Projects

Discography:

  • 2008: In Trance (Leo Records)
  • 2007: Nomad (Leo Records)
  • 2005: Who stole the sky?
  • 1998: Naked Spirit

Contact, Links

Address:  Ratschkygasse 57/II/40, 1120 Wien, Österreich
E-Mail:  Sainkho [dot] Namtchylakatgmx [dot] net
Website:  sainkho.org
Links: 
MySpace