Sainkho Namtchylak is truly a musician of the world, an artist without boundaries. Born in the Republic of Tuva in a family of nomadic ancestry, for the past two decades she has been traveling around the globe spreading her unique brand of sound that combines Tuvan throat singing (khoomei) with vocal techniques from various traditions under the broad framework of jazz/improvisation/experimental/electronic music. Since 1989 when she first crossed into the European avant-garde improvisatory music scene, Sainkho has been dedicatedly expanding the possibilities of the human voice and the potential of throat singing in combination with other musical styles, working with many outstanding musicians such as Peter Kowald, Ned Rothenberg, Evan Parker, William Parker, Hamid Drake, Djivan Gasparian, Otomo Yoshihide, and Hakutobo, releasing around 30 albums. Away from music, she has participated in films, the theatre and other multimedia works, notably in the 2002 documentary Sainkho under the German director, Erika von Moeller.

While her amazing vocal virtuosity is undoubtedly awe-inspiring, what makes Sainkho such a unique artist and gives her music so much cross-genre, cross-cultural allure is the fact that she has remained true to the spirit of experimentation and breaking boundaries. Each of her albums has been an attempt at something different and new, blending idiosyncratic vocal deliveries with avant-garde Jazz, improvisation, traditional folk, even electronic music. Perhaps the best description for her music would be “an eclectic form of world music with special emphasis on the power of the voice.” After all, underneath the breathtaking intensity, quickly mutating styles, incredible vocal skills and fantastic sounds, underneath the extreme contrasts, juxtapositions and interwoven textures of the contemporary and the ageless, it is the serenity and spirituality of Sainkho’s music that has rung true through out all this time.